Black is pretty much self-explanatory. This would include using your mirrors to observe behind you. In order to respond to a specific stimulus, a threat, we must go through a mental/physical process. At the outset of Carry Life, we made a reference to defensive pistol icon Col. Jeff Cooper’s awareness levels, or as he called it, the “Cooper Color Code.” The code itself is simple in concept, and… Most of you are quite familiar with the concepts, but a review of these essential survival levels is worthwhile. ❰ “The only acceptable response to the threat of lethal violence is an immediate and savage counterattack. These numbers are in hexadecimal numeral system. Situational Awareness-Left of Bang-Beyond the Color Codes and OODA Loops. As he looks up, he sees Black Bart and two of his sidekicks enter the saloon. Colonel “Jeff” Cooper, developed the “Color Code of Awareness” for the military to inspire self-assessment and vigilance. I was first introduced into the concept of threat awareness color-codes during my training at the police academy. The late Jeff Cooper’s “Color Code” has been taught by police instructors for many years. Bart turns around, takes a sip of his whiskey and sees our hero. Orange: A vehicle passes you at a high rate of speed. The Color Code of Awareness was originally defined by the late Jeff Cooper, Lt. Situational Awareness..... For Soldiers or LEO'S on the Job or Security Personnel We go through the Color Codes several Times while on Mission … Most of you are familiar with the concepts, but a review is worthwhile. In Condition Yellow, you are routinely looking around, watching for things that might present a threat or for changes in your environment. You take action when a trigger condition or event occurs that you have already identified in Condition Orange, so it isn’t a reactive action but a planned action. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the express prior written permission of Engaged Media. The Yellow level, simply put, is when a person is purposefully aware of their surroundings.  It is the preparation for, not paranoia of, some form of danger/threat. We can be subtly aware of things around us, but can only focus on one at a time. CCW Lifestyle Series # 12 – Situational Awareness and Color Codes. First, you have to see the criminal and realize that he is a threat. These colors illustrate our mindset as we go about our normal day or when we have been called to duty. Bart starts a commotion at the bar that catches our hero’s attention and allows the more ugly of the two sidekicks to sneak around behind him, raising the butt of his pistol to knock out our hero. It helps you move mentally from that state of mind in which you are watching out for trouble to seeing something that could be a problem to acting on it when it becomes a reality. Although that was in 1995, it still has purpose today. Look around next time you’re out in public and notice how many people seem to be completely unaware of what and who is around them. awareness. I even found I used it and in my day-to-day life. Ammoland Inc. Posted on May 27, 2014 June 2, 2017 by Bob Harvey. Jeff Cooper was a man with a plethora of opinions on topics pertinent to self-defense. Cooper’s Color Code is not a way to analyze the amount of danger you’re in. Condition Yellow - Condition Yellow is a state of relaxed awareness. This awareness gives you the advantage of being able to prepare mentally and physically to take action, should it be necessary. It all depends on what, if anything, Bart and his buddies do. They are: So why do we need the colors? States of Awareness, the Cooper Color Codes By Tom Givens Most people stumble through life, blissfully unaware of the world around them. Simply, it is 5 states of readiness. Many of them emphasized the importance of the knowledge between your ears—as opposed to the hardware in your hand. You are focused solely on the perceived threat. Situational Awareness. A tuned-up awareness is critical for pilot safety too. The late John Dean “Jeff” Cooper (May 10, 1920 – September 25, 2006) is generally considered the father of modern pistol technique. Meaning of symbols: The first two symbols in HTML color code represents the intensity of red color… Condition White is a state of mind during which you are completely unaware of what is going on around you and you are totally unprepared to take any action to defend yourself or those around you. You can see more about the reaction process be checking out R.A.C.E. Get our best preps & survival tips, delivered right to your inbox! CCW Lifestyle Series # 12 – Situational Awareness and Color Codes. The sound of the saloon doors swinging open catches his attention. Condition ‘yellow’ is a relaxed, very alert state of mind and is part of a color-coded tactical awareness continuum referred to as the Cooper Color Code. Color Codes of Awareness. He is ready to take action and use lethal force, if necessary, if the events occur that he has chosen as his action triggers. For example "FF" in hexadecimal represents number 255 in Decimal. In RED, you have no doubt you are engaged in danger. Milwaukee, Wisconsin New York, New York Atlanta, Georgia phone: 800.987.4368 fax: 414.359.1074 website: www.feinet.com email: info@feinet.com Developing a Strong Sense of Situational Awareness Developing situational awareness can be as simple as changing a few habits. You are also not so focused on the identified potential threat that you ignore the rest of your environment: You don’t develop tunnel vision, and you keep your head on a swivel. It was a process I applied on the street, throughout my careers in law enforcement and EMS. Sep 30, 2015 - Awareness makes up 90% of self-defense, the remaining 10% being physical techniques. “Fat, dumb and happy” is no way to fly safely. Color Codes of Awareness … So, to put it all together, let’s think about an old Western movie. That action might be shooting someone who attacks you or those around you, or it might be taking a lesser level of action, such as proactively disarming the person, using pepper spray to blind him, knocking him out with your fists or a club, or escaping an active shooter by fleeing through an exit before the shooter gets to you. This doesn’t mean being paranoid or having an irrational fear. If you resist, you just may get killed. White is a level characterized as being completely unaware of one’s surroundings. Without perception of a threat, there is no ability to assess it, or respond to it. Two concepts you should learn to keep yourself safe are situational awareness and color codes. Unfortunately there are not a lot of areas left in our world where you are immune to threats to your personal safety. It was a process I applied on the street, throughout my careers in law enforcement and EMS. Because he is in an environment that could present danger, he is at Condition Yellow. Being in Condition Yellow allows you to react to threats quickly should they arise, because you will … Article updated on July 21, 2017. You and Situational Awareness color code system CONDITION WHITE Firing-Pen.com Posted on February 5, 2016 by Larry February 22, 2016 Now that we’ve built a base of what we should be looking for and how to be on the look out for “stuff”, we can expand into the color code system of awareness. Although that was in 1995, it still has purpose today. The shadow falling across the table alerts our hero to the cowardly attack; his hand finds the half-empty pitcher of beer and smashes it across the sidekick’s face. For the purposes of simplifying the concept (of the situational color-codes of awareness), remove violence from the equation for a moment and consider driving. How we fair at the end, is determined of level of awareness. WHAT IS COOPER’S COLOR CODE? It is simple and easy to remember. You move into Condition Yellow from Condition White if you are in an area that might not be secure or if you are around people you do not know and trust. You know you might have to take some kind of action to address this threat—but you are not taking action… at least, not yet. condition orangecondition redcondition whitecondition yellowdisaster survivalnatural disasterpreppingself defensesituational awarenesssurvival skills. Share. People walking down the sidewalk or riding on a bus with their focus on some kind of social media interaction are in Condition White. It’s a task you most likely do daily. Contrary to popular belief, criminals don't just "pop-out" of thin air. Applying Jeff Cooper’s levels in the Awareness Color Code Chart, she operated on the level “white” … the entire time. Situational awareness is very important, not just for personal security but as a fundamental building block in collective security. Noticing vehicles, roadway, signage/signals, and other driver’s behaviors. This tactical sounding term in plain English just means paying attention to your environment. Imagine you are driving in moderate traffic, at highway speeds. Bart heads for the bar to our hero’s right, while his two buddies move to a table to our hero’s left. The final aspect of Condition Orange is that you make a decision about what will trigger an action on your part and move you into Condition Red. For example, during a natural disaster such as a tornado or an earthquake, you should be in Condition Yellow if a tornado alert has been sounded or if you feel the initial tremors. We use cookies to optimize our website and give you the best experience on our website. Colonel Cooper’s color code isn’t just useful for preparing for a self-defense scenario; it can be used for any situation in which you might need to take decisive action. Those who have trained in our Escaping Violent Encounters (EVE) will immediately recall the importance we place on situational awareness regarding unsafe scenes/situations.  Â. Yellow: Focused on driving. However, you are not taking any action. The Color Code of Survival: A Situational Awareness Tool. The color code of survival, introduced by Lt. Sometimes referred to as “mental awareness”, these colors represent different levels of “alertness” and how closely you are paying attention to the environment and people in your immediate vicinity. San Diego County Gun Owners December 7, 2020 Rostra General Posts, San Diego County Gun Owners Leave a … Our hero, who never lives in Condition White (except when he is knocked out), is sitting at a table in the local saloon, playing cards with a mixed group of friends and strangers. Cooper’s four-color system provides a framework for moving between the non-aware, or oblivious, state (Condition White) through two intermediate levels (Conditions Yellow and Orange) before getting to the ready-for-action state (Condition Red). This is where the CAVEMAN, the fight or flight/sympathetic responses to danger kick in. While in law enforcement we would call that ” A clue” the situation just took a turn onto Uh-Oh Road. Tires screeching, as vehicles are crisscrossing, some spun out of control, and even a rollover. First we will give a brief explanation of each color-coded level, while applying them to a common scenario of triaging an intoxicated “patient.”. Similar to the animal kingdom, human predators also seek out targets of opportunity — especially those who are unaware and oblivious to what’s arou… So what is the color code system of awareness? Cooper broke down situational awareness into four levels of escalating degrees of preparation for police use of deadly force. The most extreme example of this is when you are asleep, but many people spend much of their day in this level of “unreadiness.” They are fully focused on what they are doing at work and wouldn’t notice if a fight or an active shooter situation were going on around them. It is an important behavior to practice as you go about your day. Share This Post Tweet ; Situational awareness is vital to preppers and for good reason. “Awareness” means watching your environment and what is going on around you in order to anticipate what might happen to you and those around you. Warfighters know that situational awareness is just as important for success as physical skill or conditioning. If you don’t resist, you almost certainly will get killed. You are also looking all around you in a 360-degree arc and not just in front of you. It can be safely said that he had more impact on modern pistol usage for self-defense than anyone else. The danger of staying in Orange is how one, namely me, can begin to see evil and threats from everyone, everywhere, all the time… even when none are present. This is the recommended baseline for situational awareness. As preppers, we need to be aware of our surroundings to safely conduct our business as usual.We also need to be aware of threats. HTML Codes format: Each HTML code contains symbol "#" and 6 letters or numbers. If the tornado moves toward you or your office building starts to shake, your trigger conditions have been tripped; you are now in Condition Red. I was first introduced into the concept of threat awareness color-codes during my training at the police academy. With increases in crime such as theft, rape, and assault, it is in our best interest to pay attention.In nature, predators seek out easy targets — the weak and the sick ones. It’s made up of 4 colors: White, Yellow, Orange, and Red. An application of the color codes might be: White: You are distracted from driving by responding to texts on your smartphone. With the identified threat taken care of, our hero moves back to Condition Yellow and continues to scan the room while trying to fill the partial flush he has in his hand. Bart’s eyes narrow into slits, and a scowl comes across his face. It is in that moment, you went from Yellow, to Orange. Situational Awareness- Cooper’s Color Code & Boyd’s O.O.D.A. Just as the incessant awareness (Yellow), to the task of driving, on the job, you should strive to be at Yellow for the most part, especially during human interaction. This is called “developing your combat mindset”—that state of mind in which you are prepared to take violent action (or whatever level of action is needed). There is one caveat that affected me… learn how to not stay in orange. Situational awareness distinguishes between person and environment. If Bart or one of his buddies comes at him without drawing his gun, he will not draw his either but will certainly put the pitcher of beer on the table or the empty chair to his right to good use if it comes to fisticuffs. Practical and straightforward, the Color Code is still taught to law enforcement officers today. As taught by Cooper, the color code includes mental states of White, Yellow, Orange and Red. Cooper’s colors: A simple system for situational. The ability to defend yourself in a life-threatening situation starts long before touching a weapon; it starts with what the military calls, “situational awareness.” If you don’t know what’s going on around you, the bad guys have a distinct advantage… the element of surprise. This color-code awareness is something to aid you as you practice Saving Yours, While You Save Others #SYWYSO remember to share our posts with peers. The more you train your Human Animal, the less it is a tap on the shoulder, and it becomes a forceful grabbing, and shaking you with both hands, screaming, “What the eff was that!?”. Thanks to you  already being in Yellow, in Orange, you are narrowing your awareness spectrum in order determine if there is indeed a threat, and what steps you need to take to mitigate/avoid/escape it.  In our intoxicated triage example,  the “patient” pulls away, becomes slightly uncooperative with the triage process. Situational Awareness: The Color Code Model. The color code of survival utilizes four colors: white, yellow, orange and red. CCW Lifestyle Series # 12 – Situational Awareness and Color Codes; 08 Dec, 2020. All Rights Reserved, Situational Awareness: The Color Code Model, Replying to a personal text on your smartphone, Daydreaming about an upcoming recreational activity, Co-worker, another patient, or bystander asks you a question causing you to, The Yellow level, simply put, is when a person is, There is one caveat that affected me… learn how to not stay in orange. ... paying attention to their color code system, or OODA loops, but a lot of the time never really go in to what that means or why it is important. If the danger was real-enough, and you were operating in White, Black is quite possibly were you will end up, or just…end. “Situational awareness” is a concept we are all familiar with, but many of us don’t understand that just being aware is not enough. Your Human Animal (gut-feeling) tapped you on the shoulder and asked “Hey, what’s that?” Something has captured your attention. The Colors of Situational Awareness. Black: You are involved in a crash causing your death because you were texting (White). Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared in the March 2017 print issue of American Survival Guide. Description. Use your senses to look and listen for anything out of the ordinary. Situational awareness training is exactly what it sounds like. You need to move to the storm shelter to get away from the tornado or look for a doorway to shelter under if you don’t have time to get out of the building during an earthquake. That is what Colonel Jeff Cooper’s four-level color code is for. I learned a lot on that trip. Yellow is THE key to being able to perceive a threat. It’s good to have options. They remain preoccupied with thoughts of work, or personal problems, or how to get a date, or other trivialities, with no thought to their immediate environment. The Color Codes of Mental and Situational Awareness This article will go over the Jeff Cooper color codes of awareness. It is a tough choice, but there is only one right answer.”. Our hero, realizing that leaving by the back door is no longer an option, thinks through his other two options. U.S. Marine Jeff Cooper developed the Color Code concept to identify different levels of situational awareness and to help people understand how to act as someone who is situationally aware. By Bob Harvey. Update: 2015-03-06. ❰ “Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands.” Cooper’s Color Code is a tool for situational awareness. The danger of. WHITE/BLACK is to be (obviously) avoided. If you see that either one is happening near you, you should immediately move into Condition Orange and think about what you need to do in your current situation and the steps you would take if you have to go to Condition Red. Our hero then draws his Colt Peacemaker and refocuses his attention on Bart, whose hind parts are now running out the saloon’s swinging doors, quickly followed by the remaining sidekick. With this approach, you can move up and down this four-color continuum as the situation warrants, and you can also skip over some condition levels, if the situation calls for it. Condition Yellow is a state of relaxed alertness in which you are aware of what is going on around you and realize something bad might happen. In the aviation industry the environment of a pilot is the aircraft (cockpit), the weather and traffic situation as well as the air traffic controller the pilot is in contact with. Here are few: EMT Stabbed in the Heart, walks to the hospital and LIVES! 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Military to inspire self-assessment and vigilance arc and not just in front of you are with., some spun out of control, and other driver’s behaviors n't just `` pop-out '' of thin air White! Are also looking all around you in a 360-degree arc and not just for personal security but a! Safely said that he had more impact on modern pistol usage for self-defense than anyone else have to see whole! Tactical sounding term in plain English just means paying attention to distance, personal,!