Once a vehicle has been armored its driving characteristics can be affected. Armor plate can weigh a lot, although most IIIA/B4 armor is normally quite manageable. Braking distances and acceleration can be affected, also you must take into consideration armor may make the vehicle more prone to roll over. Therefore it is important to ensure the vehicle has been professionally fitted and had suspension and brakes modified. Other modifications to insist on include the use of ‘run-flat’ tires. Use security companies that you can trust and have proven experience in the theater of operations.
Blend In:
It is strongly advised that any armored vehicle is of low profile and that your use of an armored vehicle hire united arab emirates uae dubai is not common knowledge. ETS can provide low profile executive, sedan, SUV and Sprinter type vehicles in various countries throughout the world.
Identify What level of Armor You Require:
There are multiple ratings of armor, and each will have varying levels of effectiveness against different ammunition, and explosives.
Security Drivers are Vital:
Armored vehicles are vulnerable if trapped and cannot escape the immediate threat. As with all security proactive action and avoidance is key. Well-trained security drivers, with evasive and defensive driving skills and with excellent working knowledge of local roads are invaluable. If an incident occurs drivers must react immediately to extricate the vehicle from the immediate threat. Armored vehicles are only designed to take a certain number of shots in one location before they fail
Use as Part of a Comprehensive Approach:
Armored vehicles are but one tool in a comprehensive security repertoire. They are utilized to provide an extra layer of security during ground transportation. They should, however, not be overly relied upon and not used at the expense of other security procedures. If the assessed risk determines that best practice is the utilization of armored transportation (accurate risk assessments are key to any security plan) then journey management planning and the potential use of Executive Protection Officers should also be considered as part of an integrated security plan.
Example: Venezuela, Caracas – In 2014 a German Businessman was traveling from the airport to a Central Caracas 5 star hotel in an armored vehicle. Assailants followed him, waited until he exited the vehicle and attacked him in the lobby of the hotel – killing him in the process of a failed protection effort by his unprofessional local security team.
Choosing the Right Armored Vehicle Rental Provider:
It is vital to use trusted suppliers with vetted resources that have been utilized prior and have proven capability and experience in that country and city. Security plans have multiple tiers and start at the very beginning with accurate risk assessments. Make sure that your provider is asking the right questions, risk assessments should be utilized by the security provider to design best practice methodology. Certain situations may require armored vehicles and local security teams to work in unison.
Why does ETS select only former Special Forces and elite government unit personnel for full-time Executive Protection?
Former Special Forces (SF) operators are a natural fit for global executive protection. Formed from the core SF and Elite units such as SAS, Delta, SBS, SEALs, SRR, MI5, MI6, CIA, certain FBI groups, BOPE, DSGE and GIGN, they share the following characteristics and skillsets:
Ability to operate under high stress
Ability to operate with minimal support
Proven ability to work within close-knit teams with or without a formal hierarchy
High-level stress induced training and real world stress proven
Low profile and covert operations experience lending itself to blending in
Nothing to prove and never looking to validate their role
Mutual respect for and regular interaction with other tier-one law enforcement and other agencies within their network of security professionals
Experience operating against the high-level terrorism, criminal and espionage targets
VIP Protection – Value and Skills
Operators cost millions of dollars to train but their true value comes from years of real-world assignments that shape and sharpen their skills, networks and instincts. Their proven unique experience facilitating secure travel and lifestyle in all environments without fanfare is their understated asset. VIPs chaperoned by world-class tier one operators can safely and efficiently move on foreign turf while remaining under the radar. Low profile, discreet and respectful, the former Special Forces operator is a proven and powerful enabler. A conscientious operator able to read the environment and quietly get the job done is an invaluable part of a VIP protection team.
VIP Security – Protection of Reputation as well as Physical Security
As seen repeatedly in the celebrity and corporate worlds, unprofessional personal security can inflict long-lasting reputational harm, or worse. There are multiple untold horror stories of VIP security gone wrong including personal security operators and drivers getting lost on the way to meetings, driving through high-risk environments, and having their VIPs attacked. There are examples of personal security negligently discharging firearms, crashing vehicles, and losing track of their protectee. Even less extreme failures have a serious negative impact on business effectiveness, brand reputation, and the personal image of the senior executive. Far too often those most in need of high-level security make the mistake of saving on cost in favor of ‘large, imposing bodyguards’ yet rarely consider if these persons have the training and ability to react.
Executive Protect – Experience is Key
Some Executive Protection businesses, even the largest ones, normally recruit from a pool of civilians, or minimally trained ex-armed forces willing to ‘train’ and accept low wages to become part of the ‘circuit’. These companies celebrate and laud their training programs, yet you can’t teach the skill sets and real-world experience of tier-one professionals in two weeks. Reaction instincts, and covert operations skills under high levels of risk and stress, simply can’t be developed in a hurry.
In 2005 three suicide bombers detonated body-borne improvised explosive devices (IED’s) in a busy tourist area of Bali, Indonesia killing 20 people. Just three years prior, a mix of both vehicle-borne and body-borne IED’s killed 202 people in the same resort. These horrific attacks were the result of carefully planned operations linked to radical Islamic terrorism.
Asking Questions
What as security professionals could we have done to protect a client in similar situations? If faced with a similar situation in the future would we be able to identify the threat early enough to react? Is it just a case of accepting that it is a situation of ‘wrong place, wrong time’ and would, therefore, be out of our control?
There are no guarantees within the special event security industry, let alone dealing with extremism. It is the author’s strong belief that behavioral and appearance analysis might make a difference in such situations. Detailed and focused observations of suspect individuals and their behaviors may lead to identifying life-threatening situations early enough to provide that all important, time to react.
Suicide Terrorism
A suicide terrorist may experience strong emotions prior to carrying out an attack, which in turn can be manifested through body language and physiological responses. Certain behaviors and tell-tale actions may be exhibited and these emotions, behaviors, and actions could be used to help identify potential suicide terrorists.
Security organizations throughout the world use behavioral analysis and screening at checkpoints, airports, and rail stations to help identify threats. Individual systems differ in methodology, but all aim to observe behavior and appearance to help their employees identify potential threats.
Fear Factor
High levels of stress or fear are sudden, intense and normally of short duration. The effects of this can be positive and negative, producing an immediate physical reaction and performance-enhancing benefit but also a negative reaction with typical problems including tunnel vision, failure to prioritize, freezing and loss of concentration.
In high stress/high anxiety situations, the biochemical changes that occur can have a significant negative impact on an individuals ability to assess their environment and make effective decisions. Experiments have shown that when stress and anxiety are increased there is a marked decrease in both the speed and accuracy of problem-solving tasks.
Controlling Emotions
Training has been proven to play a pivotal role in managing stressful situations, SLA Marshall wrote in his book: Men Against Fire, that only 15 – 20 % of soldiers in WWII combat situations fired their weapons at the enemy. Military training in the aftermath thus focused considerably on improving this. They rehearsed and trained, simulating combat situations and focused on this to a greater extent. The Korean War firing rates had risen to 50% and in Vietnam, it had climbed to 90%. His research, though questionable based part of this on poor management of fear and stress due to lack of correct training.
The stress and anxiety in such situations certainly contributed to these figures, most likely causing soldiers to freeze, not think properly and become confused. In the American Civil War after the Battle of Gettysburg according to research, some 90% of the muskets recovered from the battlefield were found to be loaded, further, an inspection found that nearly 50% were loaded more than twice and even up to ten times and not fired.
Fail to Prepare…
Why is this important? Because if terrorists have not had a high level of training there is a good chance they could be affected by acute stress in a negative way. Therefore thought processes and problem-solving abilities may be affected, behavioral signs may become more obvious. The general consensus is with more experience and better training people cope with stress and anxiety better, but quality training is usually quite limited in terrorist organizations and therefore they will be more vulnerable to the negative effects of acute stress.
A recent example of stress affecting an Islamic suicide terrorist is that of the UK 7/7 bomber, Hussain in London, U.K. They were seen laughing and joking prior to the split but on his own when his rucksack failed to detonate on the underground train, it was then he went to ground level, wandered around for nearly an hour, got a new battery for detonation and for some reason decided to board a b.0us.
An eyewitness saw Hussain on board the number 91 bus at King’s Cross and noticed his bad manners in blocking fellow passengers with his rucksack. She was giving evidence at an inquest into the bus bomb at Tavistock Square. Mrs. Dybek-Echtermeyer said she noticed Hussain as he stood at the front of the bus after boarding. “He looked very exhausted and he had a sweat going onto his chin that looked very horrible,” she said. “He had dry white lips, he looked nervous and exhausted”. The 18-year-old angered those around him as he traveled on a No91 bus along London’s Euston Road. Another eyewitness told the hearing “A woman in her 20s tapped him on the shoulder and politely asked him to be careful because he was hitting an elderly woman and perhaps others.” The witness added: “He simply did not react. I thought he was a lost and anxious tourist. He was behaving very oddly. This evidence suggests that Hussain was reacting adversely to stress and anxiety.
Richard Reid the ‘shoe bomber’ was actually refused entry onto a flight due to his appearance and abnormal behavior. He managed to get on another flight the next day. The ‘underwear bomber’ Abdul Mutallab by all accounts showed high levels of stress and anxiety at airport checkpoints yet no one challenged him.
There are other factors that may also be taken into account, acts that are undertaken as part of a deception. Suicide terrorists may use methods to conceal their intent.
What are the identifying factors of deception?
Maintaining covert ties with others (keeping eye contact with others, hand gestures etc.)
Appears to be confused or disoriented
Does not respond to authoritative commands
Observations
Detailed and in-depth observations of suspect individuals and their behaviors could be of real benefit to the security professional. The majority of well-trained people reading this article will no doubt do some or most of these consciously and sub-consciously already. There are never definitive answers in situations like these and the world of the suicide terrorist is far from clear and concise. It is doubtful that a suicide terrorist will manifest all of these characteristics at once if at all and any factors that are noted must be put into context. For example, a person sweating, with repetitive grooming gestures and scanning the room nervously may just be looking for his first blind date.
Other indicators could also be taken into account.
Powerful grip of a bag or hand inside a bag
Emotionless face
Hands in pockets or closed hands for prolonged periods of time
Rigid midsection
Inappropriate clothing or luggage/rucksack
Walking or pacing with deliberation
Repeatedly patting upper body
Talking to oneself/mumbling or in a trance-like state
Not responding to authoritative commands
What-if Scenario
A protection detail could have been dining in Bali, Indonesia in 2005 protecting a client, would they have spotted the behavioral factors? Would the suicide terrorists have even been showing any external factors? Would the protection detail have had time to react even if they had spotted the threat early? These are all hypothetical questions that we will never know the answer to a Content website.
What we do know however is, that it is vital to see and not just look, attention to detail, powers of observation and preempting danger are vital in our roles as protectors. If suicide bomber indicative behaviors are noted early then further interest can be paid to the potential threat, preemptive measures can be taken. It is by no means an exact science but security professionals must constantly add skills to their protective arsenal, using everything in their means to offer the best level of protection to the client.
