As commander it is extremely important that you are, both geo-
graphically and figuratively speaking, totally aware of where you
stand, where you have come from and how you are going to pro-
ceed. Questions you should continually ask yourself are:
- Where am I?
- Have I been here before?
- Where was I previously?
- How did I get here?
- How do I get back?
- How do I achieve the desired result?
These are questions of principle, and do not normally require a
direct answer. They are, nevertheless, highly relevant.
There is also a risk of receiving the wrong initial value for a sit
uation.
The wrong signals may be received because information is
inaccurate or other reasons. This then creates the risk of being
selective without being aware of it, i.e. of looking for something
that does not exist, which can result in the illusion of finding this
nonexistent something, or drawing completely the wrong con-
clusions concerning the course of events, or of not picking up on
other relevant issues.
An important conclusion to the above discussion is then that
the more facts one has available the less one needs to suppose.
They provide a stronger basis for decision making and, in turn,
improved results for response operations. Many turnouts, ne-
vertheless, are based on supposition. It is often the case that one
has very little information about a situation on arrival at the sce-
ne. And it should also be pointed out that it can be dangerous to
place too much trust in supposition. The section on gaining and
maintaining control takes the discussion on this problem further
on the basis of the aspects of feedforward and feedback, i.e. to act in
line with the plan, as opposed to acting on the basis of the actual
situation.