Boyd’s Patterns

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

You know these as either Boyd’s-cycle or the OODA Loop but I am going to use Boyd’s Patterns to reference my future articles on the OODA and Patterns of Conflict. If you are not familiar with the OODA Loop or Colonel John R. Boyd then you may find it importantly beneficial to your training and practice as well as overall human life strategies to read bout the man and learn about his creation.

Put it this way, from my seat I have become convinced that Colonel Boyd and his team have created a strategy that equals and exceeds those of the ancient strategists of great renown, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli and Clausewitz - authors of the “Art of War” for their times. In our times the modern Sun Tzu of our way of life is, “Colonel John R. Boyd, USAF!”

If you take the time to study his works you will see a lot of similarities to those strategies and tactics for self-defense (conflict and violence) that are taught by the great professionals of these disciplines today. As I continue my studies I see more and more connections that allow me to integrate the Body-Patterns into my studies, practice and training along with the articles I write about this stuff. 

Boyd’s Patterns are worth your time and your time is valuable making the study an important part of your efforts, discipline and library additions. This is also my small effort to bring out to our community the contributions and huge value Colonel Boyd’s works have done for us in this country. Boyd’s Patterns, at the very minimum, have led to the saving of hundreds and hundreds, even thousands, of lives, military lives. His focus was to create a military that started out saving military lives while achieving strategic and tactical goals of winning the war with the least loss of life possible. I think this makes him the modern hero and modern Sun Tzu. 

Bibliography (Click the link)

Boyd Bibliography:
Angerman, William S. “Coming Full Circle with Boyd’s OODA Loop Ideas: An Analysis of Innovation Diffusion and Evolution.” USAF Institute of Technology. Ohio. 2004.
Boyd, John R. USAF. “A Discourse on Winning and Losing.  
Boyd, John R. USAF. “New Conception for Air to Air Combat.”
Boyd, John R. USAF. “Patterns of Conflict.” www-d-n-i,net. 2007
Coram, Robert. “Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War.” Back Bay Books. New York. 2004. 
Hammond, Grant T. “On the Making of History: John Boyd and American Security.” USAF Academy. 2012  
Hammond, Grant. “The Mind of War: John Boyd and American Security.” Smithsonian Books, New York. 2004.
Osinga, Frans. “Science, Strategy and War: The Strategic Theory of John Boyd.” Eburon Academic Publishers. Amsterdam. 1963.

I bolded/hi-lighted the last entry because to date, except the two books on Colonel Boyd’s life and times, it is the best written thesis and the most comprehensive explanation of Colonel Boyd’s work to date. It is available in pdf format on the Internet, yeah!

p.s. my studies have actually shined a light on how well analysis and synthesis works as explained in Boyd’s Patterns. 


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