WHO IS PROTECTING THE PROTECTORS?

Thomas Pecora

As a “protector” our primary mission is to ensure the safety of our protectee, but the other side of the sword, is we cannot accomplish our mission if we put ourselves in jeopardy (allow ourselves to become vulnerable).

So how do we protect ourselves while accomplishing our mission? We should start with the basics – situational awareness! Situational awareness for protection specialists begins with research and intelligence gathering. We need a clear and current understanding of our threat environment – not only the actual documented threats but also the possible and likely threats. We should assume that these threats are continuously evolving so this must be a never-ending process of assessment and adjustment.

On the street, we will need to be processing the environment for the threats uncovered during our research and analysis, but this is not enough. We also need to do ‘on the spot’ analysis of our environment for new threats and possible “wrong place – wrong time” situations.

We need to be aware of our effect on the environment. Are we a natural part of the area or are we an anomaly? Do we blend in, or do we stand out? If we are not blending into the environment, we pose a risk to ourselves and our protectee as we are drawing unwanted attention. This may be harmless, or it may give an unfocused threat a target (target of opportunity). Better to be more of the “Grey Man”.

I was transiting the Tokyo Narita international airport several years ago and I noticed a very tall (6 foot 7) male standing in the middle of a women’s clothing store in the airport duty free area. He stood out so dramatically I had to stop and watch to see what was happening. He was a clear anomaly in the environment. Lo and behold, a few minutes of observation rewarded me with a glimpse of Beyonce and her mother exiting a changing room in the store. I would never have noticed her if the “protector” had been outside the store maintaining a discreet distance and had lowered his profile by sitting or assuming a “shopping” persona.

Specialized Situational Awareness Training

Personnel involved in protection, as a member of law enforcement, a security officer, or a protective agent, need to have specialized training in situational awareness to ensure they are able to recognize and appropriately react to any potential threat in the environment. There are several training courses available as well as some exceptional books on related subjects (Gavin de Becker’s “The Gift of Fear”, and “Left of Bang” by Patrick Van Horne). Arcuri Group has a 4-hour Situation Awareness Specialist® (SAS) course as well as a 5+-hour advanced course, the Advanced Practitioner (SAS – AP), which specifically addresses the terrorist attack cycle and protective operations.

The most important aspect of the craft of situational awareness is that its principles must be practiced religiously - until they become a part of one’s subconscious. Only then can we focus on specific duties like protective operations and ensure we remain ‘switched on’ to possible threats to our protectee as well as to ourselves. Only if we can adequately “protect ourselves” will we be able to protect others.

“ Only then can we focus on specific duties like protective operations and ensure we remain ‘switched on’ to possible threats to our protectee as well as to ourselves. Only if we can adequatelyprotect ourselveswill we be able to protect others. ”

Low Profile Protection Details The move towards low profile protective details has shown some serious merit especially in situations where the protectee is not readily recognizable or does not maintain a predictable schedule and has no known threats. Creating the capability to conduct low profile protection cannot be done on a whim – it takes concentrated effort. The critical components include a selection process for personnel with surveillance or other clandestine activity experience and then combining that with specific training within the existing protection team. Low profile protection is a ‘team sport’ as coordination is critical to prevent misunderstandings and gaps in coverage. Creating and maintaining low profile protection programs is an art form and there are several professionals that have specialized in this area.

The CIA’s Global Response Staff (GRS) was one of the first government programs that specialized in providing this type of protection, mainly for protecting CIA Case Officers conducting clandestine operations in high threat environments (high crime areas, low intensity conflicts, and warzones). I was a “plank-owner” in this unit having attended the first official training course in 1991. The GRS had to evolve to everchanging environments and has had a remarkable success rate while maintaining anonymity until the 2012 incident where a GRS team rescued US State Department employees under attack in Benghazi, Libya. This incident was later documented in a book and movie called “13 Hours”! I wrote the prequel to this incident documenting the history of the GRS in my autobiography, “GUARDIAN – Life in the Crosshairs of the CIA’s War on Terror”.

A Change in Strategy: Counter-Surveillance Teams

If I was to describe the top level of protective operations, I would have to discuss the use of counter-surveillance (CS) personnel to augment the protection team. As a response to successful terrorist attacks on a number of notable figures in the 80s and 90s, protective operations theory changed from the ‘Iron Box’ modus operandi (guys with guns and armored vehicles) to a focus on attacking weaknesses in the terrorist planning cycle. When protection teams realized that the Iron Box was ineffective, they had to find a new method to prevent or mitigate the terrorist threat.

A thorough study of the terrorists and their methods revealed that they were all using a variation of a terrorist planning and attack cycle and that weaknesses within this cycle could be exploited to prevent or mitigate an attack. The weakness was in the requirement for terrorists to conduct surveillance on the target to acquire the data necessary to plan and execute a successful attack. This attack cycle was later found to be in use by organized criminal elements and even active attackers.

As a result of this realization, and the serious threat posed by some terrorist elements to the CIA Director and Deputy Director, a CS element was created to specifically look for the terrorist surveillance signature. I was a member of one the first countersurveillance teams in the US Federal government working with the CIA Director’s Protective Detail and we often operated independently from the detail but maintained constant communications with them to ensure they knew our location, what we were doing, and how we would support the movements.

This CS element became an essential part of protective operations efforts at the CIA, augmenting advances in protective intelligence investigations. I participated in and then managed countersurveillance teams specifically focused on providing this additional capability for protection teams. In situations where protection teams were unfeasible, the CIA utilized specialized Counterterrorism Surveillance Units to look for the terrorist surveillance signature on our personnel in hazardous environments.

These CT units have remained a clandestine element in the CIA’s arsenal except for a revelation of the unit’s role in finding and documenting Carlos the Jackal in Khartoum, Sudan, in a book written by Billy Waugh titled, “Hunting the Jackal”. The only other mention of this unit and its activities was in my book, “GUARDIAN” where I discuss my time working in the unit in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Protectives Operations CS Teams

If adding a protective countersurveillance team is an option, there are some definite advantages, not only for the protectee, but also for the protective detail. CS teams, dedicated to advancetype activities and overwatch positions during protection activities, provide the highest possible protection envelope. By combining the best of protective operations techniques with the best surveillance techniques, we can saturate an area, in advance, recognize threats or possible threats, and adjust tactics - all prior to the arrival of the protectee. This is the best “avoidance” capability and, avoiding the need to react to a threat should the primary goal of a protection team. The US Secret Service felt that if the protection team had to react to a threat, they had failed on several levels – protective intelligence, advances, etc.

Staffing appropriately and adequately is critical for the success of any element within protective operations and this is no less the case with a CS element. Personnel experienced in covert operations or surveillance are ideal for this work if they are thoroughly trained in protective operations methodology. All members of the protection team must know what and how the other elements support each other to prevent mistakes and gaps in coverage.

Starting with the situational awareness responsibilities of the individual protective agent, we can add low profile protective operations, and if staffed and trained correctly, a CS element, to provide protection for not our the protectee but also for the protection team members.

Thomas (Tom) Pecora is a former CIA Senior Security Officer who retired after 24 years of protecting Agency personnel. He managed large security programs and operations in Africa, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and in the war zones. He has over 29 years of experience in protective operations, crisis management, personnel/physical security, and counter-terrorism. As Director of Pecora Consulting Services, he provides security vulnerability and threat assessments, as well as personal safety and crime prevention/ avoidance skills training. His memoir, “GUARDIAN –Life in the Crosshairs of the CIA’s War on Terror” will be published on May 7th, 2019.

MP Security - Circuit Magazine - Protection

As recently as January of this year a man was jailed for a string of threating abuses against Mark Prisk, the MP for Hertford and Stortford. Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the story around this attack is that Prisk was so fearful that he failed to attending a hustings.

MP Security - Circuit Magazine - Protection

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