What is Situational Awareness?
Situational awareness IS being aware of one’s surroundings and any potential hazards or threats.
Situational awareness IS NOT about being scared all the time. It's about being prepared vs.being paranoid.
It’s simply about being aware of your environment so you don’t have to spend time gathering information during an emergency.
Why is it important?
The more prepared and aware of possible hazards and dangerous scenarios, the less likely we are to be accidentally hurt or become a victim of crime.
Examples in Scouting
Youth Protection Training
Leave No Trace
First Aid
Camping
Hiking
Levels of Situational Awareness
The Cooper Color Code
BARRIERS TO AWARENESS
Fatigue
Routines
Living in the white
Alcohol and drugs
The Decision-making Process
The Boyd OODA LOOP
OBSERVE
Use all your senses
What is out of place?
What doesn’t add up?
ORIENT
Look for contextual clues
What are your options?
DECIDE
Risk vs. reward
ACT
Action is always faster than reaction
What info do you share?
Social media, tagging in real time, back to school photos
Bumper stickers, school shirts, items with your name
Body language clues such as confidence or an injury
Ways to Improve
Be a good Scout. Know before you go. Plan ahead and be prepared.
Be the alpha (or in your case the Sigma). Project confidence: head up, shoulders back, strong voice, make eye contact.
Minimize distractions. Only wear one earbud, if necessary. Stay off your phone.
Avoid bad places, bad times, and bad people. Trust your gut.
Practice your mindset daily. You can try games like What's Around the Clock (you can also substitute Cardinal directions or the degrees of a circle), The Billboard Alphabet Game, or the License Plate Game.
The Kindness Fallacy
We naturally want to be nice and not inconvenience others. Pay attention to gut feelings.
Be assertive.
Create distance when up feel you need more time.
Use your voice. BE LOUD. Yell fire instead of help to get more attention.
Keep your hands free and ready.
Self-defense tools (your phone, sirens, whistles, mace, weapons, or nearby objects). Check local laws and practice using any tools you purchase before needing them.
What would you do?
A new scout at our meeting needs you to give her directions to Dunlap High School from here.
Smoke is coming from the trashcan in the patrol room.
You are selling popcorn and a person approaches you that makes you feel uncomfortable.
You realize at night you need to run to the store for a project due tomorrow.
After studying for a test, you need to walk home from a friend’s house.
You hear two people fighting loudly in the grocery store.
A cute guy notices your shirt. He asks for a selfie and then points to his friends nearby.
You wake up to the power out and hear a strange noise.
You see a car accident happen while driving to school.
You and your patrol are going to camp in a new location next month.
A woman with a child comes up to you in the parking lot and needs money for gas.
You are at a party and need to use the restroom but don't know where to set your drink.
Your bestie is acting weird lately. Something is bothering her and she keeps avoiding you.
You get turned around with some friends and end up in a part of town that doesn't feel safe.
Your parent gives you your medicine but the pill doesn't look like it normally does.