Alain Burrese > Quotes

“Loop When we talk about mental aspects, or the survival mindset, it is important to look at the decision-making process. A concept that was applied to combat operations in the military, and is also applied to commercial operations and learning processes, is the OODA Loop. It’s a concept that is important when reacting to an active threat. The OODA Loop, also referred to as Boyd’s Law, was developed by military strategist Colonel John R. Boyd (USAF). OODA stands for Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Action (Sometimes Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act). This was Boyd’s way of quantifying reaction times in combat.”
― Alain Burrese, Survive A Shooting: Strategies to Survive Active Shooters and Terrorist Attacks

“Notably, trained law enforcement professionals when under the stress of a violent encounter often achieve less than a twenty percent hit rate according to the FBI. It is the author’s opinion that such statistics should not be interpreted as criticism of these departments’ professionalism. Rather, these facts underscore the realities of a violent, often surprise encounter. You can therefore extrapolate that if you must run, it is a fair assumption that you may reach safety unscathed.”
― Alain Burrese, Survive A Shooting: Strategies to Survive Active Shooters and Terrorist Attacks

“Changing your mindset, acknowledging that shootings happen, and that one could happen to you, are also important. The loud noise may be a car backfiring or a balloon popping. But what if it is a gunshot? If you assume wrong, you could be dead. If you jumped up and shut your already locked door and prepared to deny access, escape or fight and it turns out that it was a balloon popping, what is the harm? A little embarrassment? You can live with that. The key word being live. If you are in a public place and hear something that might be gunshots, don’t rationalize them away as something else. I’d rather you be embarrassed because you immediately exited the building in the opposite direction from the sounds, than become a victim. Better to be embarrassed than dead.”
― Alain Burrese, Survive A Shooting: Strategies to Survive Active Shooters and Terrorist Attacks

“If you aren’t completely appalled, then you haven’t been paying attention.”
― Alain Burrese, Survive A Shooting: Strategies to Survive Active Shooters and Terrorist Attacks

“Don’t inhibit your hearing. Auditory cues can be early warning signs. You can hear gun shots even when you can’t see the gunman. Sit in places that offer the best visibility of exits and others. Watch people for cues and indicators that they may be up to no good. Trust your intuition. That “gut” feeling is there for a reason, and you need to pay attention to it.”
― Alain Burrese, Survive A Shooting: Strategies to Survive Active Shooters and Terrorist Attacks