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Gear Down!

Featured Articles

Gear Down! Staying Below the RADAR in Protective Operations

By: R. E. Rick Colliver

Let’s face it; we all like gear! More importantly, we like the kind of gear that the high-speed operators endorse. Whether we intend to use it every day in a demanding environment, or throw it in the trunk of our car “for that day”, we want to know that we are using what the experts recommend.  We are proud of our gear, and we want our peers to know that we wear, carry or shoot, only the finest. Many of us have seen (or owned) the T-shirt that says “If you die first, we’re splitting up…”; enough said.

However, when working in the often-misunderstood field of protective operations, calling attention to our gear is usually a mistake. It lets others know who we are, and it often alienates or worries the very people we are assigned to protect.  If we think back to the principal focus of a protective mission, it is not only to prevent the intentional or unintentional injury to the protectee, but also to prevent embarrassment. And, protection can only be successful if the protectee and their organization are cooperative and engaged.

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Obama and The Presidential Security Challenge

Executive Protection Articles

 

By Fred Burton and Ben West

The U.S. presidential campaign trail presents a host of challenges for the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protective detail assigned to cover the presidential candidates, something we’ve discussed previously. Major presidential candidates have been afforded USSS protection since the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy at a campaign event. Due to the nature of modern presidential campaigns, the candidates’ schedules are packed with events that often start at breakfast and continue long after dinner. Candidates also hopscotch across the country, often visiting several cities in a day and sometimes visiting multiple venues in the same city.

The Security Challenge of Campaign Season

In the last weeks before the Nov. 4 election, the campaign of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama hit several different cities in one day, meaning that several teams of advance agents were deployed around the country at any given time. For example, on Nov. 3, Obama visited Jacksonville, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Manassas Park, Va. Campaign managers often adjust itineraries on the fly to meet the needs of the campaign.

This tempo constantly forces protection agents into new environments with very little time to plan and implement security measures. Wherever Obama traveled during the campaign, USSS agents would send advance teams to scout airports and motorcade routes, plan security for campaign sites, conduct liaison with local police and keep tabs on any persons of interest during the visit. The advance agents are supplemented by teams of extra agents to help secure sites; dog handlers and explosive ordnance disposal technicians to check for explosive devices; and uniformed officers to help control access to sites, man metal detectors and provide countersniper support.

Due to the nature of political campaigns, once a candidate like Obama lands and safely arrives at an event location, there is frequently tremendous exposure to the public. This is true not just on stage behind a podium but also as the candidate works the crowd, shaking hands, kissing babies and talking to voters. As seen during the May 1972 attempted assassination of George Wallace and the later attempts against presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, it is during these times of close interaction with the public that a VIP is at the highest risk. Would-be assassins can use the crowd for camouflage and quickly get a close shot at the VIP, leaving little time for agents to respond to the threat. Because of this, working the crowd is a difficult task and one protection agents hate. Fortunately for the Obama protective detail, with the election period over they will find themselves in these kinds of situations less frequently. [Read more…] about Obama and The Presidential Security Challenge

Marketing = Working

Career Advice

Next week visitors to BODYGUARDCAREERS will be treated to an interview with Bruce Alexander. One of the crucial statements he makes is about the importance of “marketing” yourself.

What exactly does marketing mean, you may be asking.

Marketing means how you package and present yourself. Have you ever noticed how when you go to the store you find yourself drawn more to a certain item simply because of the way it LOOKS-well, that principle needs to be applied to your employment tools: The Resume and The Cover Letter.

Most people think their tools are great. They’ve used a template from a book for their cover letter, copied someone else’s resume format, and think they’re good to go. Not true. Template cover letters are painfully apparent and mark you as a rookie. The resume format you’ve copied may be dated, or badly done to begin with!

The resume is more than just a list of your past jobs and duties while on the job. You can use your resume as part of your strategy to obtain the interview. The resume must be formatted correctly, free from grammatical or spelling errors. Margins, fonts, bullets, type size, as well as the layout of the resume are all very important things to consider.

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Book of the Month

Book of the Month

Providing Protective Services
By Jim King

Providing Protective Services by Jim King a former director for the IBA and founder of IAPPA is a comprehensive guide that gives specific details on every aspect of the bodyguard profession. It includes chapters on analysis of a threat, advance work, protection driving, counter surveillance, site and conference security, bomb threats and devices, communications, and paramedicine. In addition, Providing Protective Services has an extensive reference section which includes a glossary, index, bibliography, resources, and checklists for advance security, building survey, known threat data sheet, executive profile, bomb threats and more. This book will help anyone who wants to succeed in the bodyguard field.

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Who NEEDS a Bodyguard?

Executive Protection Articles

Gone are the days when only pop princesses and Scientologist super-stars need to employ the services of bodyguards. Warren Buffet was recently a target in his own home, where a masked man with a “fake” gun came right to the Buffet’s front door (which Buffet opened, without looking out the peephole) and attempted to rob him.

Buffet isn’t “famous” in the usual entertainment mega-media way, but he is ranked as one of the top billionaires in the world.

As with Buffet, the exceedingly wealthy need well-trained protection. It doesn’t matter if they’re not a household name or recognizable face to the average person on the street. One can become the subject of kidnapping, robbery or assault for simply holding certain political views. Business executives with ties to environmental issues are taking precautions, and of course with random acts of terrorism occurring the world over, our top political leaders as well as other political movers and shakers need to be concerned.

In the bodyguard business, there are what we call “hard targets,” meaning someone the bad guys will have a difficult time getting to. There are also “soft targets,” those individuals who are more easily accessible, and therefore more vulnerable to stalking, assaults, kidnapping and even attempted murder. A perfect example of this is when Arthur Bremer (the man who wanted to become famous by shooting someone famous) chose to shoot George Wallace. His first choice was Richard Nixon–who proved to be a hard target. So he shot Wallace instead, since he was a soft target.

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