Awareness matters now more than ever, given the reality of violence in public spaces, workplaces, schools, and houses of worship. In a sense, we are all responsible for our own safety. Situational Awareness training is as much a skill as it is a mindset. In the ESS Global Situational Awareness training class, you will learn the skills utilized by elite military branches and federal agencies, such as the Coast Guard and the U.S. Secret Service.
People typically operate on several distinct levels of awareness. There are many ways to describe these levels, for instance “Cooper’s Colors,” which is a system frequently used in law enforcement and military training.
Here is a Basic Overview of Situational Awareness Training
Condition White
UNAWARE/UNPREPARED. This is a condition you should try to avoid, as it means you will probably lose. You are daydreaming, and unaware of your surroundings. A fight, a rape, a robbery, an assault, anything you can think of you are oblivious to. The only time that you’re in condition white is when you’re asleep. And even then, you wouldn’t consider yourself unprepared; you’re just unaware.
If attacked in Condition White, the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy or ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something, your reaction will most likely be “This can’t be right. This can’t be happening to me.”
Unfortunately, too many people spend much of their lives in this state of mind.
The first level, tuned out, is similar to when you are driving in a very familiar environment or are engrossed in thought, a daydream, a song on the radio that suddenly takes your mind back to a place and time, then suddenly you’re at your destination without even remembering the drive there. Have you ever arrived somewhere in your vehicle without even really thinking about your drive there? If so, then you’ve experienced being tuned out. You’ve experienced Condition White.
Condition Yellow
RELAXED ALERT Yellow means you are aware of what is happening around you, but you do not perceive any potential threats. Your mindset should be that you are prepared to defend yourself if the need arises. Everywhere you go, everything you do, you should be in Condition Yellow. You should keep an eye on the people around you, and continuously rate each person’s danger level in your mind.
There is no specific threat situation. The Relaxed Yellow Alert is simply realizing that today could be the day I may have to defend myself. You are aware that the world is can be an unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if and when necessary.
The second level of awareness, relaxed awareness, is like defensive driving. This is a state in which you are relaxed but are also watching the other cars on the road and are looking at the road ahead for potential hazards. What if a kid runs out in the road, what if someone runs the stop sign? If you’ve had these thoughts when driving you’ve experienced Condition Yellow, Relaxed Alert.
Condition Orange
SPECIFIC ALERT This means that there is a potential threat that has gotten your attention. This can be almost anything and usually results in nothing, at which time you then fall back to yellow. An example of Condition Orange could be when you spot what appears to be a firearm under a bulky coat… Instantly, you determine exactly what you’re going to do if he reaches for that gun.
In this stage, something is not quite right and has your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. This sets a mental trigger. “If that person does X, I need to do Y”.
Again using the driving analogy, this is like driving in hazardous road conditions. You turn the radio down, you don’t even think of looking at a text on your phone. You have both hands on the wheel and the road has 101% of your attention. We’ve all been in Orange. A blinding snowstorm, a dark thunderstorm, fog in the mountains. That’s Specific Alert territory.
Condition Red
FIGHT/ACTION This means that you are in a lethal mode of mindset and will fight if the circumstances are warranted. The guy with the bulky coat draws a semiautomatic from under his coat. At this point, you now implement your action plan that was determined during Condition Orange. This doesn’t always mean fight. If you don’t have the means to put up a fight, your best plan might be to wait and see what happens or even retreat and call the police. But you took action on the plan you made in yellow.
This is what happens when a kid does chase a ball right in front of you or that car you are watching at that intersection ahead actually doesn’t have any intention of stopping at the stop sign and pulls out right in front of you. It’s a gasp, a prayer and a rush of adrenalin. But you maintained control. You hit the brakes, you swerved to avoid. You functioned.
When you go to Condition Red, the trigger has been tripped. The “Didn’t see that coming” of White became the “What if” in Yellow that has now become “Plan for it” in Orange and “Execute” in Red.
The ESS Global Situational Awareness Training is a 4-6 hour course, depending on the size of the class and other factors.
There is really nobody who could not benefit from Situational Awareness Training.
The next class open to the general public is just $75 and is on January 28th
Call ESS Global for a free consultation on Situational Awareness Training
Phone:
727-940-7926
Email: info@essglobalcorp.com
ESS Global instructors are Department of Education licensed with an unrelenting attention to detail and real world experience that are unparalleled in the close protection industry. Our staff is comprised of top protection professionals in the industry who have provided services in over sixty (60) different countries around the world for select clients.
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f nowhere. A disgruntled ex-employee, an overzealous fan (or a drugged-out fan), stalking, someone who wants to make a name for themselves, or some other “unwanted attention”. Worse, it could lead to a physical confrontation or some other immoral interaction when you least expect it.
