Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the threat is as high as it can get for News Teams, and if you are a well-trained Media Safety Advisor, the demand for your services has never been greater.
Medics in Iraq – Experience on the Ground in Iraq
In the early days of ‘private contractor’ work in Iraq, medics were generally unregulated and unregistered. Since then the role of the medic has evolved from working as a ‘team medic’ into a ‘Tier 2’ medic who carries a comprehensive medical kit & medications and is able to function as a lone medic, often in remote locations. This should be a good thing, but it also comes with pitfalls.
Jailed Abroad! Avoiding Crime and Corruption When Travelling
These days if you travel internationally or work in emerging markets, you are running the risk of being arrested for some reason. Criminals are not the only ones who can end up in handcuffs! It may come as a shock to some people, but many police forces are corrupt. And this is not just in the emerging markets.
Bodyguards in Mexico
The realities of working as a bodyguard in Mexico are quite different, it’s definitely a lot more dangerous and a lot less glamorous than Hollywood would have you believe.
Mexico is a very high-risk environment that most people know very little about other than what they see in the movies or what is scantily reported in the media. There is very little factual media coverage of what’s going on in Mexico as journalists that report unfavorably about the Narcos, and others tend not to live very long.
Operating in Mexico – The Uncomfortable Truth
There are many misconceptions about close protection and private security operations in Mexico. As usual, most of the myths originate from Hollywood movies and fictional T.V. dramas. The realities of working as a bodyguard in Mexico are quite different, it’s definitely a lot more dangerous and a lot less glamorous than Hollywood would have you believe.
Tiger Kidnapping
Over the years there have been many articles in Circuit Magazine about the kidnapping threat, and rightly so.
As we know, the danger of kidnapping is always a concern amongst high-level executives, especially when operating and traveling to some regions where kidnapping occurrences are more common. In this article, however, the topic is focused on one particular method of kidnapping, and that is what’s known as tiger kidnapping.
On the Ground in Iraq – A Medics Experience
In the early days of ‘private contractor’ work in Iraq following the end of the war in 2003, medics were generally unregulated and unregistered, most being ex RMAs (now CMT1s) who had left the military and qualified as HSE Offshore Medics. Some had not done any ‘civilian’ courses but were hired on the strength of their military qualifications and experience; the guys would generally operate as firstly a PSD team member/operator, and secondly as a team medic. In those days the drugs and equipment carried by the medics was very limited; generally, FFDs, quick clot, blast bandages and if you were lucky some morphine auto injectors, Paracetamol and Ibuprofen.
The Silent Sniper, PTSD & The Battlefield
You might be forgiven for thinking that a life on the frontline is exciting, even glamorous. And on occasion, it is. But for the most part, my job is nothing of the sort. It’s dangerous, it’s far from well paid, and it’s stressful. And I mean, stressful. Nothing focuses the mind more than the sight and sound of a guerrilla army and its arsenal of fully-automatic weapons. And nothing destroys the mind more than the sight of women, children and innocent civilians lying dead or dying at one’s feet.
Bodyguards at Iraq embassy told ‘not to speculate’ on death
Bodyguards at Australia’s embassy in Baghdad were told not to speculate about what occurred in a room where their colleague Chris Betts was fatally shot in 2016.
SYRIA… OH, THE IRONY
US foreign policy has been a dismal failure in the Region of today’s Greater Middle East. It has really had no end game at all, when we look at Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and now Syria.
VEHICLE-BORNE IED
The real subject matter experts in this field come from the military. Soldiers deployed to war & conflict zones are dealing with this threat on a daily basis. However, for the purpose of this article, let’s view the subject from the point view of an executive protection team. The knowledge gained through the examination of this threat will be particularly useful to RST teams (Residential Security Team), those charged with the guarding of critical infrastructure, and event security personnel.
ALWAYS HAVE IT TOGETHER
My job is to look after my media team first and foremost. With the right mindset and approach, most of the time, this can be communicated to the military in a way that not only will they understand but also gets them onside.
Airbourne IEDS
Shiite extremists remaining in Baghdad have added a relatively new weapon to their arsenal in the fight against U.S. forces, one with more destructive power than most of the usual improvised explosive devices planted along city thoroughfares – the improvised rocket-assisted mortar.
Experiences Of Being A Hostage and Living With The Shia
On May 29, 2007, IT consultant Peter Moore and four bodyguards, all British ex-servicemen, were kidnapped in Iraq. During his years of imprisonment, Moore endured solitary confinement, mock executions, and the loss of his four colleagues. He was eventually freed in return for, and after, the release of two senior leaders of the Shia paramilitary group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the brothers Qais and Laith al-Khazali.
A Medics Experience
Over the years, with the added involvement of oil and gas companies, alongside government contracts, the role of the medic has evolved from working as a ‘team medic’ into a ‘Tier 2’ medic who carries a comprehensive medical kit & medications, and is able to function as a lone medic often in remote locations. These changes have caused multiple shifts in the industry standard and requirements to become a Tier 2 Medic. This should be a good thing but it also comes with pitfalls.
Task, Threat and Environment
Task, Threat and Environment, The Mindset of Protective Services Professional. This is a mindset that goes beyond situational awareness, knowledge, or even foresight but rather a collection of them all into a cycle which must be constantly in rotation. The items listed are the most paramount on the task list of a security professional engaged in protective services.
Trouble Ahead
Iraq has a rich and fascinating mix of tribal and religious groups but the divides are large and often deadly. Through necessity the old divides have been placed to one side as Shia, Sunni and Kurdish forces supported by the West and Turkey work militarily alongside each other to clear Iraq of a common enemy, the Islamic State (IS).
What You Need to Know About Body Armour
You will already know just how important body armour is for Security work, yet many do not completely understand the different options available.
14 Lessons For Operating Training Programs in Foreign Countries
Based on his considerable knowledge and experience as a trainer and of operating training programs in foreign countries, Orlando Wilson shares these 14 lessons on how to deal with situations rarely encountered in the Western world.
Trump Is Bringing Troops Home, But What About The Next 20 Years Of US Foreign Policy?
Trump Is Bringing Troops Home, and in contrast to most US foreign policy of the past 20 years, Trump is making the right call. The question is – will it herald a more sensible US foreign policy in the years to come?
