Executive Protection: ‘Its all about the detail’

I would like to go over two videos which where recently brought to not just my attention but that of the whole CP/EP world, Firstly though please allow me to express my gratitude to everyone who took the time to read and support my last article regarding protective intelligence, particularly Security Professionals Tony O’Brien from TheSecurityOperative.ie and Jeremy Martin from The InformationWarfareCenter.com. 

Last Article: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/you-cant-beat-21st-century-threats-20th-tactics-justin-casey/

Lets begin this one by discussing various types of threats which our principals may be faced with as those not involved in this line of work quiet often hold an elaborate portrayal adopted from years of watching TV that we spend our time dodging bullets and driving blacked out Land Cruisers. Although this may be true to certain aspects of the job depending on the principal, environment and task alike, typically our role consists of long shifts spent on the road, entering and exiting buildings, standing in corridors, liaising with on site security, local law enforcement, personal assistants and finished up with studying routes, locations, check lists and itineraries in a hotel room, being last asleep only to be the first ones awake. Many of us are fully aware that it is not a glamorous occupation but when the job is done and all goes smoothly then it is a rewarding one nevertheless. 

Generally speaking, In day to day operations potential threats come in all sorts of mediums, from physical violence, Kidnapping, theft, the list goes on and on, but in reality the likelihood of such incidents can be far and few between. Once a good security detail is in place, especially an overt detail then this visual deterrent alone can often be enough for nefarious attackers with hostile intentions to recognize a hard target and retreat. With this in mind the more common threats that principals may be faced with can be PR related, our job is to protect not only the physical well being of our principal but can also include their reputation/ public image and to try keep them from embarrassment and/or harassment. 

For example over the past few weeks we have seen more than one scenario where CP teams have possibly been blind sighted by the idea of higher level threats, this mindset may have caused the infamous ‘tunnel vision’ effect leading them to fail in identifying and countering non sophisticated attacks which ultimately led to complete PR disasters but yet still had the potential to have been very serious!

If you haven’t realized by now, I am referring to two incidents in particular which can be seen below, if you have not seen them yet then I assume you do not work in the industry (which is perfectly fine) or live under a rock….

Firstly lets take a look at the case where an awaiting assailant in plain sight managed to throw a milkshake over Nigel Farage (again!!)    

Ok, so some people might say “No harm, No foul” fair enough everyone loves a milkshake but lets think about this for a second, what if the attacker had a more sinister motive? That could have very easily been filled with a corrosive liquid such as acid etc. Then that split second lapse in situational awareness would have been a drastically different outcome and could have potentially resulted in long lasting scar tissue, serious respiratory issues or even loss of sight!

My intentions here are not to mock or discredit the security detail in question but merely to highlight the little details to bare in mind when conducting a threat assessment. On the day in question local police requested that the sale of milkshakes be suspended in the surrounding fast food chains as this method of attack was predetermined and deemed a credible threat due to similar prior incidents. I could like many others in the industry start to dissect the video and knit-pick at the actions of the operatives although I think the video speaks for itself so I will leave that to your personal opinions. This style of PR attack is becoming a more frequent method of protest not just for Nigel Farage but a number of politically related figures. Only last month I was leading a close protection team for a visiting speaker by the name of Bernard Henry Levy (BHL), a well known figure who has been referred to by The Boston Globe as “the most prominent intellectual in France today”.

Levy was one of six Jewish public figures in Europe targeted for assassination by a Belgium-based Islamist militant group however the plot was foiled after the group’s leader Abdelkader Belliraj was arrested on unrelated murder charges dated back from the 1980’s.

BHL was accompanied by his personal protection team consisting of 2 agents focusing on reactive extraction. Our role being local operatives was to provide operational assistance (overseeing facility sweeps, access control, conducting inductive surveillance and coordinating with on site security, local law enforcement & diplomatic protection teams which where present with foreign dignitaries who where there to hear BHL’s seminar). Although we where aware of the active threats on his life,being supported by specialist covert armed Gardaí (Irish Police Force) to tackle that matter, we focused our attention on the more probable risk of hostile protesters as similar to Nigel Farage’s array of milkshake loving protesters, BHL was known to be ‘’Cream Pied” on more than one occasion, as he has traveled around the world a number of people have managed to strike him with cream pies as an act of protest. Thankfully the operation went smoothly and no such incidents occurred.

The point I am trying to get across is that no matter how high profile the principal or task at hand is, you should always cover the basics, whether that means minimizing the risk of exposure to photographers, Journalists, unwanted members of the public or good old fashioned cream pie protesters, The basics are what form a solid foundation of any protective operation.

TRUST THE CAPABILITIES OF YOUR TEAM

In this example we will take a look at an incident which occurred in South Africa last month regarding Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Context: Arnold made an appearance at a public sports event and was accompanied by what I can see in the video as three ‘Bodyguards’. The reason I use the word Bodyguards is because personally I think this term is outdated and doesn't accurately depict the role of today’s Close Protection/Executive Protection Operatives. This being said the gentlemen in question seem to be more ‘Body’ than ‘Guards’ in my opinion. Lets take a look at the video:

It doesn’t take a CPO certification to establish the issue here, It looks to me that there was no active structure in place regarding roles and responsibilities of this security detail. Typically we train CPO students to understand and be able to adapt to the structures of a CP team including knowing the difference between TL, PPO, and CP, SD, RST and Advanced team roles, to name a few. (The titles and Acronyms can vary depending on the organisation however the structural elements generally remain the same).  

For this example lets me just explain the following for those of you without a backround in this kind of work.

-TL (Team Leader): The TL’s is often the most experienced on the team and their role is to oversea the movements and duties of each element of a CP team and command the team.

-PPO (Personal Protection Officer/Operative): The PPO’s primary responsibility is the principal alone, They are the member of the team who always maintains eye’s on and generally are within arms reach of the principal should an issue arise the PPO’s main objective is to cover and take control of the Principal.

-CPO (Close Protection Operative): Although technically all the members of the team can be classified as CPO’S, from an operational stand point the CPO’s are those who provide protection within the inner cordon whilst static or maneuvering on-foot formations.

In the video we can see oul’Arnie receiving what is essentially a drop kick by a member of the public, I am sure I am only stating the obvious here but it seems clear to me that the security detail where all focusing inwards toward the principal and therefore majorly limiting their field of view, totally abandoning their independent Sectors/A.O.R’s (Area Of Responsibility).

This can happen when improper structures are put in place or even when ego comes into play. Each operative should be aware of his or her AOR plus understand and trust the abilities and sectors of their fellow team members. 

I do not claim to be an expert in protective services or even close, my intention of this article is to simply share my personal views and opinions and I hope that someone finds it to be interesting at the very least.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, it is very much appreciated and I value any support with comments or shares greatly!

Until next time,

Justin Casey.   

If you would like to find out more about Close Protection Operative Training then head over to the European Security Academy's website via the link below:

https://www.euseca.com/course/close-protection-operative/

Alternatively you can contact me directly via email at: [email protected]

Also to check out some great articles and insight into the security industry then visit: https://securityoperative.ie/ 

For courses, Videos and resources regarding information security then visit: https://informationwarfarecenter.com/