Bodyguards, Secret Service, Weapons, Travel Security and Dangerous Places

Excellent advice. I wished I had brought a spare "throw away" wallet once I got to Rome a couple weeks ago. I was there for an aerospace supplier conference. Several people in attendance were pick pocketed or mugged or nearly mugged. One couple was jumped by three punks, two of which grabbed the guy while the third went through the guy's pockets. The wife screamed and got the attention of a policeman who ran over. The muggers ran off, dropping the guy's wallet. The cop simply told the couple they should have been more careful.

 

One other tip I'd like to add: When leaving the airport, never accept a taxi ride from someone that walks up to you asking if you need a taxi. Try to arrange a driver to pick you up, or stay at a hotel with a shuttle. If you absolutely must take taxi, go to the marked taxi spot. At least in civilized countries (a term used loosely with Italy), taxis are regulated and have specific pick up spots outside the airport. Another of the attendees flew in late, accepted a ride from some guy that just walked up to him in the airport, and was immediately driven to the nearest ATM, had a gun pulled on him, and forced to pull out money and hand over his wallet. The good thing is he wasn't hurt and got to keep his luggage.

Brilliant post, thank you for the insight and common sense. I read it and was thinking OF COURSE but a few of these thoughts wouldn't have crossed my mind - especially the house keeping tip. On vacation your so over exposed as your relaxed and chilling. Thanks.

 

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While most people would say bah humbug and that you're paranoid.... i think this is wonderful information people really should take heed upon. Great post!

Excellent advice. I wished I had brought a spare "throw away" wallet once I got to Rome a couple weeks ago. I was there for an aerospace supplier conference. Several people in attendance were pick pocketed or mugged or nearly mugged. One couple was jumped by three punks, two of which grabbed the guy while the third went through the guy's pockets. The wife screamed and got the attention of a policeman who ran over. The muggers ran off, dropping the guy's wallet. The cop simply told the couple they should have been more careful.

 

One other tip I'd like to add: When leaving the airport, never accept a taxi ride from someone that walks up to you asking if you need a taxi. Try to arrange a driver to pick you up, or stay at a hotel with a shuttle. If you absolutely must take taxi, go to the marked taxi spot. At least in civilized countries (a term used loosely with Italy), taxis are regulated and have specific pick up spots outside the airport. Another of the attendees flew in late, accepted a ride from some guy that just walked up to him in the airport, and was immediately driven to the nearest ATM, had a gun pulled on him, and forced to pull out money and hand over his wallet. The good thing is he wasn't hurt and got to keep his luggage.

 

I nearly got jacked in Rome as well.... by a couple of kids. They used the famous divert/distract, then pickpocket method. The little girl came rushing up to me with a newspaper, waving it at my face, while at the same time the boy tried to work my pocket. I caught the little brat and shook him off.....and they both took off. The last sight I had of them was of the girl beating up on her accomplice for screwing up!

 

In many cities in Latin America(Rio, Buenos Aires, Mexico City) it can be downright dangerous to hail a taxi off the street. Many of the drivers are hoodlums, or work with them, and some tourists have been robbed and taken for an ATM joyride.

 

 

Good info, thanks for posting!

 

I especially like the one about carrying a decoy-wallet, and the one about leaving your hotel TV on if youre going to leave the room for extended periods of time.

 

Both idea's make perfect sense and I've never thought about either one while traveling.

Travel Security

 

 

Thank you for your overwhelming response. I have received a number of PM and mails similar to this:

 

 

"Greetings from Canada.

 

Just wanted to send a personal thank you for the tips on traveling. Your post came at exactly the right time.

 

My daughter is getting ready to travel to Greece as part of an organised high school trip.

 

I showed her the tips and hopefully she, (and the others in her group) will follow them."

 

 

Stay online for more security advices !

Dont drive in Italy with a German plated rental car, rent one in Paris, or Italy. They think all Germans have lots of $$$... I had my car broken into in Milano, parked right in front of a church, of course no one saw anything...and the Italian police blamed it on the gypsies. I have since flown into Paris, Rome, drove around (and Italy) with French/Italian plates and had no problems...When I did the overseas purchases of my BMW and Porsche's, I never ventured close to Italy...

I nearly got jacked in Rome as well.... by a couple of kids. They used the famous divert/distract, then pickpocket method. The little girl came rushing up to me with a newspaper, waving it at my face, while at the same time the boy tried to work my pocket. I caught the little brat and shook him off.....and they both took off. The last sight I had of them was of the girl beating up on her accomplice for screwing up!

Another woman at the conference almost got jacked by a couple young teen boys on the train. Apparently when they approached her, she freaked out and inadvertantly struck one of the boys in the face and they took off running.

Another woman at the conference almost got jacked by a couple young teen boys on the train. Apparently when they approached her, she freaked out and inadvertantly struck one of the boys in the face and they took off running.

I don't want to sound rude, but aren't you guys exaggerating quite a bit and most of these tips are common knowledge ?!

 

I've been in so many country's and really, I never got robbed or anything else.

 

Get real, Greece a dangerous country... if you go to Iraq that's dangerous. The only time I felt uncomfortable was in the States and remember I travelled across Asia. I slept in expensive and crappy hotels.

 

 

 

Your tip about the extra wallets is a good one, but the one about 'never get the room cleaned' is ridiculous, just make sure your bags are locked.

Most Dangerous Places on Earth

 

 

I don't want to sound rude, but aren't you guys exaggerating quite a bit and most of these tips are common knowledge ?!

 

I've been in so many country's and really, I never got robbed or anything else.

 

Get real, Greece a dangerous country... if you go to Iraq that's dangerous. The only time I felt uncomfortable was in the States and remember I travelled across Asia. I slept in expensive and crappy hotels.

Your tip about the extra wallets is a good one, but the one about 'never get the room cleaned' is ridiculous, just make sure your bags are locked.

 

 

 

No problem I accept your critic, both the good and the bad. In security it is many times like this: the most obvious ( like common knowledge ) is the most difficult. When you already have the answer.... well then everything is easy ( also to criticize ).

 

Questions about:

 

 

* BODYGUARDS

 

Thanks for your post.

 

What would an average* bodyguard/ security detail cost day to day? Is it dependant on the risk involved? ie a high profile client as opposed to a rather inconspicuous businessman?

 

* not in terms of their training/ expertise, average in terms of duties etc.

 

MONACO BODYGUARDS™

Thanks for your post.

 

What would an average* bodyguard/ security detail cost day to day? Is it dependant on the risk involved? ie a high profile client as opposed to a rather inconspicuous businessman?

 

* not in terms of their training/ expertise, average in terms of duties etc.

 

 

We carry out a detailed assessment and create a meticulous plan covering many different scenarios. Your needs are assessed personally, an agreed plan and protocol agreement is made, so you know what you are agreeing to, who will be carrying out the work and what results you can realistically expect.

 

 

We then determine the most appropriate size and type of security team. This can range from a single bodyguard, through to a full high risk team with escort vehicles.

 

Price is dependent on:

 

* Risk involved

 

* Where in the world ( I will publicize our list of some of the worlds most dangerous places soon, ranging from 1-5. )

 

* For how long

 

 

We do not care what people do for a living, but we will make all final decisions and do of course not agree to do something illegal.

 

 

Let's make an example. If a inconspicuous businessman comes to spend his holiday in ie Hotel Carlton in Cannes with his wife. We will protect him, his wife and children on shopping trips, restaurant visits etc. It is of no importance whatsoever to us how he has made his money.

Great info, bro! I always thought that I'm a safe traveler but after reading your post, I'm not.

 

The "bling bling" part is really what got me. When I travel, I usually bring two watches with me. One for when I go out, and another just in case. Worse is that I usually take the good ones with me. Anyways, in the Philippines, there are way too many people who wears fake so even if I'm wearing the real one, they're gonna think it's fake.

 

Another thing that I do a lot is leave my valuables just laying on the table when I leave the hotel. For some odd reason, I feel much safer leaving it in the room rather than carrying it with me. Also, I didn't know hotels had safes you can rent!

 

Travel Security

 

 

More info on Travel Security:

 

 

 

In a plane crash safest seats are in aisle

 

Study suggests the best location to get out alive from a burning aircraft

 

It is the question that most nervous flyers ask themselves whenever they board an aircraft: where is the safest place to sit? The answer is now much clearer after an exhaustive study of 105 accidents and personal accounts from almost 2,000 survivors of how they managed to escape from crash landings and onboard fires.

 

For the best chance of getting out alive from a burning aircraft, people should choose an aisle seat near the front within five rows of an emergency exit.

 

Commissioned by the Civil Aviation Authority and carried out by Greenwich University, the study found that the seats with the best survival rate were in the emergency exit row and the row in front or behind it. Between two and five rows from the exit, passengers still have a better than even chance of escaping in a fire but “the difference between surviving and perishing is greatly reduced”.

 

The most dangerous seats are those six or more rows from an exit. The study says: “Here, the chances of perishing far outweigh those of surviving.”

 

Passengers sitting towards the front of the aircraft had a 65 per cent chance of escaping a fire, while the survival rate for those at the rear was 53 per cent. The survival rate in aisle seats was 64 per cent, compared with 58 per cent for other passengers.

A transport safety group said that the findings called into question the increasing trend among airlines for charging passengers extra for exit seats, which have more legroom, or allowing people to select seats online.

 

One of the fatal accidents analysed in the study was the disaster at Manchester airport in 1985, when 55 people died on a British Airtours Boeing 737 after it caught fire. The majority of those who died were sitting well away from a usable exit. The fire, caused by an exploding engine that punctured a fuel tank in the wing, engulfed one side of the aircraft and prevented escape from several exits.

 

The study found that the passengers who died were on average sitting more than twice as far away from a usable exit as those who survived. Some of the dead, most of whom were killed by toxic fumes, were sitting 15 rows from the nearest usable exit.

 

Under international air safety regulations, aircraft must undergo an evacuation test to demonstrate that everyone on board can escape within 90 seconds when half the exits are blocked.

 

But the study found that this test was flawed because it failed to take sufficient account of people's behaviour in an emergency. It said the tests assumed that no one on board had any “social bonds” with other passengers. Analysis of behaviour in real emergencies showed that many passengers delayed their escape to help friends or relatives. People travelling with colleagues, however, appeared to focus on their own survival and head straight for the exit.

 

Another flaw with the tests was that people were much more willing to comply with directions from cabin crew under experimental conditions than in real danger. Crew are trained to prevent congestion at exits by directing people to a less busy exit. The study said: “In real emergency situations, where passengers may have a choice of directions in which to escape, they may ultimately ignore crew commands and attempt to use their nearest exit.” The survival instinct also tended to result in selfish acts that could delay evacuation, such as people climbing over seats to jump the queue for the exit.

 

Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said the study “shows your choice of seat on a plane really can be a matter of life or death. Your chance of survival should not be based on your ability to pay for an emergency exit seat or to reserve your seat online.”

 

Mr Gifford said airlines should consider putting families and elderly people near the exits. They might not be allowed to sit in the exit row, however, because regulations require passengers in those seats to be fit enough to help to open the door.

 

Virgin Atlantic charges £50 or £75 one way for a seat in an exit row, but they can only be booked at the airport once the passenger has been seen by airline staff.

Who watched casino royale? What was the gun agent 007 used to kill that last big bad guy in the movie I think his name was mr.white?

Has anyone used a Czechoslovakian VZ61 Skorpion, I've heard they are much more reliable and portable than an Uzi?

I'd have to go with this:

 

 

THE MP7A1

 

The HK MP7A1 and the 4.6 x 30mm family of high performance ammunition were developed to provide penetration and lethality approaching that of an assault rifle in a package small and portable enough to be carried like a handgun. Adopted by the German special operations unit KSK or Kommando Spezialkräfte in 2002, the MP7A1 is now available to U.S. military and law enforcement organizations.

 

The small, lightweight MP7A1 (less than four pounds loaded) is capable of penetrating modern body armor, including that of the former Soviet Bloc special forces, now the standard NATO test target. (CRISAT)

 

Vests like these are now commonly found in the hands of terrorists and criminals and make conventional pistol caliber weapons ineffective.

 

The MP7A1 can be fired with one or two hands, or from the shoulder using a sturdy retractable buttstock. It handles like a pistol, yet allows targets to be engaged like a rifle. A folding vertical foregrip allows the weapon to be fired with excellent controllability to increase hit probability at all ranges. With its seven inch barrel, the HK MP7A1 is capable of firing 10 shot semiautomatic groups at 45 meters of less than 2 inches.

 

Unlike competing designs, the conventional and fully ambidextrous design of the HK MP7A1 ensures immediate acceptance by all users.

 

The gas operated MP7A1 fires from the closed bolt position, using a rotary locking bolt system similar to that of the HK G36 assault rifle to contain the powerful 4.6 mm cartridge.

 

All operating controls, including the M16 style cocking handle, safety/selector lever, magazine release and bolt catch/release are fully ambidextrous.

 

Constructed of mostly carbon fiber reinforced polymer with embedded metal components where needed, the weapon can be field stripped in seconds without tools and requires little cleaning due to the unique gas system employed in the design.

 

A technically advanced weapon, the Heckler & Koch MP7A1 is simple to use and provides the combination of compactness of a handgun with the range, penetration and lethality approaching that of a select-fire assault rifle.

 

The MP7A1 is the final production model and will be available for sale in the U.S. very soon.

WEAPONS

 

I'd have to go with this:

 

 

 

NOW we are talking. This is used also by GSG 9 and a few other. What is the price is the US ?

Most Dangerous Places on Earth

 

MONACO BODYGUARDS™ presents:

 

MOST DANGEROUS PLACES ON EARTH thread™

 

 

Colonel U.D. a security specialist with government background and CEO of MONACO BODYGUARDS™ - a global security contractor, has contributed to develop a list of the worlds most dangerous places.

 

 

The world seems to be getting more dangerous, every day by news of violence and terrorism. Sounds like a good reason to stay home, or at least take your vacations in Scandinavia. But business travelers often have no choice.

 

Now the oil prices has reached a new high at 140$ a barrel and we will soon be seing 150$. So where corporations go, so do their employees, sometimes even at risk to life and limb. And prices for platinum, copper, aluminum and other metals are high because they serve as raw materials in industrial manufacturing, which is growing tremendously in India and China. Mining companies are looking at countries that previously would have been written off as too risky, because of the high price of metals.

 

Fortunately, companies have a place to turn for know-how on bringing employees back alive. Security contractors such as MONACO BODYGUARDS can provide physical protection just about anywhere in the world. We go to more places we didn’t used to, thanks to globalization, easier and cheaper travel. Civilians and business travelers are more in the firing line.

 

Criminal gangs operate alongside ideologically motivated insurgents. Other countries make our list mainly because of crime. Neither Liberia nor Haiti is technically at war, but rampant criminality can make parts of these countries feel like war zones.

 

 

 

The List:

 

ON A SCALE FROM 1 - 5

 

 

 

Iraq: 5 - With extreme security, terrorism and travel risk.

 

 

Afghanistan: 5 - With extreme security, terrorism and travel risk.

 

Pakistan: 4 - With high security and terrorism risk; extreme security and travel risk in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

 

Sri Lanka 4 - With high security and travel risk.

 

 

Algeria: 3 - With risk in at least one category and region.

 

Libya: 2 - Medium risk.

 

Somalia: 5 - With extreme security and travel risk.

Democratic Republic of Congo: 5 - With high security and travel risk; extreme security and travel risk in northeast.

 

Côte d’Ivoire: 5 - With high security and travel risk; extreme security and travel risk in rebel-held north and near western border.

Nigeria: 4 - With high risk in at least one category and region.

 

Liberia: 4 - With high risk in at least one category and region.

 

Burundi: 4 - With high risk in at least one category and region.

 

Chad: 4 - With high risk in at least one category and region.

 

Zimbabwe: 3 - With high risk in at least one category and region.

 

 

Haiti: 5 - With very high security and very high travel risk.

 

Venezuela: 5 - With high security and very high travel risk.

 

Colombia: 4 - With high risk in at least one category and region.

 

Guatemala 4 - With high risk in at least one category and region.[/size]

 

Nicaragua: 3 - With risk in at least one category and region.

 

El Salvador: 3 - With risk in at least one category and region.

 

Brasil: 3 - With risk in at least one category and region.[/size]

 

Cuba: 1 - Low risk.

 

 

Lebanon: 4 - With high risk in at least one category and region.

 

 

Turkey 3 - With travel risk in at least one category and region.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The list will be updated. Last update 30.10.08

 

 

MONACO BODYGUARDS™ © 2008

Thanks for the post, good to know.

 

This is out of 5 or 10?

More info can be read here - almost word for word even.

 

http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/31/most-dang...thisSpeed=15000

 

For those with a keen interest read up here http://www.globalsecurity.org/

Good to know that none of those places are on my list to visit! Thanks for the post

I've traveled to one of the extreme high risk countries recently, and to one with high risk. It seems i am ok