A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Apr 29, 2026 · 24 min · 8 segments
Clay Chun & Jackie Whitt present the theories of #JohnBoyd, a contemporary airpower theorist who created the #OODA Loop, a learning approach to reducing uncertainty on the battlefield
Clay ChunGuest
Jacqueline WittHostWelcome to A Better Peace, podcast of the U.S. Army War College official online journal War Room, graciously supported by the Army War College Foundation.
Please join the conversation at warroom.armywarcollege.edu. We hope you enjoy the program.
And thank you for celebrating with us these last two weeks as we release our 500th episode.
My name is Buck Abrichter.
I'm the managing editor at War Room, and this is my favorite episode.
I didn't host this one, like the other favorites you may have heard this last week or so, but as the guy who edits all the episodes, I figure I get to choose from the entire library.
Jackie and Clay are both friends of mine, and I wasn't in the room when they recorded this, but once I sat down to edit it, I realized quickly that this was a perfect representation of the conversations we have across professional military education, and especially here at the Army War College.
The British statistician George Box is credited with saying, all models are wrong, but some are useful.
A phrase we regularly use here.
I know for a fact Jackie's a fan of it.
And as the guy who's often the dimmest bulb in the room, I've always found that any mental model can serve as a useful starting point to further my own thinking process and hopefully everyone else's as well.
I think the OODA loop is an outstanding model for examination because, much like Art Leakey's three-legged stool of ends, ways, and means, it begins with simple, linear steps that are easily applicable to daily life.
It allows everyone, regardless of their background, to join the conversation.
Yet with each subsequent look, it becomes more complex, more useful, and more applicable.
It furthers your understanding, or perhaps your confusion, but most importantly, it continues the dialogue.
That's what PME is all about.
And that's why War Room was created, to further the conversation.
The materials we publish, whether written or spoken, aren't meant to be prescriptive.
They're meant to be informative, generate thoughtful criticism, deepen understanding, and if we're lucky, spark innovation and meaningful change.
I hope you enjoy John Boyd and the OODA Loop from our Great Strategist series.
From the War Room, I'm Buck Haberichter.
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