Just 2 Seconds

[cimmbasso]

What's up my fellow protectors...

I've been in the business for a few years now and on my down time have read many books on the subjects of protection and deadly force. Titles such as Dodging Bullets, On Killing and The Gift of Fear are a few of the titles I've read.

The latest book I was able to get my hands on was Just 2 Seconds. It is an exhaustive study on the elements of an attack, mindset of the protector, space - time it takes to respond, how time, distance and positioning come into play in successfully protecting your client and lastly identifying the bad guys.

The bulk of the book is a compendium that contains many examples of intentional harm toward VIP's, unintentional harm to VIP's and embarrassing situation involving VIP's (Bill Gates pie incident for example). We are talking several hundred pages worth of incidents that the authors compiled. This might sound like a lot to go through but each case is as interesting as the next. I read them all within a few sittings.

I Googled the title and got the web site www.just2seconds.org. It seems they are offering the book at a discount over Amazon.com. I can't recommend this book enough. It'll open your eyes.

I'd recommend The Bulletproof Mind by Dave Grossman also. Good stuff!

If you've got the book, comment on your favorite part. The Time and Distance study really made me think.

Cimmbasso

[jmaccauley]

I totally agree. This book is a must for those tasked with protection duties of nearly every type. It's worth the $50 bucks for the compendium alone.

The chapter on the SEE (suspects exist everywhere) principle was impressive. It basically trains protectors to constantly stay alert and use their intuition about what they are seeing. Unlike Law Enforcement, security does not need probable cause to suspect a problem and begin to move towards it before trouble begins. If you are wrong, so be it. No harm, no foul. if you are right, your reaction time has just been reduced significantly.

Hard to pick a favorite chapter since all were very informative.

[SecTrainer]

Case studies are usually the thing that is omitted or short-changed in training but are so important. Protectors not only have to know the "general principles" of protection, but also the exact methods that bad guys have used or are using to circumvent these "general principles".

Unfortunately, it seems like the attitude in a lot of training is that this knowledge can only be obtained from personal experience - "OJT". Not only is this not true, but the experience might very well come at an unacceptably high price...for the agent and his principal.

A trainer can vastly shorten the new professional's "experience curve" by presenting loads of actual cases for him to study (the operative word in "case study" is "study"). So, kudos to this very fine author; the case studies alone make the book worth buying even if you've got a library of books on the "methods" or "principles" of EP.

...and, along this line, EP professionals should be very frank about sharing their experiences with one another as well so as to keep everyone current on the inventive methods that attackers are always coming up with in this cat-and-mouse game of EP.

[Bill Warnock]

Case studies are usually the thing that is omitted or short-changed in training but are so important. Protectors not only have to know the "general principles" of protection, but also the exact methods that bad guys have used or are using to circumvent these "general principles".

Unfortunately, it seems like the attitude in a lot of training is that this knowledge can only be obtained from personal experience - "OJT". Not only is this not true, but the experience might very well come at an unacceptably high price...for the agent and his principal.

A trainer can vastly shorten the new professional's "experience curve" by presenting loads of actual cases for him to study (the operative word in "case study" is "study"). So, kudos to this very fine author; the case studies alone make the book worth buying even if you've got a library of books on the "methods" or "principles" of EP.

...and, along this line, EP professionals should be very frank about sharing their experiences with one another as well so as to keep everyone current on the inventive methods that attackers are always coming up with in this cat-and-mouse game of EP.
SecTrainer what you have posted herein is information all of us should carefully consider, something that ensures we get to go home again no worse for the wear. Study is the operative word. Case studies exist to make us better at what we do. Tombstone courage gives short shrift to lessons learned by others results in irremediable defeat for you and danger to others.
That is why you and I strive so hard to instill in readers the requirements of study and training. We want conditioned responses from everyone engaged in this business.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[Captain_America21]

Sectrainer is 100% correct.

For example, months ago, I was in the process of training an EP team that was very inexperienced. The day before our final training scenario Bhutto was attacked and killed.

I Couldn't have ask for a better training tool (unfortunately) for the "students" to learn from. Even better (unfortunately), it was on video. We were able to break down all the basic elements of EP and figure out what was done wrong, and how it should have been corrected.

I think the "students" learned more from than any "live" training scenario.

Also, while I on EP. I also believe that a greater emphasis should be put on advanced work. For me, it is the most crucial aspect to EP, but typically gets overlooked for the majority of EP guys who just learn close & point.

[tanko]

The interesting thing about reviewing actual incidents is the realism and impact on your training. When I work with a partner, or when I'm by myself, I always do 'What if?' games in my head or with my partner.

When you have actual case studies, in my opinion it makes more of an impact on the thought process by personalizing it. Instead of talking about a hypothetical person being the threat without a name or description, you can (hopefully) see a name and a face and if your lucky the video. It also shows you human error in planning, judgment and reaction by both the criminal and the protector. By seeing where something went wrong, you can better prepare yourself for the actual situation and hopefully with some hands on training you can avoid it all together.

I also suggest if anyone can spend some time on video share sites, to look up videos on: fights, road rage incidents, explosions, shootings, and anything else you think would better your training.

[SecTrainer]

Sectrainer is 100% correct.

For example, months ago, I was in the process of training an EP team that was very inexperienced. The day before our final training scenario Bhutto was attacked and killed.

I Couldn't have ask for a better training tool (unfortunately) for the "students" to learn from. Even better (unfortunately), it was on video. We were able to break down all the basic elements of EP and figure out what was done wrong, and how it should have been corrected.

I think the "students" learned more from than any "live" training scenario.

Also, while I on EP. I also believe that a greater emphasis should be put on advanced work. For me, it is the most crucial aspect to EP, but typically gets overlooked for the majority of EP guys who just learn close & point.

Correct - advance work is the heart and soul of EP. This requires a very different skill set (intelligence, OPSEC, etc.) from those needed for the EP operation itself. It's not uncommon in sophisticated organizations to have a specialized advance team that does nothing else.

There's a resource that I've mentioned before in another context, but people who do advance work will find it very useful. (In fact, it's very relevant to almost every aspect of security.) It addresses our human propensity to make many kinds of mental errors when we analyze intelligence, and how to avoid them. It's a free online book authored by a CIA analyst: The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis (https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/psychology-of-intelligence-analysis/index.html). You can either read it online or download the PDF version (https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/psychology-of-intelligence-analysis/PsychofIntelNew.pdf) and print it out (214 pages) or read it offline.

I've read this book at least four or five times and I get something new out of it every time.

[Captain_America21]

Thank you for the resource.

Another thought on Advance work, it all comes down to time & budget.

As of late, it seems like a rare occasion where I have an EP detail that provides me enough time to properly plan. I'm getting rush cases, last minute, with budgets that are to low to send an Advance Team (or just one team member).

Sometimes it's hard for me to truely believe that I'm providing a valuable service.

[SecTrainer]

Thank you for the resource.

Another thought on Advance work, it all comes down to time & budget.

As of late, it seems like a rare occasion where I have an EP detail that provides me enough time to properly plan. I'm getting rush cases, last minute, with budgets that are to low to send an Advance Team (or just one team member).

Sometimes it's hard for me to truely believe that I'm providing a valuable service.

Funny how the intelligence consumer (in the case of EP, this is the principal by way of the EP agent) is usually the one who imposes such impossible constraints - budget, time, etc. - on the operation despite being the one who has the most at stake. We see this in government intelligence as well, of course.

If things go wrong, however, they will rarely if ever take the blame for compromising the operation. Again, we have seen how government intelligence agencies often take the rap because they have to work under impossible constraints of time and money.

[timorourkecps]

Great Book and Great Points by all.

However regarding the budget and advance man/team I just wanted to share MHO. If you are a solo operator and the protectee is not a recognizable figure visiting only a small number of venues in a given city - then we could probably do most of the advance via the internet (great tool we did not always have back in the day) or with the assistance of a local on ground contact.

But if we are talking about something much larger - multiple protectee(s) with 12 of more venues to visit in one location or over a tour of several States or Countries - you need at least one squared away advance man in front of you. I understand and get the whole budget thing- I've dealt with it for over twenty years. The point is- if your client runs your detail, (I hope we can agree) you will have a poorly run detail. Sometimes it is better to pass on a detail that will not be funded correctly because your not only trying to manage the clients exposure to risk, but your own reputations exposure to risk! As SecTrainer stated- "they will not accept the blame for compromising the operation"

Some people feel the hardest thing to do for a small business is the right thing! That is bull- walk away. The hardest thing to do is spend a lot of time and energy building your reputation to let it be jeopardized by one client.

No one stays in business for long with situational ethics- services or clients. Never compromise - short term gains have NEVER equaled long term success. The proof is in all those that have come and gone since you opened your doors.


Stay Safe

Tim

[SecTrainer]

The internet is a good resource if used properly (of course). Still, there are some other things you can do that shouldn't be too burdensome timewise and also do not require much in the way of analysis:

1. Contact the local PD and inquire about any current relevant crime issues that may be applicable to the venue(s) in question. If the department is large enough to have a crime analysis or criminal intel unit, that's who to call.

2. Contact the local department of public works or streets and make sure that your route will be clear and free of detours, construction bottlenecks, etc. These things won't show up on Google Maps.

3. Seems too obvious to mention, but some fail to do this: Ask your principal whether they are already aware of any existing threats, groups that have been causing problems, etc. If any names such as PETA, ELF, etc pop up, make sure your Internet news search on the organization covers the whole state or even the region (i.e., the Northwest), because these folks are quite mobile within fairly large activity zones.

4. If you have enough notice, drive the proposed route and alternative routes at the time of day both for timing and to identify potential issues, one-way streets, escape routes, etc. This drive should go all the way into the venue's parking facility, etc.

5. When you prepare maps, from every major interchange, major intersection, etc., draw the most direct route to the medical facility that is closest to each of these points. You can do this with very light dashed lines that don't clutter up the map and are easily differentiated from the more substantial lines used to demarcate the main/alternate routes to the venue(s).

NOTE: The drive-through does not substitute for contacting the street/public works department. One tells you what things are like today; the other can tell you what's scheduled to be happening along your route on the date(s) of your detail.

With a little luck, all of this other than the drive-through shouldn't take more than about an hour or two to accomplish.

[Jesse/Krav/EP]

The book Just 2 Seconds is definately informative and a benefit to anyone serious about EP work. The strategies and statistics found in this book can help anyone get an extra edge over the would be stealthy aggressor. I like the fact that Gavin De Beckers Just 2 Seconds takes strategies like timing , distance, and reaction and molds it for the benefit of protectors. Being a hand to hand combat instructor helps, being a seasoned ex-soldier helps, ex-law enforcement or anything relatively substantial to EP works out for you but sometimes if you do not have the proper awareness,planning , and resources you could be at a major disadvantage before you even start.
Like a game of chess ..this book will show you how to think ahead and use tactics that put you ahead of an adversary who you once thought you could do nothing about.

[H.G.]

This is an excellent book. Its a must read for any working professional in executive protection and threat assessment. Highly recommended!!!

[Matty]

Just two seconds is a must read for us. It is jammed packed with useful information. I keep it with me for reference.

[mike booth]

Must be good. It is drawing a lot of new members/first time posters and it just got a bump from me. LOL

[DCJS Instructor]

Good Book!

A must read for anyone in the biz!


DCJS Out!