The Observe, Orient, Decide, Act (OODA) loop is a cognitive model describing an agent's continuous cycle of interaction with its environment. An agent first perceives its surroundings (Observe), processes and contextualizes this information (Orient), determines the best course of action (Decide), and then executes that action (Act), subsequently restarting the loop. This framework is fundamental to an agent's ability to achieve operational independence and adapt in real-time.