History

Prior to 9/11 most security industry jobs were in the petro-chemical / mining industry and revolved around close personal protection and instillation / facilities protection. The industry was most likely run out of England and was dominated by ex Special Forces operators from 22SAS, first tier operators. Loosely referred to as the Circuit, breaking into the industry was virtually impossible unless you knew someone in it. This was because in one sense the operators were protecting their job futures and in order to retain the high wages the security companies were selling an elite security force backed up by a pedigree product.

Job placement could be as varied as protecting a rich client in London to sitting in the middle of the Algerian desert for 3 months watching an oil pipeline release valve. Money wise the remuneration ran from $US70k for a month on month off rotation all the way up to $US100k+. For this money a lot of jobs were for lone operators or small 3 man teams with very little support or immediate back up if things went wrong. But a majority of the close protection tasks were in stable countries where local civil back up could be relied on if things went bad. The operators were there either in a show of force capacity or to cover the reaction time of the local civil authority.

The second type of security work was of a more shady type. This involved the protection of less reputable business men during their transactions. The pay was reputed to be as high as on the circuit but the taskings were definitely more dangerous, shady, and the likelihood of being paid was less frequent. These tasking were conducted by first tier operators who were in need of a little excitement, second tier operators who were trying to break into the circuit, or people who were tricked into working on reputable deployments only to find they were doing less than legal work.

Anecdotal examples of this are

1. The 4 man team who deployed to Africa to protect the transfer of a shipment of uncut diamonds from the mine to processing plant, who were allegedly ambushed and killed so that the diamond company could claim the insurance for the lost diamonds and resell the uncut stones.
2. People who were hired as military advisors to train government forces only to find they were actually taking part in a military coup.

Although anecdotal and I cannot confirm whether they in fact took place, they are added to emphasise the fact that not everything you might sign up for is the truth and when you are trying to break into the industry you must research both the company you are about to work for and the people whom you will be working with. My advice is to take nothing at face value as even high profile companies have left their operators in the lurch or tricked them into high risk protection tasking when the operator signed on for a safe static security position.

Anyway this all changed on 9/11 when a little known group planned and implemented the most highly published, devastating attack on an unprepared civilian population in the history of terrorism.

After operation Iraqi Freedom, the liberation of the Iraqi people from the tyrant Saddam Hussein. Actually operation Iraqi Freedom was the search for WMDs which Iraq was supposed to be hiding from the world and the backing of terrorist groups who might receive those WMDs. Donor countries quickly raced to win lucrative contracts for the rebuilding of Iraqi infrastructure and services. The thought being that if we help now we will get big oil contracts latter.

The lack of security to initiate these contracts led to the development of the Security Contractor and his ilk, and led us to the situation we now find ourselves in. At first reputable and some less than reputable companies moved in the fill the gap between military and a non operation civilian police force to secure the safety of government officials and aid agency workers whilst they conducted their task of getting the country back up and running. Also media agencies working in Iraq needed to provide security advisors to cover their legal and insurance obligations.

At first all went well as the number of positions available were secured and filled by high speed operators. The remuneration was exceptional but in line with the risk involved. But as the numbers of operators needed increased, the skill set of the personnel employed reduced. I am not saying that only first tier operators somehow magically fill a job set that no one else can fill. I am saying that if your winning of a contract requires you to field 200 people next week and it will mean the difference of winning a contract worth $US50m a year then you will take every swinging dick that turns up to your office and has a mate who wishes to earn big bucks as well.

And so we entered a period of security guards who had no or little weapons experience and no military or police background being told they were employed to stand static security in the Green Zone in Baghdad, and would receive all the training they required in country, being deployed to full on combat sites where mortar attack and ambush were a daily occurrence, or high speed operators employed at lower wages because they were in what they understood to be low risk positions in fortified compounds at Baghdad Airport arriving in country to find they were doing convoy escort, one of the most dangerous tasks available.

So this is where I believe the industry is now at. All the high paying jobs have been and gone or are filled by first tier operators and will be for the foreseeable future. All the jobs that were easy and considered safe are filled by guys who have been there a long time and have accepted the reduced pay because they know they are on a good thing. And the only jobs I know of that are available are for shady positions where the pay is reputably good but you can’t be sure your employer will pay you at the end of the month.

Having said all that the good news is that all of the jobs which were thought of as high paying which everyone dropped when the big bucks were on offer are still there and always will be. Petro chemical and mining companies will still need their executives protected, and rich people will still need their families and property protected. And none of these will expose you to IED or insurgent activity. So the job opportunities are still out there, they just require more research to find.

Skill set needed for High Risk Protection Work

First let me define my definition of a High Risk Environment. It is the total absence of a working civil or military authority, the total breakdown of normal moral standards in a functional society, and the total lack of the rule of law where anyone with a gun (including security operators) can act with impunity.

Currently I believe only one country fills this definition, Somalia. Iraq was High Risk until a semi stable government took power. But now I believe if you get contacted in a civil area you can at least expect the local police force to respond at some level. Afghanistan in some areas would meet my terms of High Risk as you are on your own if things go wrong but if you get into a fire-fight in a public area you again can expect some civil or government response.

This differs to the normal situation that a trained Close Protection operator finds himself in.

The following are my thoughts on the skills needed for work in a high risk protection environment. I would like to start by stating these are only my opinion and have been influenced by working with some of the best and worst operators in the industry from military, police and civilian backgrounds. Not everyone will be happy to hear them. And they are opinionated, but when your life depends on the people around you then you can get as opinionated as you like. I have worked with good military and police operators over the years. But have found only 2 common traits for working in a high risk environment.

1. A good military background
2. Common sense

Neither of these traits is in great supply. I have worked with ex-police and civilians who have done protection courses and have shown good common sense in normal everyday situations, but in the heat of a fire-fight have lacked the tactical ability and situation awareness afforded to every person with military experience. And I have worked with ex-military operators who have more combat experience than I ever wish to achieve, but didn’t show the least bit of common sense when interacting with a client, or other operators.

Just because you have done the military BG course from hell or the civilian equivalent doesn’t mean that your tactics and drills are applicable to the environment or enemy you face. Common sense would have shown that the use of fast driving in an IED environment with vehicles that are not designed for fast driving on roads which are not maintained is a recipe for disaster. But yet these are the very tactics which were in use by most security companies. Common sense would tell you that covering your body armour with a photographers vest to lower your profile, only makes you look ridiculous and stick out. But as I have said, when big money and un-experienced operators are rushing to fill a void common sense is in short supply.

Skills

Weapons

An operator should have a thorough understanding of his personal, team and commonly available weapons which will be found in the area of operation. These might include small, medium and heavy weapons. It is not uncommon to turn up on a   task to find you aren’t issued with the latest Glock and M4 as these come out of company profits. More likely you will be issued with whatever is available or that the company could get at the time. I have been issued with a solidly rusted Makarov pistol which had no chance of firing and I have been issued with $US10k worth of the latest body armour and high tech gadgets, you just can’t tell until you get on task sometimes.

The operator should be skilled at using, and tactically employing a range of personal small arms. He does not need to be a gun fanatic knowing the calibre and mod number of every exotic weapon produced by the West and Soviet bloc. But he should know how to service and use his sidearm, and rifle. There is nothing worse than having an operator turn up in country and having him pointing muzzles at clients, or scaring the whole team with a lack of personal weapons discipline.

He needs to have a general knowledge on how to operate medium machineguns. These might be the C9 minimi, GPMG/240 RPK etc. He might not know how to strip and assemble these in detail, but he must know how to load, action and fire the weapon in an emergency, and to carry out any malfunction drills to get the weapon up and firing if it stops. It also comes in handy when you need to make safe a guard forces weapons or any weapon lying around the office without shooting yourself or the client.

An understanding of heavy weapons. I personally couldn’t head space a 50cal to save my life. I only did it once under instruction and never touched the weapon again in that capacity. But I can load action and fire one. The same applies to anti armour weapons such as LAW90 and RPGs. You don’t want to be finding out how to fire an RPG in the middle of a fire-fight, and you definitely don’t want to be finding out the person next to you doesn’t understand the principle of BBDA (Back blast danger area) when he is going to fire it.

These examples mean to show why I prefer to work with and why most operators have a military background in High Risk Environments. In some cases you won’t have access to these weapons, and never will. But when your client picks up a soviet bloc handgun in the bazaar and starts waving it around when he is drunk you need to know how to make safe his weapon and put him to bed in a calm and reasonable manner. Or when you can’t get your mates AK that he bought off the local guard to work on the range, and that he has been carrying around for a week as a secondary weapon, you can tell him that it is because the weapon doesn’t have a firing pin.

Medical

A basic understanding of the expedient field treatment of wounds. I am not talking surgical treatment of battlefield casualties, nor am I talking about the use of ABCs on an injured person. I am talking about the ability to treat multiple casualties in a way that affords them a reasonable chance of survival and can sustain their lives until help arrives or most likely you can casevac them to help. When an IED blows a vehicle off the road at 100kph seldom is there just 1 casualty. In Baghdad this is not such a problem. Secure the area, win the fire-fight, chuck the remains of what’s left into a vehicle and haul arse to a medical facility whilst treating the shell shocked and injured in the back of the car. If you are lucky you will be in a US medical facility in 10-20 minutes. If the same thing happens half way between Basra and Talil you might be in the back for more than an hour or 2.

A basic understanding of sickness and drugs. Not all High Risk Protection teams have access to medical and dental in the operational area. And some are for client use only. For example when my contract changed form a DoD contract to an MNF-I contract, I as a New Zealander lost the ability to be treated for minor medical aliments at US military facilities. As drugs were in short supply, treatment of any illness with the teams own supplies was not allowed. If I had fallen sick there would be no problem with diagnosing me and proscribing treatment, but nothing to treat me with. And in a Close Protection team if one person is sick, everyone is going to get sick.

Moral Integrity

A simply concept that everyone understands but few people seem to be able to implement. It seems that people who just get out of the military seem to want to rebel against the establishment. This means running round waving guns, wearing cut off tee shirts, sunglasses and telling soldiers, who stand sentry for 18hrs a day to protect them whilst they sleep and at ¼ of their pay scale, to get fucked. I have worked on teams whom I would trust to a man and act professionally, and I have worked on teams whose commanders have briefed their men to leave the client in event of danger and extract themselves if the shit hits the fan. I have worked for reputable companies who grouped all the shit-bags together in a team because no one would work with them but the company wouldn’t fire them as it would lead to penalty payments on the contract. And since they couldn’t go out on the road everyone else had to pick up the slack whilst they earned the same money sitting in an air-con cabin playing cards all day. People put up with it for 2 reasons, either they need the money or they enjoy to work. The first group scare me. I don’t mind being paid well for a dangerous job. But people who have $250k mortgages and refuse to speak up because they might lose their revenue stream scare me. At some stage you will have to stick your hand up and say, hey boss, this shit ain’t right. Of course being a good commander he will tell you to eat shit and die, but you need to have the moral integrity to stand up in the first place. In the industry you have 2 choices. Take it or walk. Very few walk, but those who do I have the utmost respect for.

Tactical Appreciation

You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the tactical use of small arms and their employment. Also the enemies most likely and most deadly courses of action. If your understanding is only of your reaction to enemy fire (collapse and protect the principle) then you will be caught short when your commander is killed or injured, or when you are required to operate independently in a fluid situation. Unlike protection in downtown Auckland, in a High Risk environment there is no one coming to your aid, and if they do, can you trust them?

I know of 1 team who fought to a stalemate and hunkered down to await rescue, 2 hrs later to be told the rescue force were themselves in contact. With last light approaching they fought their way out and managed to escape by vehicle, and their safe base was 1.5 hr drive away.

Equipment

Buy the best and know how to use it. Not all companies supply their men with the best and latest equipment. Like the military, equipment is supplied by the lowest bidder. Also some clients put physical restraints on the contractee to conform to some of the most stupid rules in the history of personal protection. Examples of this would be the covering of magazines and body armour with a photographers vest to lower the profile of the operators and not excite the local population. Great except your local population is openly armed and you are openly displaying a weapon and because of body armour you are the only white guy who looks like the hunchback of Notre dame within 200km. Also it is just plain embarrassing when an untrained local tells you it looks stupid.

Basic equipment carried on the person

Long sleeved shirt and trousers.

If possible fire resistant. With leg pockets and knee pads if you like. The reason the armies of the world issue long sleeves is to protect you from sun and wind, and to stop you skinning your arms or burning them when you are in a fire-fight. The propensity of modern PSD teams in High Risk environments to wear bandanas and tee-shirts makes me shake my head. At best it looks unprofessional and at worst it is down-right dangerous. If you want to be paid well at least dress professionally.

Trouser belt

A good quality trouser belt which can not only hold up your trousers, but can fit a pistol holster, knife, torch, plastic cuffs, cell-phone etc.

Shoes or Boots

Should be comfortable enough to stand long hours in. They need to give good ankle support and be robust enough to kick someone in the ankle to make a hole for the client. They should also be in good enough condition to withstand the duration of your deployment as you might not get another set in country or it might be just too dangerous to go and get another pair.

Knife

A good fighting knife comes in handy for things like opening ammunition cans, trimming finger nails and generally just intimidating people. It should be big enough for the purpose you require it, but not so big it gets in the way. I carried a small fighting knife in a Klydex holster on my body armour and a smaller folding pocket knife on me at all times, as during meetings I had to drop my body armour and main weapon at the door so to speak.

Identification Documentation Holder

In all High Risk environments you will require some form of wallet with your documentation in. Mine needed to be big enough to hold my ID, Visa card, money, verification code-words and telephone numbers and my Passport. I carry enough money to get by in small US dollar and local currency. I carry my passport to get out of the country if the shit hits the fan, and I carry my visa card to pay for my flight in this emergency case.

Small torch/ LED

A small AAA cell battery or LED torch on my ID wallet. Sold in the PX they were first seen as a gimmick but turned out to be invaluable when you needed to find something in the back of the glove box or read a map near last light. I carried my main torch on my pistol and another on my primary weapon.

Note pad and pencil

Self explanatory, only difference was mine was waterproof paper and I also carried a small survival heliograph. (Because I always have)

Watch

Good sturdy watch with 2-3 time functions so you can monitor the time in 2-3 countries. I also had a small survival compass attached. Again, good in a building to give you a sense of direction. A built in compass is great but you are forever pushing buttons and using battery power. Also it had a washborn divers strap instead of the factory issue strap. This requires you to break both watch strap pins before you lose your watch.

Sunglasses

With a short retaining strap. These were wraparound ballistic protection. They don’t stop bullets but they do stop the crap that comes from your mates breach when he fires close to you, also the concrete splinters kicked up by bullet bounce. You need the restraining strap so you don’t loss them when you stick your head outside the car travelling at 100kph to take a shot.

Baseball cap

To shade the eyes and protect bald spots. Since most have the company logo on them they are part of service dress so you can advertise the company.

Helmet Kevlar

I always wore my Kevlar. If I wasn’t wearing it then it was close at hand or I knew where it was. A lot of people say it is un-cool, but you are not there to be cool. You are there to protect the client and if you get hit in the head by a bullet or shrapnel then a Kevlar has more chance of stopping it than a bandana. I wore it because when the shit hits the fan you don’t have time to help the client get himself squared away and get your own shit squared away.

Electronic ear defenders

I started wearing electronic ear defenders because mates who had been in IED blasts where the blast took out their vehicle told me the wished they had worn their earmuffs. With built in electronic cut-off and microphones to amplify voice they seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately machinegun fire sounds exactly like the client scrunching up an empty packet of crisps and you don’t get the same direction location ability with them on as without them on.

Tourniquet

Basically the only piece of medical kit I carried on my person. My mate self treated 2 bullet wounds and survived for 15 minutes before guys could get to him and drag him to safety. He survived injuries which were un-survivable without the tourniquets for a period of time which would mean he would have bled out long before his rescue.

Gloves

Fireproof Nomex aviator, with non-slip palms or similar, with the fingers still attached, not cut off.

Body armour

The best available or that you can afford. One company I worked for spent $US1000 on their body armour and issued you with about $US300 of equipment. Another supplied $US4000 body armour and issued $US6000 of extras. And yet a third expected you to supply your own armour and weapons. Whatever the situation you need to know what the armour is rated to and how to correctly fit and service it. Some armour is multiple hit, other is single, some has ceramic plate some non. Some has the trauma pad built into the Kevlar lining some separate. Suffice to say if you clean your armour and you reassemble it with the trauma padding away from your body then you might as well go out naked. Also some armour has attachments for external pouches and some don’t. Plus some guys just prefer to use plate carriers instead of full armour. You need to educate yourself in the advantages and disadvantages of all the systems and make an informed decision.

Primary Weapon

Should be of a calibre which equals or out matches the enemies. There is virtually no use in carrying a sub-machine gun when your enemy is packing an AK. You are out gunned in range and penetration. He stands back 200m and shoots you behind a wall and you look good up until you have to shoot. And yet I have seen teams deploy with MP5s because the client said so or worse because the commanders used it on their PPO courses and didn’t know better.

What ever weapon system you get you need lots of ammo for it. A minimum of 10x 30rd magazines on you, plus a second 300rds preloaded in magazines or boxed if magazines are unavailable in a breakout bag.

Some type of torch system is also needed. This is both for the purpose of lighting during room combat and to act as a warning system prior to you firing. But most likely it will be used in your defence under an escalation of force policy when you are in court. “Yes judge I vigorously flashed my weapon mounted torch at the approaching vehicle to warn him to reduce his speed and stay back, then when he proceeded I had no course but to attempt to shoot his engine.”

Some form of external mounted holographic sighting system, e.g. EOTech sight. These far outperform the manufactured open sight system on most weapons unless you are an exceptionally good shot. But since in all likelihood you won’t get range time for months, you are far better off with a well zeroed holographic sight.

A sling system, that doesn’t get in the way of your armour and secondary weapon. This is primarily for weapon retention in the event you are unconscious and in need of casevac. Also for retention when shooting from a high speed moving vehicle as it jinks about in a fire-fight.

My final take on your primary weapon is that you need to avoid the tendency to over trick it out like some operators tend to do. IMHO it is there to kill people who are trying to kill you, not as a fashion accessory to show off the latest model double mag holder, 9 inch barrel, EOTech, laser designator Horus scope. Identify what you need to kill people and then leave it at that.

Secondary Weapon

Usually a 9mm Glock pistol. Mine had a torch attached for use in low light. Ammo consisted of 1x 20rd magazine on the pistol and 2x 20rd in my armour. If I was acting as the AIC and the meeting meant no M4, then I carried 4 spare 20x magazines in my armour.

A final note on pistols. I am a strong believer in Klydex holsters with the retention button built into the holster as opposed to the dome clip system. With practice your draw is just as fast as with a dome system. But I like the peace of mind a retention button gives. I know when I reach down for the pistol it will still be there and not lying in the last fire position you took. 

Radio equipment

The issue inter personal radio communication system issued by your company. Plus spare battery. A word on communications. I always mount my radio where I can get hold of it. Usually under my left arm to the rear of my magazines. This is so that I can change batteries, volume and frequency quickly without having to get others to help as opposed to mounting it on my back. If you don’t hear anything for 15min you can quickly check the freq hasn’t changed or the battery hasn’t run out. And you can quickly rectify it if it has, especially the whole volume thing.

Medical kit

A trauma and giving set in a safe place on my armour. No point having it shot during a contact as when you need it, you need it quick. Morphine auto injector. Wound dressing and QuickClot. Plus a spare tourniquet.

Extra stuff

Plastic cuffs, not only to cuff people but to secure doors etc

Door wedge. (I use it to lock my door in hotels and to slow possible follow up)

Chewing gum/ hand sanitizer           

Breakout bag

A breakout bag carries all your spares and refills. Normally it stays in the vehicle either until after the fire-fight, but comes with you when you evacuate the vehicle to hard point or E&E. Mine contained the following.

10x M4 ammo in 30rd magazines

2x 20rd 9mm ammo in magazines, or 100rds in boxes

2x smoke grenades for marking  

1x WP grenade for smoke screen and to delay follow-up

Compass

Spare radio batteries / charger if on long journey and spare batteries for all electronic equipment I carried. (I used high capacity rechargeable AA and AAA batteries for all my electrical equipment and they never failed me.)

Aircraft marker panel.

Spare IV and bag.

Weapon cleaning kit.

Alternate belt holster for pistol so I could transfer my pistol from my body armour to my belt at the PX. (Actually most of the time it was on my belt for this express purpose. Dinner in the DEFAC, PX, anywhere outside the vehicle away from my body armour.)

Water and energy bars.

A small telked piece of paper with “Please don’t fuck me in the arse, just shoot me” in Arabic. (If you don’t have a sense of humour you are in the wrong business) 

Over the years I have seen numerous kits and must have items carried by operators. The common thing is, if it makes you perform to the best of your ability and you feel safer, then no problem. The moment that it starts to hinder your ability to do your job then that becomes an issue.

My advice on getting work

It is not what you know it is who you know or who knows you. All of my work over the years has come from referral from pass friends or from happy clients. I have formally been to 2 interviews with British companies, both owned by friends or friends of friends. Unless another 9/11 happens it will be very hard to break into the high risk protection environment. And at today’s pay rates who really wants to. I personally have earned more money protecting clients in NZ than on some High Risk protection tasks in Iraq. And with the pay scale going down fast in Baghdad it isn’t looking to much better. Also working against NZ operators is the need to get MNF-I certification. The USA and UK now require operators to be licensed by their authorities in order to work on government contracts. All US State Department contracts are run under the WPPS system which is another way of saying only for US citizens.

My best advice is to check out the UN employment site. If you are ex-police or have a university degree no problem. But if like me you have only secondary school education and a military background you are out of luck. The other avenue is to get into corporate protection. The money is not as good as all the stories you hear about High Risk environment protection. But then the chances of a steady income and the ability to spend it are much higher. 

Finally, if I sound like High Risk environment protection is for ex-military personnel only then that is only my personal opinion. Over the years I have personally witnessed guys who were well out of their depth having no military background, done a corporate protection course and then jumping into the deep end. Learning skills and drills on a course is good. Not having the depth of experience to see that your drills are not working in the environment you are in is not. And not having the moral integrity and common sense to quit because you need the money is just criminal.