A Symbiotic Relationship: The Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) Loop, Intuition, and Strategic Thought

Numerous articles and books have recently appeared criticizing the current leadership of the Armed Services and their collective inability to think critically, to adapt, or to innovate quickly, as well as their lack of tactical, operational, or strategic agility. However, the services have not sat idle their individual doctrines, educational institutions, and professional journals abound with the need to create more adaptive, agile, and thinking leaders, and have done so for quite some time. Why have the solutions remained elusive While the problem is surely complex, this paper will examine ways in which the U.S. military can enhance innovative thought and develop the pedagogical methodologies necessary to maintain a competitive advantage in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous VUCA world. The paper will argue that a significant step toward addressing the problem could be made by integrating the work of John Boyd into the curriculum of professional military education PME. It is time for a paradigm shift and a revolution in military affairs that begins with the way we think and learn about complex problems on todays battlefield.