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I am quite curious about the OODA loop. I understand that the concept was pioneered by John Boyd and was actually borrowed by Steve Blank (who cited it in developing the 'customer development' approach to starting a start-up).

How central is the OODA loop to military methodologies?

I ask because in the biography of John Boyd it was portrayed as being somewhat ignored by the Air Force (but foundational to the Marines).

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Many military processes use decision cycles that are similar to OODA. An example is the intelligence cycle [1] whose steps include Direct - Collect - Process - Disseminate. Similarly, the targeting cycle [2]. These cycles are integrated in an HQ to support the commander's decision making. So OODA itself might not be obvious to an individual soldier, but the orders and reporting that drives his activities will follow from cyclic thinking in the HQ.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_cycle [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targeting_%28warfare%29

I'm a former Marine myself (Royal Marine, not USMC). I never heard explicitly of it during my service, but reaction to events is integral to frontline military ops.

The whole point of the commander's intent, and everyone knowing it is to be able to react to localized change but still move towards the desired end state.

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