I was delighted to see the Herald Standard quoting an executive/close protection agent regarding the importance of Advance work.
Sy Alli is an E.P./C.P. team leader for "Limited Brands Inc.," and was speaking at the California University of Pennsylvania's 2nd annual conference on Corporate and Homeland Security.
Mr. Alli was describing a previous trip to Indonesia where he was in charge of the advance to make sure everything was in place before the Principal arrived out with the other protective agents. Very accurately, he described the need to cover every minute detail from the routes of travel to the alternative routes and to include such important features as local hospitals should medical treatment be needed.
Another important point highlighted was the need for agents to have access to contacts in different countries who could assist with logistics, general and specialized support on the ground, current political situations, etc.
Far too often I am approached by security persons (and not even all are qualified/trained in executive or close protection)who find out that we may have overseas work and want to be included. On some occassions, those requesting to be included on the detail did not even have a current passport!
If you are serious about making a career out of this line of work, you owe it to yourself to do your homework. Over the years I have developed hundreds of contacts all over the world who will respond immediately and who can be trusted to support us in any number of situations and scenarios.
This took a lot of preparing and involved constant contact. It is not something that you throw together a day before your client is scheduled to arrive in a country. If you have people in different parts of the country, or world if you wish to work globally, who can assist when you are in need, you will be able to facilitate your client in a way that will not only gain his/her admiration, but will undoubtedly cement your position in that client's security detail.
In these unsure times, there is a lot to be said for knowing your job is safe for the foreseeable future.
Sy Alli is an E.P./C.P. team leader for "Limited Brands Inc.," and was speaking at the California University of Pennsylvania's 2nd annual conference on Corporate and Homeland Security.
Mr. Alli was describing a previous trip to Indonesia where he was in charge of the advance to make sure everything was in place before the Principal arrived out with the other protective agents. Very accurately, he described the need to cover every minute detail from the routes of travel to the alternative routes and to include such important features as local hospitals should medical treatment be needed.
Another important point highlighted was the need for agents to have access to contacts in different countries who could assist with logistics, general and specialized support on the ground, current political situations, etc.
Far too often I am approached by security persons (and not even all are qualified/trained in executive or close protection)who find out that we may have overseas work and want to be included. On some occassions, those requesting to be included on the detail did not even have a current passport!
If you are serious about making a career out of this line of work, you owe it to yourself to do your homework. Over the years I have developed hundreds of contacts all over the world who will respond immediately and who can be trusted to support us in any number of situations and scenarios.
This took a lot of preparing and involved constant contact. It is not something that you throw together a day before your client is scheduled to arrive in a country. If you have people in different parts of the country, or world if you wish to work globally, who can assist when you are in need, you will be able to facilitate your client in a way that will not only gain his/her admiration, but will undoubtedly cement your position in that client's security detail.
In these unsure times, there is a lot to be said for knowing your job is safe for the foreseeable future.
