Keeping The Plates Spinning

It’s been a hectic but productive month on this end.  15 days crisscrossing Australia on assignment followed directly by 15 days with my instructor hat on for the back-to-back ICON Celebrity & VIP Protection Course, and the ICON Advanced Executive Protection Course.

*whew*

Even in the mist of doing all of this, I had planned to jump a flight and get to Baltimore to speak at the 2012 Protective Security Conference that is now ongoing.  I spoke there last year and it was a blast interacting with the other attendees and speakers.  Unfortunately, (or fortunately depending on your perspective) A major client scheduled an important event that involved quite a few moving parts and it because apparent that due to some of the complexities, I was personally needed on the assignment.  Knowing full well how the last minute nature of the industry works, the host of the PSC were gracious enough to understand,  and I will continue to give them my full support and plan on again being involved and in attendance next year.

One very cool post script to all of this was that I was able to use several of the past and present ICON Advanced Course Graduates on the multi-day Protection Detail.  (They were after all the advanced course).  From real world training, to real world experience.

In a perfect world that’s how the industry is supposed to work.

5 International Travel Tips for Bodyguards

Travel plays a big part in the duties of the Executive Protection Agent, and those that make a career out of the profession quickly earn the title of “Road Warrior” –-Bags packed, will travel.   Taking that travel international adds a whole new dimension to protecting the client, so here are a few helpful things to keep in mind.

Make yourself familiar with the travel advisories. -   The US State Department is an excellent resource as is the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).  Also read international newspapers, you may find that news developments vital to the area that you will be in are reported differently outside the United States.

Remember what’s lawful in the US could get you into some serious hot water in another country.  – Make sure you particularly remember this one as it relates to the possession and use of firearms and other weapons.  This should also extend to your client, as even some over the counter medicines are prohibited in some countries.

Keep in mind you are in someone else’s playground.  – Use local resources when possible to aid your journey.  Think about it, who knows an area better than a person that lives there?   At a minimum, try not to come in with a holier-than-thou attitude and piss off the other security/law enforcement teams you may encounter.  Allies are better than adversaries, and that is never truer than when operating in a foreign land.

Plan for delays. -  While there is a universal constant of 24 yours in a day, time can sometimes move different depending on what part of the world you are in.  Just ask anyone who’s spent a significant amount of time in Mexico, Nigeria or India, things just take longer, so work that into your logistics.

Keep cultural nuances in mind to avoid embarrassment. -  Making yourself familiar with the customs and traditions of a foreign country outside of just the security concerns could pay benefits in the long run.  Don’t let a slip of the tongue or a wrong hand gesture draw attention to you or your client.  Bodyguard Blog did a whole article on just this topic, find it HERE.

Saadi Gaddafi Bodyguard Outlines Escape

Mr. Gary Peters name has been attached to many story surrounding the fall of the Gaddafi family in Lybia, almost to the point where it reads like a Hollywood film.   I’ll say one thing for him, he’s standing by his client to the end.

via:  Lateline

EMMA ALBERICI: What exactly did Saadi Gaddafi ask of you?

GARY PETERS: Nothing was asked of me from Saadi Gaddafi. Ah, my concern and always is with all my clients is their safety, their well-being, their rite of passage, how they’re going to get there. The secondary is their families. The third is their associates. Beginning of 2011, I instigated or tried to begin a process of getting him or extracting him from Libya to a different destination. That was in 2011. Um, why? Because of how I knew how he felt about Libya, how I knew how he felt about the circumstances there, how I knew how he felt about his family. And then my thoughts and my feelings on his safety. Not willing to lose a friend. Not willing to lose a client. And also having feelings of the same way he does about the people of Libya.

EMMA ALBERICI: I’ll just pick you up on that point about knowing what Saadi Gaddafi was feeling. Can you articulate that for us?

GARY PETERS: He wasn’t happy with the situation in Libya. He wasn’t happy with the situation in Benghazi in February when there was a massacre in Benghazi. He had nothing to do with that. The media was reporting that he ordered this and ordered that. That’s rubbish. That’s garbage. He had nothing to do with that massacre. But – he went there because he was ordered to by his father to go and talk to the people. That’s why he went there in February. But the situation in Libya, for the people, for – everything that was happening, he was very distraught about that.

EMMA ALBERICI: You talk about extracting him from Libya; what was the plan?

GARY PETERS: The plan was to get him out of Libya and his family to another destination legally, somebody that would host him, some country that would host him and do everything legally. There was like paperwork, documentation, transportation, air transportation, property acquisition and ongoing security, so to speak. That was the plan. Now he never asked for this. This was done on our own bat to be presented to him to say, “OK, boss, you know, OK, Saadi, this is what I think should happen.”

For the full (and interesting) interview including video, click HERE.

See related HERE.

Student Experiences After ICON Executive Protection Training

“When I consider what the primary difference was which made my ICON experience a greater value and overall experience to my previous training, I believe it is due to the fact the ICON course was  student-centric.  In other words, the course was designed to create and support an environment in which the students actively contributed to their own learning.  To create a course such as this, ICON put in significant time and effort to design and implement experiences which were designed to rapidly transition from the classroom to the real world”.

Donna Angevine

ICON CPC, AEP Course Graduate, January 2012

“I think that reality based training with stress is the best way to learn.  Sitting in a classroom can only teach somebody so much.  Putting people under stress and forcing them to think then act, then reviewing their actions is a much more effective way to learn and you and your staff taught me a lot.  Each member of your staff is a true professional and an effective teacher.”

Jimmy Menzoian

ICON CPC, AEP Course Graduate, January 2012

“In my 15 day journey, a total mental and physical transformation took place. During training, I was introduced to hand-to-hand combat, defensive tactics, and firearm training that was in addition to other tactical and dynamic instruction.  One advantage that ICON has over other Executive Protection courses is the top notch instructors who present up-to-date real life experience in the EP industry.   ICON has given me a great head start into the Executive Protection industry”.

Michael Brown

ICON CPC, AEP Course Graduate, January 2012

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Next Dates

Celebrity & VIP Protection:  May 2-6, 2012 (Financing & Scholarships Available)

Advanced Executive Protection (High Risk): May 7-16, 2012 (Financing & Scholarships Available)

To learn more about the ICON Academy Executive Protection Training Course click on the link.

Australian Prime Minister Security Disaster

“Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard clung to her bodyguard as she was dragged to safety through a crowd of angry protesters in Canberra today.

Riot police formed a shield around the prime minister as they helped her force a path through the protesters who surrounded a restaurant where she was attending an awards ceremony to mark Australia Day.

Miss Gillard stumbled after losing a shoe in the scuffle, but was caught by her personal security guard and managed to get into a waiting car. “

After watching the video of the events that transpired ,I was very confused by he lack of security procedures that should have been in place prior to having a VIP on site (The Advance) as well as some of the actions that were taken when the decision was made to quickly remove the Prime Minister THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF A CROWD OF ANGRY PROTESTERS???

Maybe these guys know something I don’t…

Check out the video yourself HERE.

The New ICON Advanced Executive Protection Course Graduates

Congratulating the new graduates of the ICON Advanced Executive Protection Training Course.  Long hours, challenging assignments a few surprises, and the ever present  mantra “drill, drill, drill”.

Thanks for giving 100%! Your efforts showed!

Next course:  April 30 – May 9th, 2012  Special Financing & Scholarship Opportunities Available.  For more information click HERE.

International Touring & Executive Protection

As a follow up to our Blog posting on Security and Touring with Musicians, Executive Protection Specialist Benjamin Alozie added some points in the international arena that were so good they needed a separate post.

1. The Advance in some third world countries can be more than challenging to effectively execute that said, never go on a road trip without making sure you understand the routes or have someone who understand it and even when you are traveling on the route with a local driver until you get to the final destination always keep an attentive eyes on the road, never assume that the local driver knows how to spot signs of danger, an ambush or a kill zone.

2. When possible and depending on your manpower always make sure a qualified agent or a person you know that can follow guidelines strictly to the letter and is always at the next venue with the welcome party if not you’ll be shocked by the chaos you’ll be greeted with on arrival with your principal.

3. As a foreign protection specialist always keep a low profile and be extremely courteous and respectful to everyone you ever make contact with and when possible be generous with gifts you’ll be shocked with the types of Intel benefits you’ll eventually be getting because of these actions.

4. Make sure you interact with the local staffs and security agents by asking questions that will help you understand their intellectual capacity and even level of training. This will help you to eventually select only the best individuals from the local team that can effectively help you achieve your mission.

5. If you are working with local law enforcement agents make sure you bond with all as much as reasonably possible and most especially with their commanders. Whenever you are working with armed local law enforcements agents make sure that they are part of the people you’ll be monitoring until you are safely back to the hotel or residence with your principal. Why? Accidental discharges are common and it is a common practice to see armed law enforcement officers pointing the barrels of their riffles knowingly or unknowingly at people with fingers on the trigger. You don’t want any type of riffle barrel pointing at you or your principal.

6. Never assume the local security agent and even law enforcement officers will completely secure any location the way it should be done without continuous supervision. So create a means for continuous supervision at every location you are in with the local security agents and law enforcement officers especially in third world countries.

7. If you are lodged in a hotel or luxury apartments always think Personal security and OPSEC because the cleaners and room service people can be very nosy in some countries. I always hang the do not disturb sign on my door until I really need my room cleaned.

8. As an operator in a foreign country always assume that you have already been noticed and targeted by a local criminal group because of either your clean appearance, nationality or color of your skin. Using the opposite sex as a bait to get you is a highly effective methods criminals use in kidnapping westerners especially in third world countries so be careful and try to avoid if possible all forms of unnecessary flirtatious socials and outings with local strangers, limit all necessary forms of socials to only those organized by people you know. Don’t ever wander alone especially at night into the city. There will be ample time for all that after a successful mission.

Benjamin Alozie is the Global Director of International Operations for ICON Services Corporation and is an expert in providing security solutions in Third World Countries.  For more information click HERE. 

The Reason Behind Herman Cain Request for Secret Service Protection?

Herman Cain on Thursday became the first Republican presidential candidate to receive Secret Service protection.  Cain asked for the security and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and congressional leaders approved his request Thursday, Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan confirmed.

As stated above Mr. Cain had to formally request and be approved for services this early in the campaign.   Campaign sources are stating the request came as the result of  ”threats” made against the candidate.   Spokesmen for the USSS would neither confirm or deny these statements.

While it stands to reason that having the current Republican front runner be an African American might certainly inflame hostile fringe elements,  prior to the request being approved Mr. Cain had been suffering from a series of bad press regarding his bodyguards see HERE and HERE.   This has caused  some to wonder if eliminating this negative attention and the potential errors a less-than-effective protection detail could provide played any part in the early request.

From a security perspective Herman Cain now has what many (including myself) would call the best protection team in the world watching his back and can now get back to campaigning.

Elle Magazine Covers Female Bodyguards

~”To be a woman on the secretary of state’s security detail, you have to be fast, smart, and tough—and willing to take a bullet, even if you’re in heels”.

That is the opening of a short but interesting article on Female Protection Agents that are assigned to the Security Detail of current US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.   The article profiles several of the agents, discussing their training and a behind the scenes look at their motivations for becoming involved with Dignatary Protection.

For the full story click HERE.

See Related:  Elijah Shaw Speaks to The Today Show on Female Executive Protection Agents

See Related:  Female Bodyguards – One Agents Personal Story

What’s So Different About The ICON Advanced Executive Protection Course?

In short, everything and nothing.  Security Driving Guru, Tony Scotti recently said to me upon reviewing first hand the ICON Celebrity & VIP Protection Course , “Why don’t you just call it the “Executive Protection Course”, as all of the fundamentals are here”.  Mr. Scotti, had  a great point, and my response was that I wanted to make sure those that attended knew that in addition to those fundamentals they were also getting something at the class that had a clear distinction from what they could find anywhere else.   –An emphasis on working with Celebrities and the challenges and rewards that come with that segment of the marketplace from people that still do the work on a daily basis.  As we like to describe it; additional tools for the toolbox.

Along those lines, when we made the decision to introduce an Advanced 10 day course, I wanted to again have a distinction in the market.  This time it came in the form of not just teaching how to do everything the “right way” but also how to act (and react) when things go wrong.  the ICON Advanced Executive Protection Course puts an emphasis on operating in a hostile environment with a client and covers a multitude of disciplines including Risk Assessments, Threat Planning, Surveillance Detection, Counteraction Drills and medical life saving techniques, with several curve balls thrown in.   Having recently wrapped a course to positive reviews, I think we are again practicing our philosophy of giving great value and respect to the time and resources expended by the attending student.  Now looking forward to Tony stopping by the next one and letting me know what he thinks.

Learn more about ICON’s Advance Executive Protection Course by clicking HERE.