The 4 Levels of Situational Awareness That Could Save Your Life

Situational awareness: it’s not a daily practice just for law enforcement officers or military soldiers. It’s for all of us… regular people living in an unpredictable world. In fact, why weren’t these 4 levels of situational awareness taught in elementary school?!

As Americans, we’re in some pretty interesting and unprecedented times. And as such, I thought it would be helpful to share what was probably THE most life-changing lesson that I learned during my week at the late Colonel Jeff Cooper’s firearms training campus in Paulden, Arizona.

Gunsite Academy is legendary, and the pistol training my daughter and I received is incomparable. But my most important takeaway at Gunsite was the emphasis placed on maintaining a combat-ready mindset. By this, I mean knowing that bad people do exist, and at any given time, I might have to defend myself.

Everyday Situational Awareness

Colonel Cooper laid the foundation for the four levels of situational awareness, known as Cooper’s “Color Code“. Simply put, situational awareness is paying attention to your surroundings. As your physical senses help to interpret your environment, you should be moving through escalating states of mental preparedness, or conditions, in response to possible threats to your safety.

Cooper Color Code

1. Condition White: total unawareness. The news is full of these oblivious victims.
2. Condition Yellow: a relaxed awareness, the optimal everyday state of being.
3. Condition Orange: a specific alert has triggered your full attention. If you haven’t done it yet, thinking through your plan of defense or getaway happens here.
4. Condition Red: ready to defend your life.

This by no means is a tactical defense article. I am a working woman and mother, living a local life. In other words, my main goals here are to relay what I’ve been taught to my female friends. Ladies helping ladies.

This post is all about the four levels of situational awareness that could save your life.

4 Levels of Situational Awareness

1. Condition White: Ignorance is Bliss.

• Complete distraction; the person pictured not only doesn’t see the threat coming up behind her, would she hear it over her cellphone conversation?
• A common characteristic amongst the happy-go-lucky is a belief that everyone lives by the same moral code. Just because you wouldn’t hurt someone doesn’t mean bad people only do unto others as they’d have done unto themselves. Not even in Sunday school is this true every time. 😧
• Public intoxication is not only sloppy, it slows processing and reaction times. And the sad truth is, if an assault happens to a victim in this state, public support can be underwhelming and biased.

Condition White

Of the four levels of situational awareness, Condition White is by far the most dangerous way to roam around. According to Cooper’s Color Code, it is a state of complete oblivion. It doesn’t take someone trained in Special Ops to understand that such a carefree existence will only leave you totally unprepared for any type of emergency.

Growing up on the streets of downtown San Diego as a teenage runaway, I thought I had already learned how to mind my personal space. Not so. I remember working as a nurse in a busy emergency department. Most days, there were so many people, that they overflowed into the hallways. One night, I had my head down reading a medical chart as I was making my way to a patient’s room.  I suddenly heard a big thud, then stumbled on someone’s hand that got in the way of my feet. Apparently, some creep had lunged at me, unaware that a security guard was directly behind him. That guard had taken the man down behind me, and I never saw or heard it coming. Yikes.

I felt too safe in my normal environment and I had my guard down. Needless to say, I’m still learning to accommodate the fact that not all attacks occur in dark corridors. Or by rapists, jealous boyfriends, or someone just looking for an easy target. There is no telling when someone has finally hit their breaking point and completely snaps.

Ideally, no one should ever be comfortable mindlessly traveling around in Condition White. Natural disasters, life-threatening accidents, and run-of-the-mill mishaps all require some amount of mental engagement. A quick interpretation of the circumstance, a prediction for how things might unfold, and a plan for how to respond, need us to notice the situation in the first place.

2. Condition Yellow: The Power of Now

• The head is up and casually looking around; all exits and the people coming and going can easily be seen. Which is the fastest way out? Know ahead of time which way to high-tail it to safety.
• No visual distractions such as a cellphone, laptop, crossword puzzle, or this week’s grocery list. All of which leaves your hands occupied and unable to defend yourself.
• Ears are uncovered and free of earbuds/headphones; wearing these in public broadcasts the fact you can’t hear a dang thing else.
• The body is positioned for quick and stable movement. Like a wildcat.
• Body language radiates confidence and alertness.

Condition Yellow

In Condition Yellow, you are mindful of your surroundings. Nothing commando here. I mean, there is a middle ground between living in a state of paranoia and just noticing the sights and sounds and space around you. Both military and spiritual leaders alike agree that the key to happiness, survival, and everything in between lies in being fully present. Call it living in the moment, a relaxed awareness, or just plain paying attention to your environment.

This might sound like a lot of work, especially if you’ve been getting along just fine up until now. There is nothing special to learn here; you already know how to fully engage when needed. It’s just a matter of intentionally doing it more often.

Imagine being at a four-way traffic stop. Each driver has to immediately determine if every other driver is going to follow the road rules, and which ones might not. If you think about it, for any of us to make it through any intersection, we are relying on no one having a bad day, a blind spot, or any other untimely issues. And when these unplanned events do occur, we are poised and ready to adapt. Hopefully.

3. Condition Orange: Uh-Oh, Is This a Situation?

• Something out of the ordinary has snapped you into attention; all of your senses tune in to figure out what is going on, and how you might be affected.
• Don’t ignore your intuition, gut feelings, or unexplained hunches; if something has spiked your neck hairs, what is the reason?
• Not everything proves to be a safety breach. In fact, most situations aren’t. But don’t let that get you caught with your skirt up… have a plan.

Condition Orange

When my children were young, silence always got me wary and was my cue to investigate further. At a gas station, any car pulling up behind, beside, or ahead of me also gets a full assessment of the situation.

The point is, no one should be taken by surprise in Condition Orange. Anything that is going to happen is, by this time, pretty expected.

Noonlight App

Some situations are unavoidable, despite the risk. Need to walk down that dark alley, and have to go it alone? Getting into an unfamiliar Uber? Approaching a shady group of people that are raising your red flags, but haven’t yet done anything to warrant calling 911? Whatever the unnerving case may be, we’re no longer all alone out there.

Noonlight is a safety application that offers a little peace of mind for those of us who don’t live in a safety bubble. You can pay for escalating levels of protection across multiple electronic gadgets, but the most basic version is available for download, for free, to your iPhone or Android device.

(Screenshot of Noonlight when the app is opened on a cell phone)

Anytime you are feeling uneasy, open the app on your phone and keep your finger held on the screen while you continue on your way. If your finger comes off the screen, you have to immediately enter a PIN, or a local patrol unit is sent to your GPS location. Several minutes later.

Are you prepared to fend for yourself if you’re stuck waiting to be rescued?

4. Condition Red: Fight or Flight.

Go time. Condition Red is the time to act. Hopefully, you thought through all possible scenarios in conditions yellow and orange because thinking time is over. You are ready to defend your life, your loved ones, or are making a stealth escape. Either way, a definite threat to your wellbeing has firmly been established and it is time to act accordingly.

Condition Red

If you are in a fight for your life, this is the time to be ruthless. An aggressor looking for easy prey will not be expecting an equally aggressive target. This element of surprise can be used to your advantage. And sometimes might be the only thing in your favor. Use it, along with any self-defense weapons, techniques, and special skills you have in your bag of tricks. Because if this is the real deal, there are no do-overs. Will you be ready?

You might also be interested in, Concealed Carry Handbags | The Questions You Need to Ask Before Buying That Bag.

This post was all about the 4 levels of situational awareness that could save your life.