The Color Code of Awareness: Developing a Combat Mindset
by
Erich
The Color Code of Awareness will help you see danger before it strikes and may just save your life.
In this article I describe a mindset used by our soldiers, special agents, and law-enforcement personnel that heightens your awareness and allows you to see potential threats to your safety ahead of time — providing a window of opportunity to prepare for or prevent potential conflict.
The Need to Pay Attention
Unfortunately there are not a lot of areas left in our world where you are immune to threats to your personal safety. 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. Similar to the animal kingdom, human predators also seek out targets of opportunity — especially those who are unaware and oblivious to what’s around them. For this reason, it’s necessary to take on a state of mind that can help you stay alert to potential threats at all times and be able to intelligently react should you be faced with one. There’s no better metaphor for this state of mind than the Color Code of Awareness.
The Color Code of Awareness
The Color Code of Awareness has its origins in the U.S. Military but the adaptation as given here was originally put forth by the late Jeff Cooper, USMC(ret) and founder of
Gunsite. This is not to be confused with the government’s form of color code which corresponds to the amount of danger to which you are exposed to at a given time. Instead, this refers to
your current state of mind and willingness to take action regardless of real or imagined threats.
Condition White: the Unaware Masses
The Unaware
The next time you’re out and about take a look at the people around you. What are they doing and what do they notice? What you’ll begin to see is that most people are completely oblivious to their surroundings. This is Condition White. Whether they are sitting on a park bench completely engrossed in a book or walking with their gaze focused on the ground three feet in front of them, their attention is drawn somewhere else and they lose sight to what’s around them.
The Addiction of Thought
In fact the biggest monopolizer of your attention is your thoughts. Most people are addicted to thinking. You become a slave to the incessant ramblings of your own involuntary internal dialogue. In fact, the only difference between you and those ‘crazy’ people you see muttering to themselves on the street is that you are not muttering out loud.
The mind is a powerful and necessary tool when used in the right context. But like with any tool, we need to be able to put it down – or in this case shut it off – when we no longer need it. This is especially true in order to be aware and safe in our immediate environment. It’s those who are caught up in their thoughts that make perfect targets for potential predators.
Absolute Vulnerability
Condition White is where you will get surprised by your friends or a stranger that “happens upon you”. In white you are unready to take action to prevent injury or death. And it’s in this state that the only way you’ll survive a lethal attack is if your attacker is completely inept. Avoid this state at all times.
Condition Yellow: Relaxed Alertness
Learn to Always be Aware
Condition Yellow should be your normal everyday state of awareness. It’s in this state that you’ve accepted the fact that your life may be in danger at any time and you may have to do something about it. There is no specific threat but you are alert to any possibility.
You are relaxed and alert. You walk down the street with your head up and you’re looking around. You notice the late model blue Chevy pickup turning the corner, with an older gentleman driving. Your aware of the group of teenagers talking in a tight circle in front of the convenience store. You see a young couple crossing the street, heading your direction holding hands. When you leave for work in the morning you look around the neighborhood noticing anything out of the ordinary.
Lose Your Mind and Come to Your Senses
Most of all, your not caught up in your thoughts. Your mind is in the moment and although yellow is a relaxed state and you could stay in it indefinitely, it is still an active level of awareness — very different than white. You are actively taking mental notes of those things around you. In yellow you are aware of your surroundings and your mindset is such that “I may have to defend myself today”.
Condition Orange: Focused Alertness
Noticing a Potential Predator
If during Condition Yellow, something or someone triggers your attention indicating a potential threat you would immediately enter into Condition Orange. It doesn’t mean there is a threat only that there could
potentially be one. The only real difference between the orange state and the yellow state is you now have a specific point of focus.
For example, you’re manning a store and in walks a guy who slips his hands in his inner coat pocket — your radar goes up, you enter Condition Orange. Or your heading to your car in the mall parking garage and you notice someone standing by a column up ahead instead of heading to his car or the mall entrance, you now have a point of focus and you are in an orange state. It need not only be a person that triggers this, it could be any indicator that is out of context with what is expected, such as a light being off that you know was previously on, or an environmental choke point such as a corner block or an upcoming side alleyway.
Perform Evasive Maneuvers to Determine Intention
When you’ve entered Condition Orange, you begin to make evasive maneuvers if possible. If someone in a car behind you triggered orange, you would simply turn at the next light. It’s as simple as that. If they are still behind you try turning at the next left. Then right again. If they are still behind you it is a strong indication that you’re being followed. In the case of the man next to the parking column, you would change your trajectory or give him wide berth. If it’s a dark alley up ahead, try to keep your distance.
Create a Mental Trigger and Formulate Your Tactical Plan
As you are performing your evasive maneuvers you’ll want to quickly set up a mental trigger and formulate a tactical plan. “If he does x I will do the following”, or “If x happens when I reach that alleyway, I’ll do this”. That ‘x’ is the mental trigger that springs you into action. Your tactical plan could be anything from more extreme evasive maneuvers to drawing your weapon on someone to a lethal response. If the trigger never comes (either because that person or indicator is not a threat) or because of your awareness they decided they better not do anything — you would deescalate to yellow again. Remember, most predators want to have the element of surprise. When they catch on that you’ve caught on to them, they generally seek easier prey.
Condition Red: Ready to Act
Locked and Ready
In Condition Red you’ve determined that the threat is real and although you may or may not be in the middle of a conflict you are READY TO ACT. You’re mentally prepared to carry out your plan.
The difference between Condition Red and Condition Yellow may at first seem unclear. In Condition Red, not only have you determined that the threat is very real, but more importantly you’ve made a mental decision to act if the trigger from Condition Yellow is tripped. It’s a very subtle but important difference. You not only have a plan on what to do and when to act (Condition Yellow) but you are prepared to carry out that act. This is especially important when the decision that you made requires a lethal response. Let me give you an example that illustrates the difference:
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