The Situational Awareness Evaluation PART 1

Task, Condition, Standard — this was the mantra beaten into my head as a young Marine heading off to war, and it again followed me back when I landed in the School of Infantry to teach the Combat Hunter Program for the next decade. What am I supposed to do, what’s going to affect me doing it, and how do I know if I did it right? When it comes to situational awareness and understanding the signals the environment is giving all the time, it’s very hard to quantify these answers on paper.

If you look at the term “situational awareness,” it’s right there in the name — situational. It’s completely subjective to the individual and what they bring to the table regarding education, training, and experiences. Just like in combat, when seconds count and your life depends on making the right decision, being able to evaluate your own level of situational awareness is critical. So how do I go about teaching you how to be aware of your surroundings and look for pre-event indicators of a threat?

If I tell you that someone is moving toward you at a faster pace than the crowd around them, they have exaggerated arm swings, and they are red in the face, this person might be preparing to do violence based on the indicated behaviors. However, what if their