While I try to live in Condition Yellow, I'm not perfect at it, and I find that as I get older, it becomes more difficult to maintain. But, lacking the ability to physically fight my way out of a situation, and lacking the ability to run away (which is a perfectly acceptable response if you go home alive that day), it is the one discipline that I have to depend on......and it is exactly that, a discipline just like any other discipline. "Disciplines" in my view are things that we won't naturally do if left to our own devices, but that are good for us in some way or other—i.e. food discipline, Bible study discipline, work discpline. In the case of mental alertness from a self-defense perspective, Condition Yellow is the displine that will help to keep me from ever having to go to guns—which should be my last resort. So in that sense, the discipline of Condition Yellow is a moral discipline.The color code, as originally introduced by Jeff Cooper, had nothing to do with tactical situations or alertness levels, but rather with one's state of mind. As taught by Cooper, it relates to the degree of peril you are willing to do something about and which allows you to move from one level of mindset to another to enable you to properly handle a given situation. Cooper did not claim to have invented anything in particular with the color code, but he was apparently the first to use it as an indication of mental state.
- White - Unaware and unprepared. If attacked in Condition White, the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy or ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something nasty, your reaction will probably be "Oh my God! This can't be happening to me."
- Yellow - Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that "today could be the day I may have to defend myself". You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that "I may have to shoot today". You don't have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don't know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to "Watch your six." (In aviation 12 o'clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft's nose. Six o'clock is the blind spot behind the pilot). In Yellow, you are "taking in" surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, "I might have to shoot."
- Orange - Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you do not drop your six). Your mindset shifts to "I may have to shoot that person today", focusing on the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status. In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: "If that person does "X", I will need to stop them". Your pistol usually remains holstered in this state. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow.
- Red - Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. "If "X" happens I will shoot that person".
In my particular case, I am actually too infirm to train for combat. I do use a gym regularly (3x per week) to maintain some conditioning, but that is in a very measured way, and doing an exercise routine that is designed to accommodate that infirmity. So for me (and this should be true even for people who are physically trained for combat), my first line of defense is trying to be aware of my surroundings and to notice the little things because I don't have the "luxury" of being able to muscle my way out of anything, and I really don't want to ever have to shoot my way out of something.
So although I already try to live in Condition Yellow, threads like this are valuable to me because they serve as reminders. My first reaction on reading it was, "HAVE I been in condition Yellow lately?" It causes me to reexamine my routines. I live in a very quiet neighborhood, and we have a quiet house. Last night, around 1:30 or 2:00 a.m., our dog suddenly barked at something outside our bedroom on the back patio. He doesn't usually do this. My wife heard whatever it was that made him bark and described it as a rustling noise. His barking woke me up, so I didn't hear what caused it. There is nothing distubed out there this morning, so it was likely just the wind rustling the BBQ cover or something like that.....maybe a neighborhood cat. But I remember laying there for a moment, a little dazed, and thinking "should I be grabbing my gun? Should I get up and go look?" But the dog settled down after three quick barks, so I stayed in bed. I sleep with a C-PAP machine, and I wear earplugs when I go to bed to block the noise of the machine, so I pretty much have to rely on a dog that will bark to alert me.
To the OP, and this is just a suggestion, but if my dog had been in your truck, that guy would have never gotten that close without a lot of noise and fuss. The noise and fuss would have been an alarm to me, and most likely, a deterrent to him. Maybe taking a good sized dog possessed of an authoritative bark along for those errands would contribute to your general perimeter security? I realize that isn't going to always be practical, but I try to do it whenever possible......and the dog likes those trips too. Any chance to get out with the boss and go for a ride.....