Personal Security Detail Operations Book 3: Personal Security Detail Operations, #3

By Mike Harland

Personal security detail operations is a manual on how to conduct successful security operation in a very hostile (non- permissive environment). In the manual I include aspects such as weapons training, driving techniques and patrolling and other aspects of Personal security detail operations. This can also be used for Body guarding operation which would not need the same level of armor and weapons, but some of the tactics will be applicable depending on what the level of threat is. Some sections cover escape and evasion and tactics with regards to these. The techniques and tactics can be applied in a military context humanitarian or any other area of operations where security is an issue     

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Harland
• Release date: Feb 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201231910

Book preview

About the Author

I was trained for 16-17 years in Karate, reaching black belt 2nd Dan in 1991. During this period, I participated in a number of karate competitions, winning gold and a number of bronze medals in competition. From 1985-1986 did my national service in the South African Defense Force (SADF), doing border duty for 9 months in the combat area (red zone/war zone). As a 20-year-old I saw my first contact (real life shooting) as a group of ANC/ SWAPO terrorist organizations attacked our base. Although it was probably SWAPO as the ANC’s Spear of the nation army was a bit blunt and lost every contact with SA forces.

From about 1987 till the early 90’s, I worked doing door duty at clubs. During this period in our country, badly behaved people normally took their punishment like a man, and that was where I had most of my street experience situations up until about 40 years of age. Personally, and in the capacity of a soldier and Close Protection Specialist I have used pistols and rifles extensively.

People mostly want to know what you based your training on and what experience you have. It is good for someone to ask because their life depends on the training they will receive from an instructor. You need to know that the person who is teaching you actually has experience in real combat. What does the person teaching you have to draw from as an instructor if he has no experience? Without a penchant for training in combat you won’t have the will to succeed – you need a certain disposition that predisposes you to this.

In 1992 I developed an interest in Close Protection (CP), which was a very new occupation in the public sector in South Africa at the time. There was not much in the way of sophisticated training courses for civilians. So whenever there was a possibility to train with an instructor that knew what he was talking about, we would jump at the opportunity. During the period 1992 till 2005 I attended 4 separate CP courses and a number of other related courses such as shooting in low light, advanced foot and vehicle drills, Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) recognition, unarmed combat, knife fighting, and numerous other skills and courses not mentioned here. These instructors ranged from civilian instructors to ex Special Forces (SF) and FBI certified instructors. During my CP experience, I have looked after celebrities, businessmen, royalty and diplomats.

I was able to apply IED recognition experience in counter terrorism operations. In 2000 I was tasked to come up with a plan to minimize IEDs being placed in The V&A Waterfront Cape Town.

South Africa has a tradition of hunters and shooters because of the nature of the land and its tumultuous history over the last 300 years, where hunting and fighting were the order of the day, and this gave most South Africans a good taste of reality in combat. Therefore, it was more likely that we would be exposed to weapons living in South Africa.

In the military we dealt with all sorts of weapons and equipment, such as radar and radio communications etc. High threat CP is commonly referred to as Private Security Detail (PSD), and during 2004 the conflict in Iraq attracted a lot of PSD operators from all over the world. Having military experience and about 15 years in CP by that time, I decided it would benefit my overall abilities to get some PSD experience and training. 

You soon learn it takes a determined, focused and deliberate mindset balanced with self confidence that will allow you to win in a real gunfight; there is no room for negative thoughts or thoughts that detract from the winning, orientated and focused mind.

When you train for combat in reality it helps to train instinctively and to train so you react and don’t have to think about tactics because there is only time for reacting.

My experience with martial and unarmed combat spans about 38 years where I trained not just with Karate systems but also to a minor degree Aikido (which is not a self-defense system), Judo and some ground fighting. My weapons training was with various weapon systems, handguns and rifles etc. which spans about 30 years.

To better understand where my skill level was in terms of international standards, I did an advanced certificate in handgun and rifle skills to round off my weapons qualifications. This certifies a person to teach to an advanced level anywhere in the world and is internationally recognized. From approximately 1994/97 I started to develop the mobility shooting drills for handgun and rifle which you can now see on YouTube and also on Patreon see below.

During this period, I got most of my Close Protection experience and was tasked as team leader about 70 times or more. In the period 1990-1991 I studied physical education which has helped me better understand the body and how it functions. I apply this in my unarmed combat and weapons training courses.

Contents

About the Author

Communications in a Close Protection Environment

Abbreviations for personnel in planning and diagrams

Reasons for communication in a PSD environment

Types of communications and means of communications

General rules for information security

Who communicates with whom and why?

Close Protection (CP)

Personal Security Detail (PSD)

PSD communications for convoy driving

PSD Vehicle Operations

Progression of events for vehicles escort

Golden rules for convoy driving for all operators

Golden rules for soft skinned vehicles

Golden rules specifically for drivers

Planning steps for convoy threat assessment

Conducting high profile vehicle convoy escort

Vehicle equipment for convoy

General armor specifications

Personal equipment for the convoy

Low profile vehicle operations

Equipment for low profile escorts

General convoy tactics in high threat areas

Progression of events from driving to holding / contact / E&E

Outline of basic tactics and procedures for vehicles

Active holding to assault

Mounting a defense with vehicles

Battlefield simulation exercises

Convoy training scenarios

PSD Vehicle Anti-ambush Procedures

The vehicle ambush

Types of ambush

Important rules for countering ambushes

Sequence of events leading up to the ambush

Recognizing an ambush

Keys to successful countering of an ambush

Counter attacking an ambush

Crossover drill for PSD

Ambush evasive measures using a vehicle

Dealing with a rolling ambush

Counter ambush technique for a war zone (the Harland method)

Using the rolling counter attack with a 90 degree (VHAR 1)

Rolling counter attack with a parallel formation (VHAR 2)

Rolling counter attack with front and back vehicles (VHAR 3)

Training for an ambush situation

Vehicle ambush scenarios

Training for ambush triggers

Preemptive actions when spotting an ambush

Sequence of events

High speed driving

Ambush from the front

Ambush from front and side (left or right)

Ambush blocked front and back

Ambush initiated by a roadside bomb

Additional training scenarios

PSD Night Time Vehicle Operations

Preparing the vehicle

General preparation and procedures for operators

Summary of expediencies for night time convoys

Basic tactics and procedures for night escorts

PSD Foot Anti-ambush Procedures

Assumed prior skills

Requirements for successful foot anti ambush actions

Scenarios for foot anti-ambush application

Principles for foot anti-ambush procedure in a high threat environment

Differences Between CP and PSD Operations

CP operations

PSD operations

Types of anti-ambush drills for foot formations

Tactics for Night Operations

Basic tactics once you have left the vehicle

Major factors for using a suppressor at night

Searching and Securing a Vehicle

Vehicle security principles

Vehicle booby traps

Stages of search

Foot Formations for High Threat Operations

Training for foot drills in a PSD environment

In the Palestinian context

Golden rules for foot operations

The nature of high threat areas

Use an open formation

Types of foot formations

The one-man foot formation (escort)

2-man foot formation

3-man foot formation

4-man foot formation

5-man foot formation

Fighting in two’s

Commands for fighting in two’s

Reasons for fighting in two’s

Basic Tactics and Procedures

Contact with the enemy

Controlling your immediate environment

Medical evacuation

Contact drills

Close in contact drills for foot formations

Escorting the principal with vehicles

Contact drills during E&E

Contact drills in a 2 man team

Packing Your E&E Bag

Belt pack

Main bag items

Optional items to pack according to your need

Patrolling Tactics and Procedures

Planning for patrol

Planning for desert operations

Water problems when patrolling

Patrolling skills

Effective patrolling

Basic individual skills

Individual contact skills

Training scenarios for individual skills

Small team formations

Vigilance (observing your environment)

General tactics and procedures for patrolling

Tactics and procedures for effective patrolling at night

Target indicators used by the enemy

Target indicators of the enemy

Tactics for a contact

Contact scenarios

Small team formation for day or night

Approach tactics for LUP, RV, or OP

Training for patrols

Preparations for patrolling scenarios

Training progression

Communications in a Close Protection Environment

Communications facilitate the smooth function and coordination of all the elements of a Close protection effort. The coordination enhances the protection for the principal if it is done correctly and timely.

The objective of communications is to relay information to the relevant person in the team so he is aware of something that can affect the team dynamic such as a contact (attack), change in plans, and proximity of a suspect person or object. This may be something such as clear indication meaning a certain area that you may be walking into is free of visual threats as far as he (the operator) can see (the person who calls it can see). It may be something more relevant to the principal’s safety such as contact that means immediate action should be taken to negate an attack by the enemy and an evacuation or contact drill will be applied at this point.

We are discussing the transfer of information via radio voice or hand signals that affects the immediate area around the team. This will be communications with the close protection team, the operators around the principal such as drivers, advance team, undercover operators and counter sniper as well as advance team and where necessary support elements such as police, private security or traffic police etc.

The means by which this info is transferred is dictated by a few factors such as threat, size of team and equipment available. In some third world countries, it may be that radios are not available or that the means to charge them will not be available.

The threat will affect the need for communication in the way that if it is a high threat then it is more likely that you will need communication equipment to talk to the sniper and undercover team members. The threat also can be such that you will have long distances between team members and therefore the need for radios.

Where possible when using radios, use encrypted communications as the information you communicate with operators or advance team (not likely in most PSD operations) may give away vital information to the enemy. Although you will not mention dates, times or places as a matter of security it may still be possible to glean some valuable info if it is not on an encrypted system. 

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