Event Security

Operational Communication for Close Protection Operations

LeMareschal

In the world of security operations, one of the most critical areas is communication, which involves constant cooperation and vital information sharing between top-level executives, their respective EA/P/A, the GSOC team, company employees, vendors, and agents working on the ground. Now, if you have been working for any reasonable amount of time in our industry, we are sure that the majority of you have experienced situations where the operation and security of everyone involved has been negatively affected by poor communication, inconsistent communication, or even the complete lack of communication. How information is being shared, what kind of information is being shared, and how/when it is documented is a skill one will quite often learn more readily outside the traditional ‘’EP Schools’’. Considering the fact that many security operations involve a huge number of people and different companies/vendors creating a hierarchy level, coupled with the fact that many companies have a tendency to be highly secretive with the information regarding the operation, you begin to understand how failing to communicate properly will not only create more risks but also will create day to day complications that don’t allow for a smooth operation. This is something that will not only be experienced by anyone secondarily involved, but also by the very protectees themselves. Keep in mind that your clients need peace of mind as well, and they shouldn’t be bothered or have their daily schedule negatively affected by your lack of communication skills or the resulting issues that ensue.

Communication tools

There is a common misbelief (Hollywood and action entertainment are all too often to blame for this) that all EP operations have agents using radios and other high-tech gadgets. In all actuality, the majority of EP agents are required to appear either low profile or not given a radio based on client proximity so they must rely upon and use their cellphones for a majority of their detail communication needs. Using your cellphone may seem like an easy tool and really quite convenient, but there is a downside, and it should also come with specific warnings regarding the pitfalls that come with its use.

Currently, for your operational needs, in order to communicate, you will need some form of a publicly available chat app. Some of the most utilized and popular platforms are Signal, Telegram, Wickr Pro, and Threema, to name a few. The majority of our colleagues have used and are still using WhatsApp, even though the app has been reported for multiple data breaches and leaks, as well as ‘’system shutdowns’’, leaving many colleagues panicked and scrambling to rapidly find an alternative communication system. But no matter how serious the issues that it presents, WhatsApp seems to be yet another example of the phenomenon where people get so accustomed to a product and do not want to change because change means you have to learn to use something new from the ground up and start again. We have had serious resistance from other companies we provided services to, as well as our clients themselves when we asked to use a different and more secure platform. In the end, we and our agents agreed to use WhatsApp as per our clients’ request for them; however, we were utilizing other platforms privately between our own agents. When you are using a third-party App such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, etc., keep in mind that you will never be in control of the safety of the information you are sharing. Never. None of these apps are or ever will be entirely safe. So, when you are deciding, choose carefully based on who has fewer privacy issues, who is the creator (country), who your client is in relation to the creator (can the creators of this app be targeting your client?), what are your operational needs and always make sure you stay on top of the latest changes (social-political, geopolitical as well as company changes) that may affect the risk to your client. There are also paid work chat apps or business apps created for the workplace and personal messaging that promise a safer environment but again, one must take into consideration the fees and accessibility. (Who is paying when there is /more than one company involved and who IS involved, i.e. contractors, employees, 2nd parties, etc.).

Photo by MOHI SYED on Pexels.com

And the available functions and capabilities of each platform need to be vetted thoroughly as well. What are your needs or requirements? Will you be using large group chats? Will you and any size group be able to utilize voice texting? Will you be able to send small packets of information through the groups that you set up? (Pics of critical POIs, BOLO vehicles, onsite venue pics for inbound teams or advances, etc.) These are just a few of the features that operational teams use all the time and finding the right platform for your team’s needs and unique requirements is very important. No one operational has any desire to have any more apps or sites open at once on their personal devices than is absolutely necessary in an effort to try to manage a detail. Less “moving parts” is always better, if possible.

Information flow

During a protective operation, there is information that is crucial and must be passed among the parties involved (as per their responsibilities) and the agents on the ground. For numerous reasons, some individuals who are assigned as an operation manager or contract manager seem to be apprehensive about asking the necessary questions of the client or the people assigned to act on behalf of the client. This apprehension, quite often, is caused by their own insecurity in what they want to ask, fear of a negative response to their request, or the simple fact that they do not know what to ask. Insecurity in what to ask is a skill acquired by time in grade. As we spend time in our Craft, it’s almost impossible not to learn what the correct questions or inquiries would be. Fear of a negative response can be associated with the desire for acceptance or to have the client like them. We all know that what is best for the client’s safety and family security may not exactly be what THEY want…Be prepared to patiently and thoroughly explain the reasoning behind the questions and the resulting decisions. And for those who don’t know what to ask, stay tuned we will share a template one can use as one sees fit for his/her own needs.

When you receive a request to provide protective services, you must ensure that any/all specific information that is necessary for that detail’s success is obtained from the client right away and is passed along immediately to the agents on the ground. How many of us have found ourselves working on short gigs and know nothing or very little about the client? Sometimes even the very basic information that pertains to the gig itself? While we all know that clients can change their minds about what they want from second to second, there is specific information that still must be passed to the agents. This is an inherent need to set your team up for success. Period. Being able to plan ahead, run successful advances, and lower the risk levels, or even eliminate them altogether, means you must have as much information as you can and communicate it properly.

Now, the information flow definitely has two sides. Because the agents on the ground are reacting in real-time during any situation, they are actively aware of new information that must be passed on to the GSOC or the assigned person in charge. It must be done on a consistent basis. This is critical for operational effectiveness. But we all know “that” agent who will put every, little, minute bit of information that he/she may think it is relevant to the task. Always keep this in the back of your mind…While you are communicating with your fellow team members or passing vital information to your GSOC, keep it brief. Short and to the point. Only the facts. K.I.S.S. is the acronym that suits this best…

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

Briefings and De-briefings

I don’t believe that we can accurately highlight enough how important briefings and de-briefings are in our line of work. It seems that more and more, only a handful of companies or team leaders are utilizing them properly or using them at all. This lack comes from basic laziness in people who want to merely save time (Even though you can keep them short if you keep them on point and factual) and/or the absence of needed information. If you have nothing to pass on to your agents, why have one, right? Wrong. You, as a team lead, are not the only one who may have information that needs to be brought to the group. Allow team members to speak and ask questions so that later issues are avoided.

Photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels.com

Communication Briefings are designed to provide necessary information about a client, the detail, events or occurrences and how they all interact, in a quick and effective way. They can also inform your agents about the SOPs, how to carry on specific instructions or corrections/encouragements to how they are performing or changes required to perform their duties. Everyone involved will hear about current risks and key threats in the areas they will be operating and will all be on the same page.

De-briefings are equally important as it gives the team the opportunity to again share any information they gained through the day, identify any issue, discuss risks, possible POIs, improve communication between the team members and provide any additional support or guidance depending on the situation. It may also include discussions about changing tactics for the next day of operations as required due to new informational input gathered. And if there is truly nothing to report at the end of any time period, take the opportunity to boost morale and congratulate the team on a job well done. Remember, while we work very hard to stay out of sight and not draw attention to ourselves, this in no way means that we don’t need encouragement from time to time.

Documentation

After being in this industry for a combined 54 years, we can both tell you how important documentation is (And it will save your position [And your posterior] one day!). If you are an EP agent and part of the team, it doesn’t matter if you have been sending your information and communicating with your fellow team members, your TL, or GSOC during the day. At the end of each shift, or the end of the operational day, you MUST keep a daily report. Your own daily report. In simple words, your own ‘’diary’’. As much as we have been discussing communication during this article, this is the most important form of communication that you can possibly use. It literally is your communication with the future. We know that sounds a bit “out there”, but hear us out. At any one point in the future, you may be called upon to recount a day, event, or occurrence that is critical and it could very well be the difference between safety or an unsafe condition…contract or no contract….Employment or unemployment…Some little detail that will be the deciding factor between simplicity and severity.  And the very fact that you kept an intricate record of your daily operations will be the one factor that makes all the difference in the world. The reason is, the information you (or that has been circulated by others during the shift) may or may not have reported or documented, or the incidents or special client’s requests of that day that may or may not have been registered will be absolutely dependent on the accurate reporting and documentation that you and your team kept. As part of our job is preparing and preventing the worst, keeping your own diary/documentation means you are protecting yourself and the decisions you or your team made at work if you ever are questioned or called in for explanations. It will help you to tell your side of what happened and why you made the decisions you made, what were client’s requests or TL requests, and how you responded. The easiest way to do this is by sending yourself an email at the end of your shift. Besides the information you would obviously include, you will have (because of the e-mail) the time and date also registered.

Ever since there was ever more than one of us in proximity to one another, there is one undeniable fact…To survive, we MUST communicate. Every deciding moment in history has been built around communication. Banners, signs, signal fires, telegraph messages, the Pony Express, Morse code, Enigma, emails, burst satellite…All based on the need for and the understanding of communication. In our Craft, we must be the true professionals, and with this requirement comes the critical need to convey what we know, what we’ve seen, where we’ve been…The list goes on. Now, we know that this article only covers the basics when it comes to the subject of communication, and we realize that. But for those of us in our Craft, these points that we have made in this article are several of the “little things” that come up all too often in any detail AND they are the most frequently abused, ignored, and neglected aspects of what we consider to be a crucial part of any successful operation in close protection. How we communicate. For once we can smoothly, eloquently, accurately, safely, and quickly disseminate information properly, all the other aspects of our task will fall into place.

The Grows

Denida & Chris Grow bring a combined 54 years of international experience in the Protective and Intelligence services. They are based in Seattle, WA, and run their companies LeMareschal, Athena Worldwide and Nannyguards. 

Social Media Investigations and Monitoring for Risk Mitigation Purposes

Featured

The use of social media and the way it affects our lives and businesses have brought a new challenge to the security industry and the protective team’s responsibility. It gives the entire world the ability to look into people’s lives with the mere push of a button. Scandals are created, secrets exposed, and lives ruined. In the case of personal security, social media can be used in the advancement of a protective detail; however, one must know how to utilize it properly. Today, we will talk about Social Media Investigations and Monitoring. For those who are not aware of the term, as we utilize it in protection circles, Social Media Investigation and Monitoring is the process by which you can identify what is being said about your clients, a brand they represent, or the corporations with which they are involved and any threats or dangers that may exist in relation to those aspects.

As we sift through different social media platforms and online channels, we must then determine if what is being said has any significance regarding your clients’ reputation, persona, and safety and if there is the need to mitigate any risks. In other words, it’s like setting up an online, social media “net”. This process then helps you discover everything that is being said, written about, or portrayed on social media and determine its relevance to your clients. You can gather information about the ‘’public opinion’’ surrounding your clients, about people or entities who are angry with them for one reason or the other, people who are obsessed with them, or people who are making online threats. SOCMINT or Social Media Intelligence (not to be confused with OSINT) has seen a huge rise in necessity due to the use of social media and a competent protective detail needs to always be informed and social media investigations and monitoring are a huge part of this process. 

Now, let’s see some examples of how social media investigations and monitoring applies in protective services. Let’s say one of the people you are protecting belongs to a large pharmaceutical company and they decided to raise the price of a specific drug, thus affecting the lives and wellbeing of thousands of people. Perhaps another client is involved in a financial institution that quite suddenly makes a significant decision that affects people’s lifetime savings and pensions. You can imagine that there will be a significant number of people who become very angry, and some may want to harm your client. During the recent pandemic, there were a number of “anti-vaxx” groups that were quite vocal and utilized Facebook as one of their many platforms to accomplish their goals. Another example would be the need to discover if there is someone using your client’s name or company to scam others and commit crimes.

We are sure that many of you today are aware of the infamous ‘’Tinder Swindler’’, Shimon Yehuda Hayut, who legally changed his name to Simon Leviev to pretend to be the son of the billionaire Lev Leviev and used his name and company logos to scam people. Although his actions were known since 2017, it was only after the airing of the Netflix documentary in 2022 that the Leviev family found out and filed a lawsuit against Hayut for falsely portraying himself as the son of Lev Leviev, receiving benefits, and committing crimes.

According to Leviev’s family attorney, Guy Ophir, they will now include anyone who has attempted to make a profit from his scam during the next lawsuit. What we can ask is, as security providers, why didn’t someone from the real Leviev family ever discover this scam artist who was extremely public and active on social media as the ‘’son of Lev Leviev’’? Although the real family members were never part of this fraudulent scheme, and it didn’t appear to affect their safety, it did, however, involve their name/brand in a very public and negative way. In other words, it should have definitely been considered as a threat to their reputation. Other people who were harmed by this scam artist were the businesses who did work with them, and their secondary service providers as well. 

Another interesting case to mention is Elon Musk where he, the actual client, took it upon himself to “solve” the issue and directly contacted the person of interest who had begun posting his private flight details and created the security risk for him and was literally blackmailing him unless the POI was paid. According to media reports “Elon Musk states social-media accounts that track his travel movements are ‘becoming a security issue.” Tail numbers and yacht names of billionaires are increasingly being shared on online platforms and one can track them by having the appropriate app unless significant efforts are made to secure them from the reach of those diligent few. These are some unique specific details that the security team needs to pay close attention to at all times.

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Since Social Media platforms are the way people today communicate with each other, we as security providers must keep in mind that this is not always a positive aspect. Perhaps a person or persons will utilize social media to collectively gather people with their same goal or mission, to get together and plan their next move (Example: protesting outside your client’s house or corporation). In this case, you will want to know what is being said online about the person you protect to determine if there is something of extreme necessity to include in your risk and threat assessment and then take protective measures as well as inform their legal department.

As we have all witnessed too many times, it only takes one well-placed picture or story regarding some alleged activity on the part of your client, and it will go viral quickly, truth or not. Staying one step ahead of this type of “attack” has become a crucial necessity in order to protect your client from embarrassment or exposure. One of the most common issues in recent history is when personnel close to the client i.e., family, staff, vendors, and any other secondary customers post pictures, stories, or opinions and subsequently fail to understand the negative effect these types of communications can and will have on the client’s life, business, and the lives of their loved ones.

Why do you need a Social Media Investigations and Monitoring Strategy when you are a security services provider? To summarize we can say:  

1) To identify new threats. 

2) To discover what information about your client is posted online either by himself, the ones close to him, or his employees and evaluate how these affect his safety. 

3) To evaluate a threat (someone is posting online threats directed at your client).

4) To add to your due diligence.

5) To geolocate a picture or a video, sometimes even audio. 

6) To include any findings in your Risk and Threat Assessment (We can never highlight this enough, social media surveys and investigations are now a critical part of your Risk and Threat Assessments).

7) To find people obsessed with or following your clients (stalkers).

8) To identify hate groups or terrorist organizations that may affect your client.

9) To identify people or businesses your client may or may not want to do business with.

10)To mitigate risks from the information found online about the person you protect (How are the pictures of my client used or tampered with and for what purpose?).

11)To identify if someone is impersonating your client or a family member.

12)To find out if your client’s moves/visits/travels are posted online (Exposing them to others who may be in the same hotel, conference room, restaurant). 

13)To identify workplace violence or insider threat indicators.

14)To find out what is the ‘’public opinion’’ regarding your client (Always keep an eye on what is being said about your client and have a strategy to respond). 

15)To determine if a person or persons are utilizing your client’s name or business name in a malicious or unauthorized manner for their own personal gain. (Claiming associations or partnerships, etc.)

How to perform Social Media Monitoring for security purposes? 

First, let’s clarify one important thing. ‘’Googling it’’ is not enough, nor is it the answer. There are a number of search sites that allow for user input thus watering down or contaminating information and it’s accuracy. For those who are not aware, Social Media Investigations and Monitoring is quite a different department of protective services and quite often falls under Intelligence Analysis and Open-Source Intelligence. It requires unique skills and knowledge. One must clearly understand different social media and research platforms and how to use each one of them (and/or in combination) to obtain information. How you will approach each case is different and certainly depends on who your client is, their business, close relations, and/or their public image. This will directly affect the searches and the resources used and for what purpose. It is vital in our current day and age to include SOCMINT (Social Media Intelligence) in your client’s service proposal, no matter how public the person may or may not be. Hiring ten Executive Protection agents and a Residential Security Team is not enough anymore. SOCMINT services are a vital part of your Risk and Threat Assessments (Dynamic Risk Assessments too) and enable your protective detail to function more efficiently. 

For those who can not provide a certified Social Media Investigator for their clients, follow up with these steps:

1)Understand who your client is, his/her background, the threats, where do they stand in political, social, financial sectors.

2)Be aware of any of the latest changes in your clients’ lifestyle, public opinions, and professional decisions. 

3)Be aware of any of their political and social changes. Watch the news from multiple channels. 

4)Familiarize yourself with all close family, friends, staff, and associates and their respective social media footprints.

5)Set up a social media investigation and monitoring strategy. 

6)Have a good understanding of the Intelligence Cycle (How the intel is being collected, analyzed, disseminated, reviewed, etc.).

7)Have a good understanding of the search tools on different platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Reddit, etc.) 

8)Do research on the available search engines and the strengths and limitations each one may have. 

9)Know how to conduct image, video, and audio research and gather intelligence from them.

10)Invest in appropriate platforms for social media investigations and monitoring (Have in mind, NEVER rely on one platform’s result or just platforms’ results. The user/investigator is the main component of a social media investigation). 

11)Download and use appropriate search engine extensions and apps. 

12)Invest time in creating ‘’sock puppets’’ or fake profiles and maintain their persona. Sometimes you may need a profile to have access to different forums or groups without being discovered.

13)Train yourself in link analysis (How to look for connections between people, events, and organizations).

14)Set keyword alerts (In multiple languages in case your client has ties with more than one country).

15)Gather, analyze, evaluate, and report your findings to the appropriate department or leadership.  

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

As the threat landscape changes every day, we as protection providers must be able to adapt and keep ourselves up to date with additional training. Today’s executive protection agent must also be skilled and knowledgeable in investigations, open-source intelligence, protective intelligence, HUMINT, and have an increased understanding of cyber security. Large corporations have already created their own embedded intelligence departments, while others are hiring threat analysts and OSINT investigations from outside security providers. The rise of protective intelligence, and whatever that includes, is here to stay and we are seeing it more and more through the highly increased number of related job postings every day. 

If you are an Executive Protection Agent and want to learn more on how to utilize Social Media Investigations and Monitoring for Risk Mitigation Purposes, reach out to us.

f you are a service provider and want to add Social Media Investigations and Monitoring for Risk Mitigation Purposes on your service list, contact us to learn about our vendor services. 

Chris Grow

AUS Global Special Services Travel Team

Managing Partner LeMareschal LLC

Denida Grow

Founder & CEO

Athena Worldwide 

Nannyguards

Managing Partner LeMareschal LLC

Mentoring Security Professionals

LeMareschal

We will be launching a series of educational webinars that are absolutely free to attend. The aim of the webinars won’t be to present people and their past stories, but to have specific guests who will combine their experience and training in the industry in order to teach you something new, to help your professional development and to provide consultation for you. They will share their opinions, the “do and don’ts” of the industry and answer your questions.

And the best part? The content of each webinar will be developed by you! While we are working on our next webinars, let us know either by a comment here or via email at info@lemareschal.com what topics would you be interested in having discussed, answered and/or receive consultation on? This is a webinar created for you, by you!

Executive Protection Agents in a Rare Interview with a Retired Paparazzi

LeMareschal

It’s not very often when we have the ability to interview and learn from our adversaries. While most efforts are seemingly focused only on physical attacks, they do not give enough emphasis to the paparazzi, media, and all that this facet of protection entails. But we’ve got you covered. This is an interview we have been wanting to do for the last 5 years. What we learned from a retired British paparazzi is that pointing a flashlight toward them won’t work, neither you are safe if you block the tail number from your private jet. We also learned how they find information about your clients, who are willing to pay a lot of money to buy your pictures (no, it is not only the media outlets), to what length they will go to distract you and get that picture and why you will be not able to buy their silence.

*Disclaimer: During this interview, you may encounter offensive language content within the realm of your site.*

** For permission to use this video please contact info@lemareschal.com**

***Copyright @Athena Worldwide, a LeMareschal LLC company. Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action.***

The challenges for protecting Public Figures- The Macron Incident

LeMareschal

The latest incident with French President Emmanuel Macron being slapped by someone in the crowd has once again fired up the keyboard warriors who take any incident (video or picture) such as this and claim how improperly the Executive Protection team functioned and what would they have done differently and, of course, be more successful. As a Greek proverb says ‘’Whoever is outside the dance (floor), can sing many songs’’ Meaning: It is easy to talk about something when you are not the one involved in it. 

As security practitioners, we must be very careful what we say online, keeping in mind, whatever you post online stays online even if you delete it minutes later. We should not criticize security details and/or the people involved because we do not know all the facts, details, limitations and the full story. When you post a comment on a 10-second video, you may not have the full story. You do not know what happened before or after the incident. What you see in a photo may not be the full picture. It doesn’t make you any more ‘’professional’’ when you try to spot the wrong moves in an incident where you weren’t involved and you do not know all the parameters: you are just assuming.

In this case, we heard many opinions:

‘’Why didn’t they keep standard formation?’’- How can you keep standard formation when your principal is anticipating close interaction with a member of the crowd? Greeting lines are extremely tedious and are one of the most difficult situations to read and provide protection.

‘’The reaction time was slow.’’- The reaction time always seems to be slower when you see an incident on a video over and over again rather than being involved with it in real-time in the field.

‘’They were lucky he wasn’t holding a knife.’’ – Actually someone did their job well and made sure he (or anyone else in the crowd) wasn’t holding a weapon. What most fail to understand is that these crowds are previously checked for anything that can be used as a weapon.

‘’Why didn’t they saw that coming?’’ – They don’t teach ESP at Executive Protection schools…

‘’Why didn’t someone teach Macron?’’ – Most protectees won’t sit down and learn from you about protection, they want you to protect them. It’s not their job to know how to do yours…Why do you think you’re employed?

Now let’s address some challenges for protecting public figures and try to make some rational sense of all of this.

Protecting people whose identity depends on the public, such as politicians, in this case, is very much different than protecting a C-Suite executive for example. A politician needs the interaction with public. They shake hands, hug, get pictures with and celebrate with large crowds. Having people like them is what makes people vote for them, and they need to look and act quite approachable to everyone in order to gain votes. If they don’t get the votes, well, then they no longer hold their current political position. They have to attend gatherings and events and most of those functions may be outside of your span of control regarding organizing it. You have to provide services as best as you can with what you have and minimize whatever limitations you can. 

In this case ‘’the unknown crowd’’ is the issue. The ‘’crowd’’ provides a good opportunity for the enemy to blend in, act and even escape in some cases. Also, as most public appearances are preplanned and announced, the enemy has the time to be prepared for the attack. And when we say attack, let’s clarify that “attack on your principal” is not only an assassination or physical harm but also an attack on his/her personality, reputation or by causing embarrassment. 

While most EP training schools focus only on physical attacks, have in mind causing embarrassing situations may be something your principal is particularly vulnerable and endangered by, thus it is something you must be prepared to prevent. Making sure the crowd has been checked for anything that can be used as a weapon doesn’t mean you are safe from an embarrassing situation. Paying attention to people’s hands and what they are carrying doesn’t mean you can be sure about the intention of a handshake. A handshake can become a pat on the shoulder or a slap on the face. How would you know the intentions of the handshake and act within 2 seconds to prevent it? You must be in very close proximity to do that and sometimes you have limitations on how close you can be with your principal, particularly when they are interacting with the public and potential voters. When any public figure decides he/she want to come within close proximity of a voter, you are required to break the standard formations and you cannot have security between the voter and the principal because they need that ‘’personal space’’.

Act too aggressive and they will perceive this position as very unapproachable, something that goes against your principal’s political campaigns. So you have limitations or adaptations to perform your protective job competently. 

Another thing to consider is that some protectees will appear uncooperative with you and your suggestions or directions. They will do the exact opposite of what you have instructed them to do or whatever the plan was because they thought doing something different was ok, safe or was suggested at the last minute by their campaign manager. Some protectees will ask you to protect them no matter what. The fact that they won’t consider changing their lifestyle, and you have to do your best, becomes another facet of the ever-evolving detail.

Have we forgotten the flying shoe incident with President Bush in a press conference in 2008? The red paint thrown at Mary Harney, Ireland’s Health Minister in November 2010? Berlusconi’s nose being broken and two teeth knocked out when a man attending a political rally threw the statuette of Milan’s Duomo gothic cathedral straight in his face in 2009? Eggs being thrown at Bill Clinton in Warsaw, Poland? Nicolas Sarkozy being a victim of a flying pie in 1997? The book thrown at Obama in 2010? The glitter attack on Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlently in 2011? Pope being attacked by a woman who jumped barriers at St Peter’s Basilica and knocked him down in 2009? The famous slap on Dimitra Liani Papandreou, the widow of ex Greek PM at her book signing by a woman who appears to be there to sign her book? Bill Gates’ “Pie-to-the-Face” fiasco? There are so many more similar incidents including paint, body fluids, pies, yoghurt, vegetables, flour and even flashing body parts such as the Femen members who went toplessness in front of the EU-Russia summit, in Brussels, in December 2012.

Can we criticize the EP team members involved in these incidents? Can we say that you would have done better after the incident has taken place? From the moment you have a complete crowd check for weapons, you are in a “secure” space. But what leads you to believe that you have a better understanding regarding the mental status of someone who appears to be a voter or a fan? Can you honestly guess his motives if he/she wants to slap, or spit or in some way embarrass your client?

If you haven’t provided security details for Public Figures, it may seem easy for you to criticize an incident like this, but criticizing what you don’t know and just assuming doesn’t make you right and it very well may show your ignorance. Instead, use this incident as a reminder that people will use anything to harm your client’s reputation and their imagination can be big and quite unpleasant. Keep it as a learning tool for yourself and yet another scenario in your head of what you would or wouldn’t do if…

Denida Grow

Managing Partner

LeMareschal LLC

Founder & CEO

Athena Worldwide

Nannyguards

Things to consider before you hire an Executive Protection team aka Bodyguards

LeMareschal

 To all CEOs, celebrities, VIPs and high value individuals…

At some point in your careers, you will most likely find the need to retain, or at the very least, inquire about close protection services for yourselves, your loved ones and possibly for those you employ closest to you.
      Now, the list of companies and corporations that provide these type of services is quite lengthy and, while at first they all appear very impressive, you need to be thorough as you take a deep look at them and the ideals and morals they represent. Again, you are searching for the perfect fit that best protects yourselves, your families, employees and all things that you need secured and confidential.
      A quite disturbing trend as of late has been the repeated posting of pics with you as the client, at your locations and in front of your vehicles, private planes, residences, etc. while boasting about the details of who you might be, what was happening or other items of a secure nature. Now, this is entirely unacceptable no matter what the terms or conditions of their employment may be with you. You, and all that that may encompass, are to be secure, confidential and invisible for all intents and purposes. Period.
      Social media has become the source of all communications amongst a great number of these entities and this in turn has led to a trend of exposing enormous amounts of confidential client information when it is not only unnecessary but highly unprofessional and, frankly, childish. At times, it has even been portrayed as “marketing” when, in it’s true form, it’s nothing more than schoolyard bragging.
      So, when researching a prospective organization that you perceive may be the one you will choose, a thorough search of all related social media should be performed. The company’s sites, the reviews and even the social media sites of any/all possible employees that you might hire from their corporation. If they are willing to expose their previous clients with seemingly reckless abandon, you will most likely be the next celebrity/VIP pic that hits the Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn circuit and that is, I’m quite sure, not your desire at all.
      Many companies will show an endless supply of “tactical” pictures, extreme condition photos, worst case scenario snapshots, etc. Please understand that most of the organizations are composed of a large number of former military members, former LEO/SWAT members and private security contractors who have “been there & done that”. But it is always wise to remember that while these skills are highly advantageous should everything go tragically wrong in your day, these type of days should never happen if the proper planning is performed which is completely above and beyond the “hard skills” as they are often referred to.
      Another highly recommended item is a detailed NDA and total social media blackout for all involved. Leave nothing to chance and be very clear regarding the seriousness that this represents to you and the severity of disciplinary action should it be violated. Again, you and all you hold most dear are to be secure, confidential and private and definitely NOT on the front page of a local newspaper, tabloid, media page or out to the highest bidder.
      Always remember this…You came looking to us with your concerns and fears, placing your overall well-being in our capable hands. With that in mind, you should always feel protected, safe and secure from anyone or anything that might wish to harm you. And that harm should NEVER be at the hands of the very people whom you have so willingly trusted to provide the very best security, protection and peace of mind.

Denida Zinxhiria Grow

Founder & CEO

Athena Worldwide

Athena Academy

Nannyguards

At Athena Worldwide we are industry leaders in promoting, training, and staffing female bodyguards internationally. With our affiliate offices, we can provide worldwide close protection and executive protection services for entertainment professionals, politicians, CEOs, Royal Families, journalists, clergy, and corporate personnel. Want to find out more about female bodyguards? visit www.athenaworldwide.com

Executive Protection – Realities of the Industry and the Ugly Truth

LeMareschal

I haven’t written in a long time, so I thought to say goodbye to this Year with an old topic. The real world of Executive Protection with all its truths and myths.

Many newcomers in the profession have a completely different idea of what the profession is, based on what they have heard or what Hollywood tells them it is. This lack of “truth” either leaves them disappointed or leaves them vulnerable to making mistakes while on duty.

It is common in our industry to see many of our colleagues posting pictures on the internet social media sites of “selfies” taken in first class airline seats or in the client’s private jet. More selfies show them with their feet up on a suitcase claiming ‘’another flight’’, or posting from 5 and 6 star hotel rooms or from the finer restaurants, or next to a limousine parked next to a jet.

The reality is that the majorities of these pictures are either staged or were taken while not actually working a security detail. I have seen colleagues, ask or even offer to pay  to stand next to a private jet. They put on their best 100 dollar suit, shiny 30 dollar Timex watch and 12 dollar dark sunglasses and “pose” next to someone else’s 10 million dollar jet. And I have seen aircraft tail numbers show up in these photos and for fun, ran the numbers, located the owners, and even tracked the flights.

The reality is anyone can pose anywhere and anytime and make it look like they are working. Anyone can ask a limo driver to take a picture of them next to that limo. When you are in such dire need to brag about your job to others that you put your client’s health and safety at risk, who in our industry would ever work with you or recommend you to others?

If I could only call out the people I know who were on vacations with their families and they post pictures pretending to be on a detail. I even know people who traveled to third world countries to meet their ‘’online’’ girlfriend or boyfriend and they posted pictures as working a detail in those countries.

The reality is, when you work for someone, it is rare to have a first class airline seat next to them on a 6 hour flight. Most clients, no matter how wealthy they are will book you an economy seat. Yes, there are a few clients who will book first class for their CPOs but to qualify to work for these clients you must already be well established in the industry and have a plethora of industry history and references.

The reality is that when you work with a well-trained team, you will work on rotations and schedules that allow for only two things: keeping the client safe and getting to bed to get enough sleep to be able to do it again tomorrow. Anyone who has the time to ‘’enjoy’’ taking pictures has probably too much time on their hands and maybe isn’t working at all.  And if you are working alone, you cannot spare the laps in attention to your client to focus on yourself.

I have been in rotations where after work I was so tired that I didn’t have the energy or interest to call my family. This is usually due to working long shifts alone which is a situation worth discussing in another article.

The reality is when your client travels, they may be working or on vacation but if you travel with them, you are always working. You will always get less sleep than your client. When they finally retire for the evening, you are up another few hours planning and preparing for the next day. When they wake, it might be because you are responsible for waking them, which means you are up a couple of hours before them.

While working, you have to focus on your client’s needs. Finding time to eat and go to the bathroom is not your client’s responsibility or even on their mind. If you want to eat, you have to find your own way to do it quickly. If you need to empty your bladder, you have to leave sight of your client and return quickly. If it is not safe to leave your client, then you choose to either hold it, or make other arrangement. This is hard enough as a male but as a female, it is nearly impossible to improvise. Again, a subject for future articles.

The reality is you will need to find time to eat, sleep, shower, go to the bathroom, write reports, call your family, pay your bills, clean your clothes, charge your equipment batteries, train, stretch, exercise, and accomplish other normal life tasks and all outside of the client’s view.

You will find yourself doing things you wouldn’t do in your personal life, because you have to adapt to your client’s activities. And you will need to be an expert in your client’s extracurricular activities to enable you to not just accompany them but to identify threats to their safety. Riding elephants or horses, scuba diving, skydiving, hunting, mountain biking… And if you know you are not qualified, learn when to partner with or hire your own replacement for the activity.

You will find yourself in presence of heated family conversations and you are asked to take a side.You know its unprofessional to choose a side and you have to find a diplomatic answer within seconds. You will see behaviors and listen to words that will challenge your own personal and professional ethics. And again you will adapt or fail.

You will find yourself in challenging environments too. (I developed asthma working in Mumbai), you may get food or water poisoning, malaria, and even get worms from food.

You will have to work with people who have no training or they have been trained differently than you. Some “professionals” in our industry are great with weapons or driving but have no concept of controlling body odor. They speak 4 languages but can’t drive a car, they can cook any meal out of any cookbook but can’t provide first-aid on an insect bite or gunshot wound.

The reality is that people who come from different cultures and have different perspectives regarding punctuality, performance of their duties, and the common traits of professionalism have no clue that every decision they make from their clothing, language skills, hygiene habits and skill are all measured by the clients who would hire them.

The reality is that true professionals will not let themselves be photographed by others and certainly would never photograph themselves while working. And they will not want to work with those who do.

Professionals will know the difference between ethics and etiquette and follow the rules of each. Doing anything to compromise your client’s business or personal privacy is not just a mistake, it is a catastrophic attack on my industry and my ability to earn a living in it. I will continue to counter these attacks with my articles.

Professionals will know how to dress for any occasion their clients may invite them into and know how to negotiate with the client to avoid unsafe activities and conditions.

Professionals will know how to do one-hundred things in the company of their client that will never be acknowledged or appreciated and a thousand things near their client that will never be seen or known.

The reality is if you seek recognition in this industry for the function you are being paid to perform, you are not a true professional and have no business in the Executive Protection Industry. You will be looked upon as a cancer to those of us who remain silent and invisible while in the company of our clients.

 

Denida Zinxhiria

Founder & CEO

Athena Worldwide LLC

Athena Academy

Nannyguards

http://www.athenaworldwide.com

http://www.nannyguards.com

 

 

The importance of being a responsible and safety-conscious citizen in your community

LeMareschal

I wrote this article due to a horrible crime that took place several days ago in Greece. A 34-year-old woman returning home late at night, while unlocking the door of her apartment building, was grabbed and pulled away by a violent criminal. She was raped, beaten, doused with gasoline, and then set on fire while still alive. Despite living in a crowded neighborhood where many people heard her screaming, not a single person went out to see what was happening until it was too late. The most horrible part is that both her father and brother could hear a woman screaming, but they never thought it was their beloved family member…

The criminal, a 27-year-old, who has been accused in the past of sexual attacks by other victims, had been released back into society due to a lack of evidence to convict him. He was described as a male with strange and abusive behavior toward women, and he was stalking the victim for a long time. The blame cannot be solely shouldered by the Greek Justice and Authorities for allowing this man to continue his abusive acts, which ultimately ended the horrible murder of this woman.

I would like to raise the attention to the fact that people in today’s society fail to care about others or act to assist someone in distress. If one of the neighbors, hearing her first screams, had gone outside and yelled at the criminal or made their presence known, might have assisted in stopping the crime, which would have saved the poor woman’s life. Witnesses said they heard a woman screaming, but they were scared to go outside and see what was wrong. Several just didn’t think it was something serious enough to investigate. It must be horrible for the family members and neighbors to know they could have saved this woman’s life if they had acted instead of hiding. This lack of action will most likely haunt the community for a long time.

We are obviously not responsible for the actions of criminals within our community. However, we are accountable for our actions or lack thereof. Being a responsible citizen that cares about their neighbors can save lives. You don’t have to be the hero that will stop the crime by physically engaging the criminal. You can be the hero by just paying attention and reporting suspicious or criminal acts. Let’s think about it, maybe the victim wasn’t our sister or daughter, but if it was, wouldn’t we pray that someone would act if they heard her screams for help and react fast enough to save her? I’m sure we all would pray for that.

Leaving the comfort of your couch and going out to see what’s taking place can save people’s lives. Criminals don’t want to be captured and usually flee if confronted by witnesses. Making criminals aware that someone is watching is a powerful deterrent to their criminal activity and makes for a much safer community

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Denida Zinxhiria

Founder & CEO

Athena Worldwide

Nannyguards

Section: Professional Advices from Experienced Close Protection Operatives around the world.

LeMareschal2 Comments

So you want to be a bodyguard?

Lets have a look on a 48hours detail of a close protection agent.

By Dave Marris

High Risk Security Contractor & Security Consultant

I have been pounded recently by requests from Facebook, and a couple of other sources, by requests from various people wanting to know how they can become involved in the world of protection/security. Most are looking for that “silver bullet” that will rocket them to the top of the EP world in one fell swoop. I try constantly to educate them that this short cut is very, very hard to accomplish. A few have done it, based off of their connections in certain industries, but most do not. There really is no shortcut; there is no silver bullet, only hard work, long hours and a LOT of money invested in training and equipment. It takes YEARS to develop the skill and mindset to qualify you to properly perform this work. Think long and hard before you decide that this is what you want to do for a living. It can be a very stressful way to make a living.

On to the point. I just recently performed a 2 day assignment for a friend of a friend. For those aspiring people that would like to get involved in the industry, I will share “a day in the life” with you. This is a no holds barred description and timeline of a typical 2 day assignment. No glitz, no glam…just a rock hard description of the type of work you are getting yourself into. I myself, I love it…always have. However I warn you, this work is not for the weak of heart, mind, body or spirit. What follows is a 40 hour plus, non-stop roller coaster ride, with zero sleep. To those of you that may think this would be easy…I challenge you to try it, staying awake that long. And remember, you will be performing it sans any stress at all.

This is a long read. Think so? You should try DOING it…

BTW, all information shared here is open source material. No OPSEC information with-in the assignment has been compromised.

Client: The Cleopatra Exhibit, along with 2 principles.

Objective: Guarantee safe transport of two Egyptian Nationals and approximately 300 million dollars worth of Egyptian artifacts (3 tractor and trailers) from current venue in Philadelphia, PA to new venue in Cincinnati, OH.

My Position: ATL, team medic.

Special Equipment: Motorola radios, personal handguns, 1 x long gun-Bushmaster M-4, 1 x shotgun-Mossberg 500, medical gear, GPS.

Timeline: Trucks and PAX MUST arrive at new venue by 0800 of day 2. A press conference is scheduled for 0900 and the one 5,000 pound statue must be uncrated by then so as to be used as a center piece for the cameras. Contractual clause states payment will not be rendered to security company should failure of timeline occur. At no time is any one truck to be separated, either all arrive or all do not. No truck is to be opened at any time by anyone other than the two Egyptians. To do so would cause the curse of 1,000 years and so on… (Rolls eyes.)

My Earnings: $1,000 US dollars, pre tax.

Day 1 (This is all day one as you have to sleep in order for it to count as two days)

0800: Meet with the team to discuss overall plan of operation, routes, comms, etc.

0845: Team splits to accomplish pickup of rental vehicles and inspect loaded trucks at storage location. Sub-Team 1 will pick up clients; Sub-Team 2 will take possession of trucks, check seals, secure and stage trucks for movement. Sub-Team 3 accompanies Team 1.

1000: Sub-Teams meet at storage facility, enter order of march, confirm discussion from earlier meeting. One of the Egyptian Nationals is sick, vomiting and diarrhea. Neither speaks much English and no interpreter has been assigned by the client. This information was never discussed prior to jump-off time. Egyptian National insists on making the trip anyway. Being the team medic, I dispense over the counter meds and some Flagyl to help control the sickness.

1045: Convoy departs Philadelphia for Cincinnati, timeline allows for transit time, including stops and fueling of 14-16 hours, which should put us into Cincinnati well ahead of schedule.

1200: The sick Egyptian needs to stop for a bathroom break. I administer 2 more Imodium to try to stop the diarrhea. Team 2 vehicle (client team) smells like a bad sewer. All chase vehicles refuel since the opportunity presents itself.

1600: Proximity Pittsburg, PA fuel/bathroom stop in major route truck stop. Light snow has begun to fall. One of the drivers of the trucks now decides to pull his truck onto the “free” scale at the truck stop. Up to this point we had not hit a weigh station. Driver informs TL that his vehicle is +- 2,000 pounds above the maximum allowed for his wheelbase. This is a major issue as there are a number of state weigh stations between us and the destination, where the trucks are required to stop, enforced by State Police. This truck will not be allowed to continue if found to be over weight. Security is informed that we will be delayed until a resolution comes from the trucking company about how to proceed. I inquire about length of delay and am told we can not proceed until the green light is given by someone from the trucking company to accept liability. We move trucks and escort vehicles into a defensive posture. TL and truckers hold up with comms in one of the trucks, making numerous phone calls. I extricate my long gun from its case, brought for this very reason, and several jaws hit the street. (Fuck ‘em, it’s my ass.) After 2 hours of chatter and delays while the snow has continued to fall and accumulate, I go over to the “meeting truck” and pound on the door, climb up into the cab. More conversation and I finally convince the driver to continue. If we see an open weigh station, we will pull over, stop and deal with it then. Until then, we roll.

1830: Depart the truck stop.

2000: Approaching Wheeling, WV. The snow has increased from light to something else. Visibility is lowering, as is our speed. We are now traveling at an average of 40 MPH. The chase vehicles are 4WD but the TT trucks are carrying precious cargo, so the speed drop is critical and necessary. We are losing precious time, but still have plenty of time to complete the trip with a few hours to spare.

2130: Approaching the Ohio border, truck 3 calls out over the radio that he has a mechanical problem. Snow has continued and speed has dropped to 25 MPH. His alternator light has come on and his truck computer has dropped his power output to half to save the batteries. Truck 1 informs the convoy that there is a truck stop not far from where we are, and since truck 3 has a small internal generator, he should be able to make it.

2150: At the truck stop we lift the engine cover to find that the serpentine belt on the engine of truck 3 has broken. The broken belt whipped around and also took out the tension pulley. Not good. The truck can not go far without proper repair. Several phone calls are made and a repair shop is open within 4 miles of our current position. They however do not have the parts. The parts will be have to be brought in from another location. This truck is the climatically controlled truck of the 3 and the seals of this truck can not be broken in an uncontrolled environment, so calling another truck to transfer the cargo is not possible. We load up and drive to the repair shop. Good news is the sick Egyptian principle is feeling much better. She wants to know where the “doctor” studied medicine.

2230: After arriving at the repair shop, truck 3 is pulled into the repair bay. The owner wanted to disconnect the tractor from the trailer so that the climate control generator fumes would not make the air in the shop foul. I was tasked with staying with the truck in the repair bay while the rest of the team set security outside. (Remember the long gun?) I told him to open a window. The repair guys were not happy with the fact that I was carrying a rifle in their shop. I told them to get over it and I guess they did.

2300: Parts arrive along with a mechanic that is a specialist with this kind of work. He can not give me a timeline for the repair. I ask him to please hurry.

2345: The mechanic informs me that the shop will be closing at midnight and he does not know if the repair will be completed by then. I tell the mechanic’s helper to go and find the shop owner, and call the TL on the radio and ask her to come inside. With all players there, I inform the TL of the problem. She asks me what I think and I state that I think the shop will be extending hours for the evening. The shop owner agrees. (I sincerely believe this had everything to do with the fact that I had an M-4 slung over my shoulder.)

0030: Repair complete. Per the TL’s orders I flip the owner of the shop a hundred bucks and the mechanic fifty for being good sports. The next obstacle will be the weigh stations.

0045: Order of march is resumed. Snow continues to fall heavily and roads are becoming covered and slick. Average speed is 35 to 40 MPH and we are still some 200 miles from the destination. Luckily for us the weigh station that caused the earlier concern is closed due to the crappy weather. We roll by without incident.

0245: Approximately 100 miles from destination we stop at yet another truck stop for fuel and coffee. Snow continues to dog us and everyone is a bit irritable and tired. We have been switching off drivers, but the contract calls for 100% alert, so no one has slept.

0315: Back on the road. Visibility and road conditions have continued to deteriorate. Lead truck driver is considering calling the roads to hazardous to continue. The TL calls him on the radio and tells him this is unacceptable and we need to continue even if at 25 MPH.

0415: Like magic, the snow suddenly stops. 5 miles further up the road, there is not even any sign of the snow. Ohio is a weird place. We push to 70 MPH and start to make some time. I am driving and tired and beginning to see ninjas with poison dart blowguns peering out from the bushes on the side of the road.

0630: Arrive at the venue with 1 and a half hours to spare. That’s right, we bad. Despite the need to overcome a number of obstacles…success.

0730: Trucks are staged at the loading docks. Local union workers begin unloading the first of the 3 trucks.

0800: Press and television crews begin to arrive. They are filming the unloading and set up process for the statue. Our team is asked to help with securing the area and checking entry credentials, since this is a private event.

0900: The press conference begins.

1100: Press conference runs overtime. Unloading of the trucks begin. This process is incredibly slow as the Egyptians insist on touching every crate as it comes out of the trucks, then mumbling a few words. This is compounded by the fact that every piece of the display is considered “priceless” and must be handled with utmost care. We are contractually bound to supervise the unloading process.

1500: Unloading is complete. We say our goodbyes and head to Daton airport to catch a 1700 flight back to Philly. Downtown traffic is bad and we are delayed enough to miss our flight. After an hour at the airline counter, we are finally put on a flight to Philly via Newark. We have very little time between flights, and we are all traveling with weapons in Pelican cases. If we miss the connector in Newark, out weapons will be on the baggage carousel unattended in Philly.

1935: Depart Daton.

2050: Arrive Newark.

2150: Depart Newark.

2230: Arrive Philadelphia.

2245: Wife and son arrive at the airport to pick me up.

0000: After a shower and a stiff Jack Daniel’s (hey I earned it), off to bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Seriously.

Do you know who you are hiring?

LeMareschal1 Comment

Do we really know what the role of the Close Protection Agent is? Do we really know what characteristics they must have before we start hiring people?

We have taken many times in the past analyzing what kind of training a CPO must have gone through, but this time, after the recent incident with Kate Middleton’s bodyguard I thought to share with you my thoughts in a different topic.(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1352267/Kate-Middletons-bodyguard-accused-victimising-black-policewoman.html?ito=feeds-newsxml).

Besides being well trained and licensed, a Close Protection Agent must be someone who you can trust, if you trust him/her your life then don’t you think they need to meet some ethical requirements? A CPO must be someone who will not use your personal or business information to write a book or make ‘’a story’’ in the TV. We have seen way too many bodyguards, that after being fired they discovered the author inside them and start putting on a book all the personal details of their ex client. Professional? I don’t think so. Remember that being responsible for your safety they are there with you, in almost every moment of your daily life, in your dates, when you discuss or arrange important business deals etc, so it is very important that person to be discreet and confidential.

What about their personal ethics? Would you hire someone that has been accused or charged for illegal actions? Of course we all deserve a second chance in our life. But it is necessary for you to investigate and do a good research on the person’s you are going to hire background. In my experience I have seen people who have been charged for financial frauds and run security companies, people who have pending accusations against their convictions of violence and many more examples.

So would you rather trust those kinds of people or stay away and look to hire those with Clean Criminal Record?

Denida Zinxhiria

Athena Academy Founder