Executive Protection

The U.S. recently awarded contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars for more private guards in Iraq.
(By Steve Fainaru -- The Washington Post)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009
As the United States withdraws its combat forces from Iraq, the government is hiring more private guards to protect U.S. installations at a cost that could near $1 billion, according to the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

On Sept. 1, the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) awarded contracts expected to be worth $485 million over the next two years to five firms to provide security and patrol services to U.S. bases in Iraq.

Under this contract, the firms will bid against one another for individual orders at specific bases or locations. These "task orders" in the past have ranged from supplying one specialist to providing as many as 1,000 people to handle security for a major base.

Under a similar contract with five security contractors that began in September 2007, the MNF-I spent $253 million through March 2009, with needs growing over that 18-month period. That contract, which was to run three years, had a spending limit of $450 million.

Against that background, the inspector general for reconstruction predicted that costs for private security at U.S. facilities in Iraq "will grow in size to a potential $935 million." The inspector general's report, issued this year, said the MNF-I planned to switch to private guards for Victory Base Camp, one of its largest installations. That facility alone would require "approximately 2,600 security personnel," the report said.

The need for contract guards began growing this year. The Central Command's June quarterly report on contracting showed a 19 percent increase from the three previous months in the number of security guards in Iraq hired by the Defense Department. The Central Command attributed the increase, from 10,743 at the end of March to 13,232 at the end of June, mainly to "an increased need for PSCs [private security companies] to provide security as the military begins to draw down forces."

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United States — Security in Boston, particularly the Mission Hill area, will be very tight Thursday through Saturday (8/29) as politicians and dignitaries from around the country and world arrive to attend services honoring the life of Senator Ted Kennedy.
President Obama will fly from his vacation in Martha's Vineyard to Boston, and deliver Kennedy's eulogy.

The “Boss-napping” trend in France has spurred a new industry which provides advice to executives on how to avoid and prevent becoming a victim of “Boss-napping.” All of this stems from a peculiar French tradition in which laborers resort to kidnapping their “Boss” whenever labor negotiations fail and holding the boss until an agreement can be reached.

It’s a tradition that’s been around for 30 years and is considered an accepted practice in French society. However as more businesses fail and more French workers lose their jobs, boss-napping has increased as of late, putting more executives at risk. Executives who find themselves held hostage by employees are rarely harmed however it’s a crime nonetheless.

Most of the tips coming from consultants who specializing in countering the boss-napping threat are basic personal safety and workplace violence prevention tips combined and common sense such as monitor employee sentiment before labor negotiations, hold negotiations somewhere other than work and carry a pre-programmed cell phone with numbers for family, police and other contacts in the event the executive is threatened or held hostage.

“Boss-napping” might be an accepted practice but regardless what you call it, kidnapping is a crime even in France and acquiescing to such practices only opens the door to a great potential for violence.

Here are the top 10 traits of a successful Executive Protection Specialist. You might or might not have these traits already. If you think you have them, hone them. If you want them, work for them. These traits are not presented in any particular order. They’re all equally important.

Integrity
Candor
Confidence
Discretion
Bearing
Attention to Detail
Responsiveness
Flexibility
Patience
Commitment

These are the type of standards held by premier companies such as RSB International.

I walked in to the United Nations Building today and was confronted with poster after poster of what looks like a dangerous world. From conventional wars to Islamic Terrorism to hostage situations, to crime, the dangers are all around us. We live in a world on the precipice. At any moment any one of us could be killed by a bullet, a bomb, a knife or transportation. We can be taken hostage randomly by terrorist, of any number of natures, or pin pointed by criminals. We cannot be passive in the face of such danger especially when one has a family. We need to take action, we need to protect ourselves.

So what can be done in order to protect ourselves and our families? Move to the moon! That`s the truth, there is no absolutely sure way to protect ourselves. We can take precautions, we can be prepared but one of the fundamental aspects of this reality is that we are fragile and we will die eventually. The questions is how when and why. Most of us want to make it to old age. To make it we need to take care of our physical health as well as to try and ensure that people with bad intentions are defended against. Thus defense has many different natures, cost and levels of protection just as medical health has different natures cost and levels of protection. The major difference between medical health and physical protection is that medical health is seen as a basic human right and physical protection is seen as a luxury reserved for those that can afford it. Most people have some form of physical protection. Personal aggression, carrying a knife or gun or being trained in some marshal art are all forma of physical protection (on the lower end of the cost scale). For those that can afford it executive protection is the best way to ensure personnel physical safety. Companies like RSB International provide personalized physical protection all around the globe. Former Special Forces Israeli soldiers started RSB International because they wanted to put there specialist training in to use in the private sector. RSB International provides intelligence reports to clients, and use intelligence reports to best prepare for the situation that the client finds themselves in. RSB International personnel`s Israeli anti-terror training among other specialist Israeli training provide the company with the best personnel who have been trained by arguably the best trained special forces units in the world.

Physical protection obviously comes at a cost. The cost depends on the level of protection that you may need. If one is an American citizen going to northern Pakistan then there are very high risks and more security would be needed resulting in more costs. On the other hand protection in South Africa during the soccer world cup 2010 would entail less cost due to lower risks and the different nature of those that would attack, in this case petty criminals, hijackers or violent criminals.

In conclusion, regardless of socio-economic level or social status, our protection needs must be treated with the same level of importance and priority as our health; once there is a crisis it is unfortunately often too late if the original problem was left untreated.

In response to the growing concern about a return to violence in Northern Ireland, the Polish Football Association (soccer for us Americans) has arranged for a Polish protective detail to accompany the Polish team to Ireland for the world cup qualifier. The match will be played today amid concerns that terrorism has returned to Northern Ireland as evidenced by the recent deaths of an Irish Police Officer and two British soldiers.

In the background to the recent violence in Northern Ireland is also the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan several weeks ago which heightened the vulnerability of national sports teams as terrorist targets which began with the Munich Olympics in 1972.

Most professional sports complexes have undertaken some measures (with varying degrees of success) to protect both athletes and spectators from terrorism in the aftermath of 9-11. However the high profile of national sports teams, particularly those in international competitions, plus the gathered audience will continue to attract the attention of terrorist groups seeking targets.

Fortunately, Police in Northern Ireland still have extensive experience countering the threat of terrorism and will no doubt be prepared for a variety of contingencies.

During a trial of a former British Royal Protection Officer accused of fraud, allegations surfaced that some Royal Protection Officers at Buckingham Palace routinely reported for duty drunk, slept off hangovers in private rooms in Buckingham Palace, traded porn and steroids in the locker room at Buckingham, handled weapons while drunk, and equally grievous, sat on the Queen’s throne with their feet up and posed for pictures.

There were also allegations that some Royal Protection Officers smuggled friends into Buckingham Palace while members of the Royal family were on the grounds and allowed friends and associates to park their private vehicles at Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Palace whenever their friends and associates went on shopping trips in London.

So far, these are only allegations, but if true, this would be a very serious breach of protection of the Royal family not to mention protocol surrounding the throne.

Protection of the U.K. Royal family falls under the mission of the Metropolitan Police Service’s (the “Met“) Royalty Protection branch which, according to the Met’s website is responsible for:

Personal protection for the Royal Family, both nationally and internationally
Protecting royal residences in London, Windsor and Scotland
Protecting members of the public who visit royal residences
24-hour uniform security and protection operations at some royal residences
Personal protection for European Royal Families visiting the UK
Mobile protection for protected persons and related property, high risk prisoners and vulnerable property within London and for cross-border operations
Planning and co-ordinating joint protection operations
Buckingham Palace has been the site of previous incidents involving security notably in 1982 when an intruder, Michael Fagan, managed to scale the fence one night at Buckingham Palace and made his way into the Queen’s bedroom. The Queen awoke to find Fagan sitting at the end of her bed. When the Queen tried to summon the Royal Protection Officers, no one responded. A chambermaid finally entered the Queen’s bedroom and upon finding Fagan, ran out to get the Police.

In 2003, a journalist managed to get a job at Buckingham Palace using a false reference and was in Buckingham during the visit of then President George W. Bush. A “full investigation” of security at Buckingham was promised soon after the journalist was discovered. There’s no word whether that investigation is still on-going or will be extended in light of the most recent allegations.