V.I.P.A Tactical Training

In an earlier blog post I looked at why we are always going to be an easy target. That was a look at us as citizens taking matters into our own hands, or not as it would seem, to keep ourselves safe.This was a microcosmic look at our personal protection.

Over the last couple of days as this blog post was being written and over the last couple of weeks the terrorist army ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) to give it one of its names; has invaded Iraq from Syria and in a very short time has pushed all the way to the gates of Baghdad. You will have noticed that I called it a terrorist army, with a strength of around 12,000 men this is no longer a group of seperate entities but a fully equiped, highly motivated, religously extreme and murderous Jihadist Sunni army.

This army has one aim, to establish a Caliphate across the Muslim world with Sharia Law being the only law. If it succeeds in this then the next expansion will be into the west. That though is in the future, however distant.

Last June when the west; mainly the UK and the USA were debating on to whether to go into Syria and help the Free Syrian Army (FSA) there were upwards of five different terrorist groups that had joined the fight. ISIL (ISIS) was one of these groups. Even last June it was way too late for the west to put boots on the ground as these terrorist groups were becoming ever more prominent. At this stage the US Government were providing weapons and ammunition to the FSA either with or withour exact knowledge of where these arms were ending up. It does now seem clear that the US Government were either inadvertantly arming what is now known as ISIS or arming them without the foresight of the coming conditions in Iraq and the threat to the west we see today.

Last June I posted this picture onto my twitter time line.

Can you imagine the thoughts of our troops after fighting these terrorist groups in Iraq and Afghanistan on being told they will have to fight with them in Syria?

Which brings us back to the present, leaving politics aside; Tony Blair in his role as Middle East Peace Envoy (I think he may be in the wrong job) has lately said that we must fight against President Assad in Syria and fight against ISIS in Iraq. His comments by various politicians and observers had been called mad, to say the least. We are now back to fighting with them in one country and against them in another. So lets just amend the above picture for the present day.

I am not sure he knows which side he wants the wast to be on. Well I have an idea, how about on our side.

But where does all of this leave the citizens of the west and especially those of the UK? Well in the ISIS army there are a approximately 500 British Jihadists. Video footage and internet comments by these hardened fighters over the last week tell us how they will wreak havoc on their return to the UK, especially around the time of the general election in 2015.
Now it may just be some huffing and puffing but there have been Jihadists returning from Syria with a hatred for the west and luckily they have been intercepted by the security services.

This present threat has been brought about by some really inept decision making by UK and US Governments which has allowed conditon to deteriorate in the Middle East and with our open door policy with regards to immigration it will be harder to stop 500 returning UK Jihadists.

But with regards to the call for havoc on their return there is a far more present threat posed by sympathisers and UK radicals who have stayed behind and continue to live here. Will these messages from afar spur these home grown terrorists to action before there Jihadi brothers return?

With what seems like a lack of concern or a lack of commitment for the publics safety from the government; this latest turn of event means we as citizens need to be on our guard more than ever to protect ourselves. Though the fighting may be far away it is really much closer than we think.

First let me remind you of the Threat escalation model for the close protection operator.

Nuisance Person 
Hostile / Friendly Crowd
Missile Thrown
Unarmed Physical Attack
Armed Physical Attack Edged and Blunt Trauma Weapons
Close Range Gun Attack
Long Range Gun Attack
Bomb or Grenade attack
Vehicle Ambush
                                                                                                                       
This type of attack is much easier to deal with as a team, obviously the more c/s you have the more cover you provide your principal. Which brings me on to the response of the CP Team to this attack. Depending on the range of the attack and the number of c/s in the team there will be one of three responses. The longer the range the more time you have to respond and obviously the shorter the range the less time you will have to respond and consequently you may have to respond faster.

IBG Response
Long range 15' and over - Response - Give body cover and bug out
Short Range 0' to 15' - Response - Either give body cover / Intercept / Push Principal off the X - bug out

2, 3, 4 + Man Teams Response
Long Range 15' and over - Response - Give body cover and bug out
Short Range 0' to 15' - Response - Give body cover and bug out. If you think the threat may continue or escalate then one c/s should attack the threat.

You could argue that there should be a medium distance in here but the time frame from attack to response is so short and fast that a medium distance would not have any impact on the responses and drills mentioned  above.

Anything can be used as a missile and lots have been, either to harm or humiliate those being attacked.

Before I give some examples here is a true short story which happened to an IBG that i know.

The Principal who the IBG was looking after was working for Vogue and directly under Anna Wintour, Editor-in Chief of the magazine. She has been directly attacked by the animal rights group PETA.
While PETA normally throw blood or flour they have been know to use acid on fur coates, who is to say it will not escalate to someone attacking using acid.
Back to the story. The Principal was attending a fur fashion show, reporting on the show and modelling on the catwalk. The attack happened while arriving at the after show party with the fashion designer and a celebrity friend. As their vehicle pulled up at the D.O.P and they opened the door (not the IBG) who was also the driver a PETA member stepped forward and threw a flour bomb; coating everyone in flour.
A number of things were not done to prevent this attack from happening. No risk or threat assessment was done. No advance c/s was used even though they were available. Incorrect drills when arriving at the D.O.P. No recce report done on either the main venue or the after show party.

As supposedly professional operators, don't cut corners, do your job to the best of your abilities and dont let this (a minor attack) happen to you.

Some More Examples
Bill Gates hit by a pie
Silvio Berlusconi hit on the head by a metal statue
Geraldo hit by a chair
Duff from Guns and Roses hit by a bottle of urine
President Bush dodges a shoe
Sarah Palin dodges a tomato
Deputy PM John Prescott hit by eggs
Francois Hollande hit by flour bomb
Mitt Romney Glitter Bombed
Many Celebs flour bombed and blood bombed by PETA
Tony Blair hit by eggs
Nigel Farrage hit by eggs

There have been many more and while to outsiders they do seem funny they do have a serious side, especially with the growing number of acid attacks that are being seen. There have been more tha 63 attacks over the last few years in the UK and more than 1,500 cases world wide are reported every year.Over 70% are against women so if you are a BG and your principal is a young woman then please take note.

Ruth Kelly the then Education Secretary attacked and hit by an egg.

You can see how Missile Thrown moves on to the next level of threat from the Hostile / Friendly Crowd. How many times have we seen a demonstration or march turn hostile and become a riot with missiles picked up from any number of everyday items and launched at law enforcement and any other person of the establishment.
Is your Principal someone who may be giving speaches, either in an enclosed environment or to a large body of people?
Does your Principal frequent areas, sporting events, marches or demonstrations where there has been riots, hooliganism or vandalism in the past?
Is your Principal a possible target of animal rights or other subversive groups with violent tendencies?
It may be easier to defend your Principal from a lone missile launched at him / her (If you are switched on enough) but how about many missiles launched at the same time. Mass demonstrations in third world countries and hostile environments are noted for turning ugly with the prominent weapon at this level being bricks and stones launched not only by hand but also by handheld catapults, a much more deadly form of missile attack.

Hand held projectiles easily accessable. Do you know your drills and S.O.Ps for this kind of attack.

In Missile Thrown we are still in the lower threat levels, no matter; an attack is an attack and if you cannot operate at this low level as either an IBG or as part of a team then how do you expect to operate at much higher threat levels.

There is at present an over emphasis on firearms training for the BG, hey its a Gucci way to get people on your course.
These lower threat levels are all too often forgotten about but happen more than being attacked by firearms.
Training and having S.O.Ps on all threat levels is essential, we see all too often people being attacked by thrown objects. Dont be the next BG on the news to end up with (egg on his face) pardon the pun.

Stay Dangerous

Rock