• Home
  • Categories
    • Protection
    • Hostile Environment
    • Industry News
    • Intel
    • Career Advice
    • Surveillance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Maritime
    • Risk Management
    • Fitness
    • Medical
    • Training
    • Equipment
    • Reviews
  • Daily Briefing
  • Subscription
  • The Magazine
  • Podcast
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

Circuit Magazine

For Security & Protection Specialists

Get free circuit subscription with BBA membership
You are here: Home / Archives / Leave no man behind?

Leave no man behind?

(AP Photo/Gervasio Sanchez)

 

Many close protection operatives consider themselves to have forged strong peer relationships through teams working in hostile environments. They trust their colleagues and, in turn, believe that they are trusted.

… ultimately I need to know that whoever I’m working with if the shit hits the fan and I’m in a situation, that my colleagues are going to be there to watch my back – just as I will for them. With my close team I know instinctively, they will be there. I also know that the people who know me really well, accept me for who I am and I’ll do anything to help those that are close to me, you know, anything – I’ll go out of my way to help them (Ben)

If you can relate to Ben’s words, then there are some important facts that you need to know. Firstly the good news about peer support:
• Strong, trusting relationships among peers protects against mental illness
• Peer support is an important factor in recovering from the psychological impact of traumatic events

Unfortunately, the facts don’t stop there:
• The majority of people will find it hard to ask for support from their peers. They will often fear being judged as weak or not up to the job. Rather than accessing peer support they may withdraw from it and become isolated. The culture of a team can really add to this. The jokes and banter we all use to defuse tension, along with stereotypes about mental illness, can combine to make people fearful of admitting a problem

• Many people will try to suppress or ignore their mental distress causing an escalation of symptoms may end in a crisis. At that point, there may even be suicidal or homicidal thoughts – particularly concerning if deadly weapons are readily available. When this crisis happens, peers may be completely taken by surprise but often, with hindsight, the signs were there. Friends are left asking themselves “why didn’t they tell me? I would have helped somehow before it got so bad.”

The ethos of “Leave no man behind” is a mainstay across the international Armed Forces and equally relevant to professionals in close protection. If a colleague was injured out in the field, would you turn your back and walk away? Maybe blame him or her for not being up to the job? Or label them as damaged goods not worthy of bothering with? Hopefully not but what if the injury was psychological, invisible and not easily understood?

In industries that rely on physical and psychological strength, a traumatic stress reaction can be viewed as “not normal” and shameful even though it’s a perfectly natural reaction to an out-of-the-ordinary event. The truth is, we can build up our resilience but nobody is immune to developing a PTS reaction. Nobody is invulnerable. As we’ve said in previous editions, it is based on our biologically inbuilt, survival response and made up of physical and psychological reactions to threat.

Six Principles of Peer Support

You don’t need to be a qualified mental health professional to support your peers. You talk the same language, share the same experiences and really understand what they have gone through. However, there are things you need to consider if you want to ensure you’re doing the best for your close colleagues.

1. Be aware of changes

This may be sudden and marked or a slow subtle change. Be particularly vigilant for increased anger, distancing from friends, avoiding activities or signs of fatigue. Frequent colds, weight changes and new or worsened minor conditions (e.g. eczema, irritable bowel syndrome) may indicate a body that is compromised by stress hormones.

2. Raise your concerns with them

Be honest. If you think someone is acting out of character, the simplest (but ironically sometimes the hardest) thing to do is to raise this with them. Avoid language that implies weakness such as

“What’s wrong with you?” “Are you struggling to cope?”

Consider how you would want someone to approach you if the roles were reversed. Keep it informal and low-key. If you are avoiding having the conversation, think how much harder it could be if you wait for a crisis to hit.

3. Take a long-term view

Because you are trained to set your emotions aside, reactions can take several weeks or months to bubble to the surface. There may be initial reluctance to accept there is a problem. Many people have a front to maintain and there is a huge stigma to admitting to problems. Just because you’re told they’re “fine” doesn’t mean you should dismiss your concerns. Keep an eye out. It may take them time and several attempts before they’re ready to talk.

4. Watch out for unhelpful ways of coping

It’s important to avoid behavior that may end up making things worse. Be aware of the fine line between helpful and unhelpful strategies.

• Alcohol: taking them for a drink and using small amounts of alcohol as a means to loosen their tongue and allow people to talk freely can be good. Going for several drinks and using alcohol to blot out symptoms can be extremely unhelpful. In larger amounts, alcohol is a depressant, removes inhibitions and may result in risky behavior

• Withdrawal: having quiet time to reflect on matters can be good. Avoiding social contact and withdrawing from work or pleasurable activities can add to the negative impact.

• Using work as a temporary distraction from problems can be helpful and provide a sense of control and self-esteem. Using work to avoid dealing with the experience can lead to burnout and prevent processing of the event.

5. Encourage helpful ways of coping

Even if they don’t want to open up to you or admit a problem, you can still help by encouraging them to do the things that generally help with traumatic stress. This can be as simple as taking part in regular exercise so motivating them to go for a run or gym session with you (rather than the bar). Being around people who understand and talking about experiences is helpful. Talking helps the brain to process the experience whereas bottling it up can be very unhelpful. If someone does want to talk, avoid responding with statements such as “You’ll get over this – just pull yourself together”, “Best not to talk about it, it will only upset you”. Your job is simply to listen and allow them to make their own sense of things rather than to try and fix it for them. If you’ve had a similar reaction in the past, it can be helpful for them to know they’re not alone and that recovery is possible. With good support and helpful coping, the vast majority of people will make a full recovery and many are actually strengthened by the experience.

6. Get advice

If you’re not sure how to approach someone or have any concerns whatsoever, speak to a health professional. If you are a team leader, it’s even more important to be aware of these issues as part of your welfare responsibilities. You may want to think about continuing professional development by training in trauma awareness. Check out our website and blog for more resources  www.powertorecover.co.uk  and together let’s leave no man behind.

 


Leave No Man Behind

By: Liz Royle & Cath Kerr

KRTS International – For more information, check out:

www.powertorecover.com

www.powertorespond.com

Buy The Latest Issue

Sign Up For News and Updates

We respect your privacy and will not share your information with anyone.
We will only message you when we have something relevant and of value to share with you.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Issue

Circuit magazine cover issue 55

Issue 55

Buy Now

Latest Industry News

Industry News October 2020

We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry. Here’s what’s appeared on the radar since the last issue.

Security industry News Brought to you by the Circuit Magazine

Industry News

We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry, including, Kanye West’s former bodyguard is calling the rapper a “bully” and is threatening to sue for damages after West accused him of breaking a confidentiality agreement.

Industry News

We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry. Here’s what’s appeared on the radar since the last issue.

Security industry News Brought to you by the Circuit Magazine

Security Industry Association Announces New SIA Women in Security Scholarship Opportunity

“The SIA Women in Security Forum works to grow and retain leaders in the security industry,” said Gloria Salmeron, director of human resources at Brivo and co-chair of the scholarship committee. “With the addition of this new scholarship, we look forward to helping bring opportunities for further education and advancement to as wide a spectrum of people as possible and inviting individuals to participate in the Women in Security Forum.”

Product Review earHero

Product Review – Ear Hero

Designed by an audiologist, earHero’s speakers are so tiny they will never block your ear canal giving you the ability to literally talk on a separate phone without removing the earHero tactical earpiece from either ear.

You can literally hear whisper level sounds from yards away, while identifying the sounds’ precise location. The earHero tactical headsets have wires so thin and clear, they are virtually undetectable, and the design is so comfortable, you’ll barely know the earpiece is there.

Introduction to Cybersecurity Part 4

Insecure Smart Houses

They are only of limited relevance today, but as the technologies involved become more widespread and implemented into every facet of life they will only become more prevalent. While it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, these threats exist now and are not going to go away.

For simplicity, we’ll say that a ‘smart’ device is anything which connects to the internet (or a network) and is not intended to be a computer interface. Intended is the key word there, as many of these devices are insecure for the simple reason that they are a computer. The problem is that it is now cheaper and easier to put a general purpose computer into a device and run some software to, for example, turn lights on and off than it is to design a single-purpose lightbulb which also connects to a network.

Behavioral Analysis

Turning Habitual Habits into a Positive

Being an instructor for Tony Scotti’s Vehicle Dynamics Institute has forwarded the opportunity to observe how a large section of professionals interact and function from different niches of the industry. Military, transnational EP teams, US based teams, Federal LEO’s or with civilians this theme shows through. Even in the larger training arena the change can be seen as more of the schools are starting to focus on classes or blocks of instruction such as client management and behavioral analysis. The discussion forms are flooded with conversations relating to how to work in a team dynamic. It doesn’t matter if its a 28 day school or a three day school, they will be touching on and teaching these topics.

Global Risk

Global Situation report provided by Stratfor

Global Situation Report October, 2020

Having informed insight in today’s increasingly complex international environment is more important than ever. That’s why we’ve partnered with Stratfor, the worlds leading geopolitical intelligence platform, to bring readers regular analysis and accurate forecasting of global trends from someone you can trust.

Popular Tags

Afghanistan armed attack Bodyguard Bodyguarding Celebrity client Close Protection Close Protection Officer Elijah Shaw Executive Executive Protection fight firearm gun Intelligence Iraq Law Enforcement Medical military News online police Prevention professional protect protection PTSD Risk Risk Assessment Risk Management Safety Security Security Incidents Security Industry Authority SIA Social Media Surveillance terror Terrorism terrorist Threat train Training VIP

On The Frontline

Keeping Your Edge – Develop A Niche

An Excerpt from the Amazon Bestseller, An Introduction to Celebrity Protection & Touring by Elijah Shaw & Dale … >>>

Working Girl: Female Bodyguards

I've been traveling around the UK on a CP job for the past few months but was also lucky enough to be part of the … >>>

Image Projection – It’s a Psychological Advantage

The term 'Image Projection' refers to the tactic of presenting yourself as an Alpha personality in order to discourage a … >>>

Follow us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

From The Archives

The argument is made that once terrorism is eradicated, things will go back to normal. No chance! Terrorism will never be eradicated.

Freedom or Security?

Thirty years after Benjamin Franklin wrote: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety … >>>

Ignore Terrorism… And we loose…

Boston April 15, 2013 14:49 pm: Chechen brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev load two bombs into two separate … >>>

How to survive a course you hate

It’s the dreaded phrase your boss says to you, usually when you are already extraordinarily busy. It often goes … >>>

Counter Terror Expo, London Olympia

The 2011 expo was the BBA’s 1st venture into exhibiting and was something that the BBA Team was very much looking … >>>

  • Terms And Conditions
  • Magazines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Archives

© 2021 Circuit Magazine · Rainmaker Platform

This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
I accept