Protective Operations - Core Concepts pt. 1

One of the primary keys to success for any protective operation is to place your team in the best possible position to be successful.

This seemingly simple concept involves many aspects as we will discuss. I will attempt to explain my perspective based on what I have experienced. A question I would start with is: How can you position yourself properly on the field if you do not understand the game, or the rules?

In my experience, I believe this concept begins with assessing the operational environment, followed by gaining a sense of situational awareness and understating. This can be a multi-phase process and involve many facets depending on the protective assignment. The operational environment can be characterized as:

• A region or location

• A city or neighborhood

• A collection of venues or sites and routes

Other aspects of the operational environment can include:

• Atmospherics

• Culture

• Activity

In order to gain a clear perspective or situational understanding of the operational environment protective agents must assimilate or absorb and essentially feel comfortable becoming a part of the environment. In many instances there might be little or very limited time to conduct this step in the process.

This is why advance work is so critical to success of protective operations. In regard to extended or long term #protectiveoperations, the #protectivedetail should take every opportunity to expose themselves to the operating environment. This process can be a part of a regular training curriculum or even just an informal process of frequenting local venues, area familiarization and reconnoissance. It's important for agents to understand that, not only are they in the gathering information that will aide in the protective operation, but also learning the social and cultural norms of the environment by participating in the local area activities. During this process, agents will begin to feel more comfortable operating in the environment and they will be able to establish a baseline of normally accepted behavior. This familiarization will give protective agents several advantages, not only will they be able to blend into the environment, they will also be able to spot unusual or abnormal behavior or activity in relation to their client once the protective operation begins.

There can often be several barriers and challenges to gaining a real sense understating and awareness of the operational environment. In my experiences understanding and awareness are two separate categories. At a high level one can obtain a good understanding of the overall environment through research and secondhand accounts, such as briefings or reports, but acquiring and maintaining an awareness, requires assimilation over a period of time. This assimilation can include, driving routes, frequenting local venues and engaging with the local populous. There are fine details that are critical to gaining an awareness that will only be revealed through an assimilation process. It's liken to gaining experience - You can always read, train and practice a subject, but until you put the knowledge into practical application by way of experience you'll never really gain a true understanding.

In the case of high-threat or austere environment protective operations - it might not always be feasible to assimilate to the environment in the same way it would be for operations conducted in permissive situations. Use of local personnel is a critical component to conducting successful protective operations in unfamiliar or foreboding environments - This is a completely separate topic for discussion, but I will touch on it for perspective. The importance of the incorporation of local staff in an unfamiliar operational environment cannot be understated. Local staff often posses a understanding and awareness of the operational environment that mere study and emersion can never match.

It is critical that once you have properly selected and vetted local personnel for protective assignments that you trust them. Trust is fundamental to the success of any working relationship. I have worked on protective details where local staff comprised that majority of the team. Although I was in a leadership position, in many respects local personnel assumed primary responsibility for the protective operation, and I took more of a support function role.

Once you have a clear understanding of the operational environment, you can then begin to build or make adjustments to your operational plan. As you begin to implement your plan and conduct protective operations, you can begin to see what works and what might need to be adjusted. Patterns and routines will begin to emerge that will inevitably have a bearing on the protective operation, look first within your environment and see what can be adjusted to mitigate these vulnerabilities.

I'll share an example from my experience that encapsulates these ideas. While working protective operations from a secure facility I noted that we only accessed one vehicle entry/exit point. When I was made responsible for the primary protective detail, I set out to find ways to mitigate vulnerabilities. The process began weeks prior when I arrived on post. I created relationships with the locally staffed protective detail and physical security force. I asked them how they operated, what procedures they used and their perception of the threat. When I began working protective operations, I continued to watch and learn about the processes that had been standard practice for some time. Once I was confident that I understood some of the risks and vulnerabilities, I looked at ways to improve upon the protective operation. Many of the items that I began to implement and adjust, were seemingly insignificant, but had a huge impact.

The protective detail had been utilizing one facility entry/exit point for months. This limited the number of routes that could be taken from that point in/out of the facility, channeled the motorcade, and also created a significant pattern which could be exploited with very little effort. The compound did have an operational rear gate, but it was never used due to the fact that it was far less secure and took longer to access. Over the course of several days I set out moving jersey barriers with a forklift in an effort to fortify the rear entrance. I also created an entry/exit procedure that I taught to physical security staff and our team of local drivers. Entry and exit for protective motorcades would now be coordinated via radio communication. The coordinated efforts not only maximized the efficiency, but also allowed the motorcade to make seamless adjustments enroute. With the implementation of the entry/exit procedures, and a more secure rear gate, the route options to/from the facility now became more versatile and less routine.

This simple example that shows when time is taken to understand how the environment effects protective operations, then effective adjustments can be made. As with all aspects, the operational environment should continuously be assessed, as this process evolves, opportunities to improve the protective function will become clear, and it will allow the protective operation to built in a layered approach.

#executiveprotection #closeprotection #protectiveservices #executivedriving