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The Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals
14
8
20
DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018 VOLUME 10 • NUMBER 6
COVER STORY: 14
WESTMINSTER AND THE LOOMING THREAT OF WOLF- PACK TERRORISM by Allan Orr
FEATURES:
8
DISASTER PREPARATION FOR THE REGULAR GUY by Garret Machine
20
GOING TO THE DOGS IN A BIGGER WAY: WE NEED MORE K9 SUPPORT TO PREVENT ATTACKS by Jeff Kamen
26
DEALING WITH BOMBS AND IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE (IED) INCIDENTS by Orlando Wilson
DEPARTMENTS: 06
From the Editor
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FROM THE EDITOR:
Don’t tell me you can do it. Show me you can do it. by Garret Machine
S
Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals
VOLUME 10 • NUMBER 6
ince I was a boy and then a young man I was interested in the world of what I now can frame as man activities. I loved camping, hiking, climbing, fishing, shooting, sailing, and driving sports cars, and I was always drawn to a career where I could live a life of the same. In particular I was drawn to the law enforcement and military fields. I remember very distinctly that in all the above-mentioned subject areas I approached those with experience for knowledge and was treated with dignity, except one… Walk into any gun shop in America and the staff will generally treat you like you have to prove yourself to them. Somehow working behind the counter in a gun shop empowers people, and for $12 an hour they are going to milk that interaction. It is usually someone who is clearly unhealthy and caries a 1911 cocked and locked. This personality alienates the public and gives the industry a bad name.
DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018 Editor Garret Machine Director of Operations Carmen Arnaes Director of Advertizing Sol Bradman Administrative Jennifer Junatas Contributing Editors Jeff Kamen Allan Orr Ken Pagano Orlando Wilson
In the last 15 years I have found that most gun owners, like most car owners, do not know what they do not know, but some seek advice. I have had the experience of interacting with owners, teachers, and professionals over the years and can break instructors down into 4 categories:
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GROUP A:
Advertising Sales Sol Bradman bradman@homelandsecurityssi.com 305-302-2790
Military or LE background. Works nationally. Friendly and open minded. Self-confident. Enters the field parallel to LE/Mil or after experience is gained.
GROUP B:
Civilian certifications. Works locally teaching CCW or at a gun shop/range. Lacks self-confidence and makes up for it by belittling others. Know-it-all, career instructor.
GROUP A:
~Type 1. Celebrity instructor. Generally travels a circuit, has several endorsements and an impressive resume, and is a great shooter, student, and teacher. ~Type 2. Works for a national firm, like Sig Academy, Surefire institute, Goruck, FLETC, etc. Has a great resume and real-world experience, and is a great shooter, student of the art, and teacher.
GROUP B:
~Type 1. Works locally, very protective of client base, very critical, and quick to argue. Credentials from the NRA or local IDPA match. ~Type 2. Works at a range or store, alienating, angry, and you need to convince him you’re worthy. Salesman. Of course there are exceptions to every rule and I have met some good people from all types. As one would expect you can find a group B at just about any gun range, and finding a group A requires you to do some homework and possibly travel. Well, the trip is worth it, you get what you pay for. My advice for the up-and-coming; Be humble, be open minded, and impress with actions, not statements.
Garret Machine Editor, The Counter Terrorist
Copy Editor Laura Town
Publisher: Security Solutions International 13155 SW 134th St. • STE 103 Miami, Florida 33186 ISSN 1941-8639 The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals is published by Security Solutions International LLC, as a service to the nation’s First Responders and Homeland Security Professionals with the aim of deepening understanding of issues related to Terrorism. No part of the publication can be reproduced without permission from the publisher. The opinions expressed herein are the opinions of the authors represented and not necessarily the opinions of the publisher. Please direct all Editorial correspondence related to the magazine to: Security Solutions International SSI, 13155 SW 134th Street, Suite 103, Miami, Florida. 33186 or info@thecounterterroristmag.com The subscription price for 6 eZine issues of the magazine is $19.99. (1-866-573-3999) Fax: 1-786-573-2090. For article reprints, e-prints, posters and plaques please contact: Security Solutions International at villegas@homelandsecurityssi.com or call 786-573-3999 Please visit the magazine web site where you can also contact the editorial staff:
www.thecounterterrroristmag.com © 2017 Security Solutions International
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DISASTER PREPARATION FOR THE REGULAR GUY. By Garret Machine
After experiencing hurricane Andrew in the 90s, hurricane Irma in 2017, and several category 1-, 2-, and 3-level storms in between, I believe I now have the knowledge and experience of what to do before, during, and after such a situation. Astronaut photograph ISS008-E-19646 was taken March 7, 2004 and is provided by the Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. 8 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
I
t is important to remember that the advice I am giving is to a U.S. audience where recourses are abundant and infrastructure will not leave you more then a week without power, water, or communications. Other less prepared or equipped places will require additional consideration. Education is key; experience is everything. There are three main concerns in the hurricane: winds that actually impact areas and do acute damage; water that does long-term damage; and loss of key critical infrastructure that ultimately
will bring discomfort. When preparing for disaster you must consider two things, life and property. In the property category, you can break things down into movable and permanent. In this example, a house is permanent and a car/boat is movable. I would strongly recommend finding an above-ground covered garage at least one week in advance of the storm. I was fortunate enough to find a spot in a hospital garage, which kept my expensive car safe from debris and high enough to stay dry. On the
flip side, my cheap car did not have a spot, so I drove it inland and left it far from the tidal surge zone. These are easy fixes with just a little planning. My next door neighbor has a 40’ power boat and was able to lift it out of the water and dry dock it well inland. If he was unable to do that or if the boat was to big for dry dock space, then the next-best option would be to move it into a lower-impact area. Wet docking it and hoping for the best is a foolish idea. In a cat 4 it will be destroyed with the 10–15’ tidal surge minimum and
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 9
Sgt. 1st Class Terrance Strahammeets with locals impacted by Hurricane Irma Photo by Spc. James Lanza. wind up to 150mph+. If you live in a home or apartment building that is modern or specifically rated to withstand the wind pressure and tidal surge, then perhaps you can stay in place. If you live in a place that is not structurally sound to weather the storm, I recommend getting a flight out of town for 36–48 hours before and 36–48 hours after the storm. If that is not possible, then drive to a different city and then find another airport to fly from. Remember what I said about the car storage; you may only be able to valet at the airport and this must be done well before the panic sets in. I do not recommend that; store the car high and dry first. Flights will sell out early, and the airport will close two days before the landfall of the storm. If you cannot get a flight out of town and a hotel reservation, then you may have to drive (more on that later). When booking a flight, it is important book to a major hub, a good example of that is Atlanta, Georgia. ATL is a Delta hub, so it has many flights in
and out with plenty of hotels. Any major airline hub will give you access to transportation in and out of your home airport and to other locations in the U.S. There are also an abundance of hotels in the immediate area. Ultimately you want to be able to stay in your own home during the storm even if you are in an evacuation zone. If you leave, the only thing that will be on your mind is getting back. The best way to fortify and prepare your home is with hurricane doors and windows. My house always had shutters, which never worked perfectly. They always got stuck, were misaligned, and came off the tracks. Additionally, even with the shutters closed and secured, the pressure from the wind gets behind the shutters and the windows start to flex. They wobble in and out and eventually can break. Shutters do not protect you from the pressure of the storm; they only protect from projectile debris. I put a 3M blast laminate on all my windows in addition to the shutters.
10 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
It was $2000. To do the entire house includes a caulking that seals the lamination to the window frame. Even still my next major purchase will be hurricane windows, and the shutters will come off. There are different levels of protection available for the windows. My recommendation is to get the 7mm option, as that will also offer protection against breaching and forced entry. When selecting a contractor to do the work, see to it that they replace all the “bucks,” which are the cedar wood that goes in between the aluminum frame and concrete of the house. They must be as wide as the window frame. Hurricane windows also protect your home from crime; they are generally much more secure then standard windows and will even defeat most breach attempts. I see many people sandbagging their front door and other openings. Sandbags give you peace of mind but will not keep out a tidal surge. The initial wake of the water or first wave that is below the bags will be repelled, but once the water sits for any period of time, the bags will leak and the water will win. The only way sand bags will have any significant effect is to line them with a large plastic tarp, but you need to seal off all areas to make that effective. Meaning if you tarp your front door, caulk the edges like glue, line the seam with duck tape, and then sand bag it down, you’re going to be okay for a while. Another option is to use silicone caulking from a caulk gun to put a bead of caulking around all openings, like low windows and even door frames, that are susceptible to water entry. Part of the reason for this is that the silicone can be easily pulled off afterwards and it will keep out the water. If you do that with a plastic liner on the outside and then sand bag it,
you have a good temporary barrier. Generally when there is a storm surge and the sea water level rises, it will recede after a number of hours. Other water sources such as dams, levies, and rain water without proper infrastructure can hold their ground for much longer periods. One of the most important places to secure will be your garage. If you can put your car in your garage, there are products that you can buy that will seal your car from water as well. Doing this was even featured on an episode of Shark Tank; it’s like a giant condom for your car.
PURCHASING SUPPLY Here is what you want to have in your house way before a hurricane is even a possibility: • One 5-gallon bucket per bathroom in your house. • Plenty of batteries for flashlights, radios and lanterns. • Solar-charging technology for
cellphones, for the days after the storm. • One 5-gallon water container per family member. • A power inverter; I highly recommend the Energizer brand 2000 series. This will power your refrigerator, microwave, oven, fans, compressor, etc. (but not all at once). • A marine battery, deep cycle and high amperage. • General Tool kit. • Hatchet for removing trees. • Large hammer. • Mallet for securing shutters and fortifications. • Strong rope or webbing to tow a car or make a pulley or lift. • Vitamins and other typical meds, like aspirin, etc. • Mio, electrolyte supplement. • Trauma first aid kit. • Nails and screws. • Circular saw, or other batteryoperated saws. • Hack saw, hand tool for various cuts.
• Battery-powered screw gun and drill gun. I recommend Dewalt and Makita. I killed my hands screwing and unscrewing shutters and wood by hand. • Assorted zip ties for sand bags and securing other things. • Candles as a last resort. • Books to keep entertained. • Chemical lights for signaling and lighting your home at night. • Wet wipes so as not to waist fresh water washing your hands. • Camera, to document damage. • Ratchet straps to secure your outside furniture and other items under wind load. • 500 rounds of rifle ammo. • 500 rounds of pistol ammo. • 250 rounds of shotgun ammo. • Hand crank/battery-operated radio. This will be your only form of communication/information with the outside once power goes down and cell towers are inoperable. • A portable gas tank you will fill 7
James Alverez fills up extra tanks with gas in preparation for Hurricane Ike Photo by Federal Emergency Management Agency employee. The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 11
days before impact. • A bag or charcoal for cooking in your grill when there is no power. • Propane tank also for your grill. • Barbeque grill. • A box of MREs. • A lantern is crucial. It is hard to cook, shower, and use the toilet with a flashlight. A lantern is key critical in that situation. • Pack of sand bags. • Clear plastic tarp/sheet. • Ground coffee and a French press. • Electric hot plate.
WHEN THE STORM IS 5 DAYS OUT Step one is to make arrangements to store your car/boat high and dry. Step two is to try and book easy travel out of town for a flight 24–36 hours prior to strike and 24–36 hours on the back end. Remember you can always just cancel the flight and get a credit with your airline. If it is within 24 hours, the fees are minimal. Step three is going to be prepping your house. I don’t recommend using plywood to fortify your house. The purchasing, transporting, installing, and disposal is not worth the hassle and is considerably less secure then investing in storm shutters or at best hurricane impact windows. I drive a diesel car, so I had no problem getting gas, even when it was two days prior to the storm, diesel is always available. Also diesel engines will fair far better in wet conditions; due to the mechanics of the motor, they are less electronically dependent. Obviously having an SUV is a big advantage in any situation. In particular, a diesel one with a built-in AC power outlet, tow straps, good tires, 4X4, and a kit for long-term
sustainment of the car and occupants. That would include extra oil, ammo, water, lights, comms, irreplaceable papers, and food for you and your dog. Once your car is set you can always fall back on a last-minute hasty evacuation. If you are going to evacuate the area, the best time to do it is to start driving out between 11pm and 2 am as that is when most people are sleeping and roads will be clear. Either evacuate early, like 5 days out, or 12 hours out. In both settings, traffic should be low. The storm only moves at 10–15 miles an hour, so it is steady but slow for the most part. Book a hotel in your target destination 5 days in advance. If you have the SUV, you can
sleep in it if need be. If it is a diesel, it will have fuel efficiency, so you can let it run all night with the AC on, I have done this many times on trips and it’s quite comfortable. If you decide to stay and play, go to the nearest Walmart to exchange your propane tank and check the marine battery. Buy some bottled water, but fill your own bottles at home. 5 days out, start filling bags of ice and storing them in your freezer. When power is lost, the ice will keep the refrigerator cool enough to preserve milk for a couple extra days. Bring in everything that could become a flying hazard; some things are obvious like your lawn chairs.
Photo: Pixabay. 12 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
WHAT NOT TO DO • Incessantly watch the news. • Buy every case of water, flashlight, and battery at Walmart. • Panic, remember the first baby was born in a cave. • Do nothing at all to prepare. • Wait until the last minute to get supplies and fuel. • Do not go to a public shelter unless your life depends on it.
DURING THE STORM I have found consistently that you can go outside and have a nice drive or run or even a swim in the pool up until it seems unsafe. Trust your instincts; if you listened to the news, they would have you evacuated or in your home 24 hours prior to landfall, but you can maneuver safely up to 6 hours prior to landfall. Once the storm has made landfall, stay inside your home and read a book. Monitor what’s happening outside, watch your windows and doors, and pay attention to tidal waves. If your house is breached by the wind or flying debris, you should have a predetermined safe area within the house. If the house is being pulled apart around you, stay in the safe room until there is no safe room. The cause of this may be a tornado. If you need to evacuate, you have planned poorly. Look for a bridge, parking garage, or similar concrete structure. Recently I stayed home during a category 3 storm that hit Miami. I have a glass wall on one side of my bedroom with an excellent view of a palm tree field, some bay water and a street. It was very entertaining and action packed. When it was all over I was three days without power or water; it was my second time going through this. I flushed the toilet with
Photo: Pixabay.
water I had in my tub, I cooked and made coffee on the BBQ, and I was able to work out, eat, and help reshape my community. I had little damage each incident and the tools to turn my situation into a hybrid camping trip. The fact is that if you live in an area with natural disasters, you can learn tips and tricks to make things better for yourself and make life easier.
AFTER THE STORM Once the storm passes, there will be plenty of down time with no electricity, running water, hot water, or stores to buy from. This is not the time to take down the shutters (although some for air circulation). Use the ice to keep the refrigerator cold for as long as you can. Cook foods that spoil first on the grill of your BBQ. Steak, chicken, and other foods you would normally cook otherwise now have a window of opportunity as they thaw out. Generally eggs can last a bit longer, fruit, cereal with water, etc. The last thing you should go through is your canned goods and then MREs. I recommend showering in the ocean
if you can, and if not use as little water as you can for hygiene. Use wet wipes for hand washing so as not to waste the water you saved up. Use flashlights for lighting specific things. Chemical lights can hang in bathrooms from a string and will work for the toilet at night and tooth brushing. Use a lantern for large rooms like your dinning room or bedroom at night. Conserve the flashlights. Candles are a last resort as they are a fire hazard and don’t make enough light with one alone. Try to use small solar chargers as much as you can for your cell phone, radio, and other small electronics. Remember, your radio may be the only source of entertainment you have for a while. As a second option for larger electronics, use the power inverter and lastly your running car in your driveway after you get it back. To summarize, I would say that preparation and planning is key. Do so with the particular disaster you are expecting in mind. Not all plans work for all SHTF situations. Be mission specific. Don’t be a hoarder. •
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 13
WESTMINSTER AND THE LOOMING THREAT OF WOLFPACK TERRORISM. Mardi Gras in 2011 in Czech Republic. Mask of Osama bin Laden Photo by Chmee2. 14 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
Soon after the iconic bridgeinitiated Weaponized Vehicle Attack (WVA) occurred, it became clear that the terrorist incident fit the global wave of iTerror initiated by the death of Bin Laden in 2011. by Allan Orr
P
erhaps predictable, perhaps not, just as the demise of the Soviet Union spawned a hydra of smaller, inchoate threats, so too did the execution of ‘Geronimo.’ Frustrated with what they see as a stalling global insurgency. Simultaneously fearful of Western intelligence penetration and observation, sympathizers living in Western society now take it upon themselves to
orchestrate and conduct ever more sophisticated and bloody unilateral ‘lone-wolf ’ terror attacks. (The term iTerror is preferred herein for conceptual clarity as it allows more than one or two perpetrators to be labeled whilst still maintaining the organizational independence of the assailants if more than one.) To understand the latest lone-wolf of Westminster, we have to go
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 15
back to the years just after September 11, however. There was always something off about the 2004 Khobar Towers attack. At the time there was no downside to a terrorist organization at least being affiliated with Al Qaeda. Experts continue to debate whether the attack was Al Qaeda or not. Then there was Mumbai, where the same experts continue to debate if Al Qaeda nudged Lashkar-e-Taiba from above, effectively if not loosely directing the operation from conception to execution. Exhibiting a cool tactical competence and strategic flair, both operations might well have betrayed an Al Qaeda hand; If so, why then the smoke and mirrors? Terrorist organizations oxygenate through exposure, so for Al
Qaeda to remain quiet about its roles in these operations and subsequent others like them betrays a strategic plan. The orchestrators of the singularly most sophisticated terrorist attack in history had a game plan conceived on the counter-Soviet front in Afghanistan and fleshed out in the years before the Twin Towers fell. Al Qaeda had nothing to gain by remaining low key in the publicity war in the years after 9/11. Yes, the efforts of the military and intelligence agencies kept the organization in the shadows and thwarted attacks. But that there were NO more large-scale Al Qaeda attacks in Western nations has always mystified analysts. Bin Laden was a strategist, he played chess not
checkers. Accounting for the possibility of the organization being decimated or on the run post-9/11, which it was, UBL, though desperately desiring to be anointed Caliph of his own new world, prioritized first the destruction of his enemy. To achieve this Bin Laden knew he needed a plan that would outlive him or any pretenders to the throne. In a supreme irony, then, he realized he had to ‘democratize’ terrorism. Thus, the strategic intent that may well have been a contributing driver of Khobar and Mumbai as well as the subtextual message of the worldwide ‘Ummah’ was that you don’t need us to fight for you. Both operations were highprofile, purportedly non-Al Qaeda, mass casualty micro-attacks conducted with
Khobar Towers bombing in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Photo by U.S. federal government. 16 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
Extremists Photo by Noofa2401. limited means and members (guns/ knives over planes, small cells over the almost platoon-strength attack that was needed to turn passenger planes into human guided missiles). Basically, if the war was to outlive Al Qaeda in a worstcase scenario, and if the tempo of the fight was to be nonetheless maintained, as the Joker frustratingly exclaimed in The Dark Night: “the ‘people’ had to be pushed off the bench and into the game.” Like Charlie Hedbo, the Sydney Siege, San Bernardino, et al., it was immediately apparent that the latest lone-wolf atrocity aimed at the foundation stone of Western democracy that is Westminster and NYC fitted neatly into the lone-wolf narrative seeded if not by Khobar and Mumbai then most certainly by the death of ‘Geronimo’ in 2011. Either way, the next logical near-term evolution of the phenomenon may well be conceived as ‘flash-terror,’ where previously unlinked individuals and/or cells simply wait for one attack to trigger their own pre-planned attacks to in effect
launch a disjointed, ad hoc, yet rapidly sequenced set of multiple, simultaneous attacks in a kind of bloody ‘flash-mob.’ Already embarrassingly more adept at utilizing modern social media and communication tools than Western security organizations, the terrorists of today will build on the efforts of those who went before and harness social media’s real tactical utility in regards to the prosecution of contemporary anti-Western warfare, as an intra communication and organizing tool to take lone-wolf terrorism to ‘the next level.’ Western security architectures have not yet come to grips with lowtempo lone-wolf terrorism. However if for once Western counter-terrorism strategy (as opposed to tactics) is to be preemptive rather than reactionary, we must recognize the subtextual nature of modern terrorism. Terrorism, like mushrooms, grows in the dark, and the wolves of tomorrow will inevitably work out how to time and coordinate attacks without communications or prior knowledge of even the existence of
fellow ‘soldiers.’ Like all war strategies theirs will evolve too, human nature and the desire to follow in the groundbreaking footsteps of the “martyrs” of September 11 is already pushing non-affiliates to evolve. They themselves might not even know it yet, but the Wolf-Pack IS coming. The base subtextual nature of terrorism (of all ages) has thus worked in the social media age to spawn through Darwinian evolution perhaps the most difficult to detect and combat strain of terrorism in history, the 21st century lone-wolf, spectacularly so. The result, of course, being the global pandemic of lone-wolf terrorism prosecuted within Western Europe, North America, and, of course, Australia today. Originally framed to encompass extreme right-wing domestic terrorism in the United States in the 70s and 80s (Unabomber et al.), today the term augers not simply the present but the future, if we are looking hard enough. Looking past the tactical picture and over the horizon, in drafting strategic counter-terrorism policy paramount consideration must also be given to the fact that modern iTerrorists, as preceding terrorists, freedom fighters,
Western security architectures have not yet come to grips with low-tempo lonewolf terrorism.
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 17
insurgents, and rebels throughout history have sought, seek legitimization and respect as soldiers for a cause. And when Western nations deploy military units or even overly paramilitarized law enforcement units domestically against modern iTerrorists, particularly as seen in some European countries in recent
years with the knee-jerk, for-popularconsumption deployment of military forces onto the streets of Paris and Brussels, for example—with 5.56mmgrade hardware versus pistols, one might add—the West legitimizes the perpetrators as actual soldiers within perhaps the most important battlefront,
iTerror’s popular culture. iTerrorists want to fight, be seen fighting, or provoke a response by the military itself. So when widely broadcast, self-defeating pictures of European countries deploying troops onto their own streets (up to 10,000 in France) for the first time in a warlike context since the Second World War reach the global audience, when the war is successfully ‘brought home’ by iTerror, the West loses incredibly valuable ground in this ethereal war. The infamous ‘no negotiations with terrorists’ policy was eventually formulated in the wake of terrorism in its 1970s guise. If terrorism in its 21st century guise is to be similarly deterred and unrewarded to the maximal extent possible, strategic responses to iTerror require reevaluation and synchronization not just at the state vs. federal level but at the ‘Western’ level. Tactically meanwhile, recognizing the imminent evolution of the trending lone-wolf threat will also help Western security agencies stay ahead of the bloody curve. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Romanian Jandarmeria police officers demonstrate room-clearing and close-quarter battle techniques to U.S. Marines Photo by Sgt. Esdras Ruano. 18 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
Dr. Allan Orr is a counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency researcher currently writing a book on the lone-wolf Sydney Siege attack. His PhD thesis on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism was examined by now NSA General Herbert McMaster, his Masters thesis was used as textbook material by the Coalition counter-insurgency Academy at Taji, Iraq, during the war, and his other publications can be found at http://www.intersecmag. co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ int-feb-34-36-low.pdf & http://www. tandfonline.com/author/Orr%2C+Allan . Feel free to send correspondence to mistdivision@gmail.com
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GOING TO THE DOGS IN A BIGGER WAY: WE NEED MORE K9 SUPPORT TO PREVENT ATTACKS
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon Mann, a dog handler with Alpha Company Photo by Sgt Alfred V. Lopez. 20 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
by Jeff Kamen
The future of counter-terrorism must include a much larger K9 component if we are to defend effectively against evolving threats like the Las Vegas sniper who shot almost 600 people, as well as old threats, including car bombs like the two that slaughtered more than 275 people in Mogadishu, Somalia, the scene of the real-life Blackhawk Down.
A
s this article was going to press, the smoke still had not cleared in Mogadishu, but what was already crystal is that even if the locals don’t have the money to create Baghdadlike Green Zone security, they can impose a series of checkpoints staffed by EDD (sniffer dog) teams to sharply reduce the risk of more suicide bombers getting to the center city where the symbols they wish to destroy are located. There seems little sense in erecting a
checkpoint without having well-trained and fully supported K9s on duty 24/7. I emphasize fully supported because these dogs are not machines. They need rest, food, calm time with their handlers, and rock-solid veterinary care if they are to be reliable defense systems. Even the best K9 team cannot be effective if the dog (and the handler) do not get time off. After a few hours, effectiveness decays with the length of time on duty. Terrorists like the Al-Qaida-affiliated
Al-Shabab in Somalia are evil, not stupid. They are capable of surveillance. If they observe that the same dog and handler are at their post all day long, the bad guys may calculate correctly that their best chance of driving past that checkpoint will come deep into the toolong shift of that EDD and his human partner. Defenders must always assume that their most minute operations are being observed by the enemy. That applies equally in the United States as it
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 21
does to our friends in Somalia. Underestimating terrorists seems to be a widespread mental condition among our policymakers at the highest level, no matter which party is in charge of the White House. They also seem afflicted with poor memories and a desire not to be bothered with a requirement for fresh thinking. In 1983. the Reagan Administration was warned against stationing US Marines as peacekeepers at the Beirut Airport without the protection of armor. No tanks were provided. A suicide bomber drove a truck carrying the most powerful conventional bomb ever made into the building where Marines were sleeping and it detonated, murdering 241 of our best kids as the entire building rose up and then pancaked on top of them. The pattern is all too clear. Ten years after that atrocity in Beirut, New York City and New Jersey-based operatives of Al-Qaida made the first attempt at
taking down the Twin Towers with a truck bomb. They parked it under the World Trade Center in a spot that their engineers figured would be just right for dropping one of the towers into the other, bringing down both of them. They were off, thank God, but only by yards. The explosion rocked the building, causing a thousand injuries and killing six other people. Eight years earlier—and less than two years after the preventable mass murder of our Marines—security experts began warning top management of the World Trade Center that the building’s unmanned, unsecured underground parking facility made the building vulnerable to a possible terrorist attack. An internal report written by a bright and thoughtful Detective Sgt. said, “A time bomb-laden vehicle could be driven into the WTC and parked in the public parking area. The driver could then exit via an elevator into the WTC and proceed with his business unnoticed. At a predetermined time,
22 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
the bomb could be exploded in the basement. The amount of explosives used will determine the severity of damage to the area.” Within months, the building’s policy makers rejected the detective’s recommendations for hardening the WTC against a future attack. Apparently hoping for a less frightening assessment, the WTC hired SAIC, a huge outside consulting firm with an impressive number of highly regarded experts on its payroll. SAIC’s report gauged the building’s attractiveness as a target for terrorists as “very high” and essentially agreed with that smart cop’s internal assessment. The SAIC report further warned that terrorists would have “little difficulty” in getting their hands on explosives that were “readily available.” Management ordered yet another outside security review in 1991 and got the same warning and suggestions for hardening. WTC decision makers rejected all of those warnings and advice as too expensive and too inconvenient. On February 26, 1993, at 12:18 p.m., the Al-Qaida bomb exploded with the force of 1500 pounds of dynamite just as multiple security experts warned. It was, in a word, preventable. Almost a month before the 9/11/01 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, Richard Clark, the White
House advisor on terrorism, sent an urgent memorandum to National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice warning that Al-Qaida was “Determined to Attack the American Homeland,” and asking for an urgent meeting of principals; the entire national security cabinet: Director of CIA, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the Director of the FBI plus Dr. Rice. Despite Clark’s urgent request, no meeting of Principals occurred. A month later, while firefighters were still desperately searching for survivors in the rubble of the Pentagon and the Twin Towers, Dr. Rice held a press conference and said, “No one could have imagined them taking a plane, slamming it into the Pentagon, into the World Trade Center, using planes as a missile.”
Dr. Rice either never heard of or she just forgot about Operation Bojinka, a 1995 conspiracy created by Al-Qaida’s top strategists, Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. KSM went on to be the mastermind of 9/11. But that was more than six years after the Bojinka plot was interrupted. Bojinka was to be a total shock drenched in blood and all of it happening simultaneously on a global scale. The Al-Qaida blueprint called for hijacking a plane and flying it into CIA headquarters in Langley, VA. Also, 11 airliners would have been blown up in the air from Asia to the United States with the goal of slaughtering 4,000 passengers and shutting down air travel worldwide. Bojinka planning also included the assassination of Pope John Paul II. When the Philippine National Police thwarted Bojinka, the same Al-
Underestimating terrorists seems to be a widespread mental condition among our policymakers at the highest level, no matter which party is in charge of the White House.
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 23
The threat of terrorism online is not something you can solve simply, or with just one solution.
put enough resources into the hunt for Al-Qaida. Then George W. Bush was sworn in as President. For almost a year, Al-Qaida staged no new attacks. But US intelligence agencies were listening. Some of our analysts believed we would soon hear from bin-Laden. Even though Clark had no specifics of the Al-Qaida threat, that meeting of principals could have resulted in a
Qaida strategists continued to create and execute other horrors long before 9/11/01. Sadly, US Presidents and their top advisors seemed unable to catch up with the imaginations of those very motivated and utterly ruthless men. In June of 1996, almost five years before the attacks on NY and DC, Al-Qaida sent a bomb in a fuel truck into Khobar Towers, a poorly defended US military housing facility in Dahran, Saudi Arabia. The blast murdered 19 American soldiers and wounded more than 350 other people. In August 1998, three years before 9/11/01, Osama binLaden’s radical Islamic terrorist group sent truck bombs to explode at US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, murdering 12 Americans and 12 of our friends. In October 2000, nine months before 9/11/01, a clever Al-Qaida terrorist in a small boat in Aden harbor sailed toward the United States Navy guidedmissile destroyer USS Cole. The Cole was refueling in the Middle Eastern port. The terrorist smiled and waved at our sailors on watch aboard the Cole. He seemed nice. That was right before the friendly suicide bomber detonated his bomb-filled boat next to our ship at the water line. The blast murdered 17 sailors, wounded 39 more, and nearly sank the Cole. Bill Clinton was president for Kohbar Towers, the US Embassies in East Africa, and the suicide bombing of the USS Cole. He never 24 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
tightening up of security at all airports, which could have made it a lot harder for bin-Laden’s men to board and then hijack the airliners they flew into the Pentagon and the Twin Towers. What is certain is that refusing to hold that meeting meant there would be no significant new steps taken to protect the United States from the endlessly innovative terrorists of Al-Qaida. It
was yet another example of top policy makers disregarding warnings from the people who actually know what is going on. Some of the people who understand the evolving threat to our people are military and civilian law enforcement K9 handlers and trainers who have successfully trained bomb sniffing dogs and work with them every day. They saw the press coverage of the horror in Las Vegas, in which a single, smart killer acting alone was able to turn a hotel suite into a sniper’s nest. They hope that their knowledge will be applied to the challenge of preventing terrorists and other sociopaths from following in Stephen Paddock’s footsteps. To prevent future high-perch massacres, tall public buildings must be protected by sniffer dog teams. There is no question that Paddock could not have gotten past the Mandalay Bay front door had there been a properly trained sniffer dog team checking all arrivals. Paddock’s plan required a high-perch look-down as the launching pad for the thousands of rounds he intended to fire from his 32nd floor suite. The retired CPA and successful gambler took his own life when police closed in, but his evil lives on in the model of behavior he created. That efficient model is certain to attract other sociopaths, including terrorists. Keeping them from being successful copycats will require K9 teams. I am the author of the new book WARRIOR PUPS: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA’S K9 HEROES (Lyons Press, www.warriorpups.com). My wife, the photojournalist Leslie Stone-Kamen, and I began our research by closely observing the training of America’s Military Working Dogs at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. That’s where almost all US MWDs learn their jobs. Their handlers also go to school there. We watched as puppies were first being introduced to odor bait and being
rewarded for reacting to it. We saw how the superb instructors of the Dog Training School amped up the dogs’ natural drives to hunt, find, and hold and molded those drives and the dogs’ love for humans into a highly effective defensive weapon system. Every explosive detection dog who graduates the 120-day Dog Training School basic course has demonstrated at least 95 percent reliability at detecting trained odors, including gunpowder. That means Paddock would have been caught by a trained dog if all he had was a few bullets in his pocket, let alone those 10 suitcases with 2 thousand rounds and 23 guns that Paddock waltzed past the hotel security system. Had K9 teams been operating in public view at the Mandalay Bay, the surveillance-savvy Paddock might well have abandoned his plan to use the hotel as his perfect gun position. Failure to have a K9 team in place in a time of escalating threat from terrorists and other sociopaths is not only a failure of imagination but a failure of responsibility to the greater community, which on the night of October 1, 2017, included the 22,000 attendees of the music festival, who were perfect targets for Paddock firing through the broken windows of his Mandalay Bay suite. There’s huge press interest in why he did it. I care a whole lot more about what we can do to stop the next coward with a lot of bullets and rapid fire weapons who is shopping for that perfect highrise location from which to launch his headline-grabbing attack on innocent people having a good time. Keep in mind that the same sniffer K9 teams who would have detected the ammunition entering the hotel would also have detected components of a terrorist bomb. K9 teams must become components of all major security operations in the civilian sector—including
big tall hotels—as soon as possible. Turns out there is a Las Vegas precedent for using bomb-sniffing dogs. Twelve years ago, the enormous Wynn hotel complex opened its doors and quickly began deploying eight EDD (sniffer dog) teams, including two black labs and six sheps purchased at considerable expense in Germany. The dogs patrolled every area of the Wynn and did it in ways that were clearly meant to deter. One local CPA (who wished to go unnamed) commented on how the Las Vegas economy works, he says most of the hotels probably won’t do much to enhance security in ways that are obvious because to do that would ruin the Vegas mystique of being a place where you can feel free to have fun and not worry about anything. I don’t think that fellow has a grip on how his words might be heard by the families of those killed by Paddock or by the 500 who were wounded. Because of how fear is shared through mass media coverage of events like the Vegas massacre, millions more who saw the news coverage may also be considered survivors because they have been emotionally traumatized. I haven’t found anyone who would object to having a K9 team walking near them and their luggage. And that’s all the dogs do, just like at the airport. They walk on by, hunting for one of those odors they’ve been trained to find so they can alert and get their tennis ball and save our lives. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeff Kamen is the author of Warrior Pups: True Stories of America’s K9 Heroes. (Lyons Press, 1Sep17) www.warriorpups.com
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 25
My personal experience dealing with terrorist bomb/Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) incidents started in 1989 while serving in the British Army with B-Coy, 1-WFR for 22 months in Northern Ireland; since then, bomb/ IED awareness has always been a part of my security procedures and planning. 26 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
DEALING WITH BOMBS AND IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE (IED) INCIDENTS
By Orlando Wilson
I
have to say that it astounds me these days after numerous, well-publicized IED attacks globally that many security and law enforcement professionals are severely lacking in realistic IED awareness. If you are working in the center of a large city, such as London, Paris, or New
York, or are working in the emerging markets where bomb scares are not unusual, it is likely that you may get caught up in a suspicious package or actual IED incident. Whether your venue, office, or residence is targeted directly or it just happens to be on the same street as an IED, you will need
to know how to react and should have procedures in place. Improvised Explosive Devices are a threat to everyone and are used frequently and with great affect by criminals, cranks, and terrorists the world over. If you follow international events, then you will see that there is a lethal bombing
A U.S. Marine with Echo Company, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, clears glass from a window during breacher training at Goettge demolitions range, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., July 22, 2014. Photo by Lance Cpl. Diana Sims. The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 27
somewhere in the world almost every day. The basic IED can be made from commercially available materials that are sold over the counter in most places. Information on how to construct IEDs is available from military or survival bookstores, the Internet, and former military or demolitions-trained personnel. The size of an IED can range from as small as a cigarette packet to as big as a large container truck. IEDs can be disguised as virtually anything; this gives the bomber the advantage of being able to kill their targets without alerting them to the threat, giving the bomber a large degree of anonymity. IEDs can be used to kill selected targets or to kill indiscriminately. These facts are why the IED is often the favored weapon of criminals, cranks, and terrorists the world over and is the most dangerous threat to security, law enforcement, military, and the public. In this article, I have listed some basic information on IEDs and some basic guidelines for dealing with an IED incident. I also dissect the law enforcement response to the NYC times square car bomb incident in 2010. And after reading this article you should be a lot more knowledgeable and competent than those members of the NYPD who were in charge of the response to that incident, well, more of a circus than a response!
There are two categories of explosives: high and low. • High explosives such as Dynamite, Gelatin, TNT, RDX, PETN, C-4, and Semtex undergo a rapid chemical change upon detonation. This change is a transformation from a solid or liquid to a gaseous state. The change, which takes approximately one billionth of a second, results in the gas rapidly moving away from the point of detonation at speeds of up to 26,500 fps in the case of C-4. The moving gas is the force that cuts steel, concrete and anything else in its path. • Low explosives burn quickly instead of exploding. The best examples of low explosives are gunpowder and match heads. The burn rates of low explosives are usually under 3000 fps. Low explosives are usually more sensitive to heat, shock, and friction than high explosives, which tend to be pretty stable.
Commercial and military grade explosives are available on the black market either bought from corrupt soldiers/police or stolen. Also, you need to remember commercial explosives are used in construction, quarrying, and by famers and are available for sale from explosive distributors.
BOMB AND IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE IDENTIFICATION Bombs and IEDs can be disguised as virtually anything, so you need to identify whether you, your clients, or your location could be targeted for an IED attack. You need to compile a threat assessment and identify all the threats you could be targeted by; if IEDs are in the threat assessment, you need to start making procedures for dealing with an
EXPLOSIVES There are many types of explosives available on the market, all of which have differing characteristics, chemical compositions, and properties. What they all have in common is that they can be extremely dangerous. I am not going to go into the details of explosive composition because you don’t need to know it; it makes no difference if a device has Composition B or gasoline in it, it’s an explosive device and can kill you.
28 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
A model of the Palestinian IED, hidden as a guitar Phtoto by MathKnight.
incident. You must remember when compiling the threat assessment to also think about what other potential IED targets could be in your area, which if targeted could cause issues for you. I remember one client telling me that during the 90s in Colombia he booked into what he thought was a nice secure hotel only to look out of the window of his room to see it was next to a small military base, which at the time would be an ideal target for narco-guerillas. At a personal level, you need to be aware and suspicious of any objects, cars, or activity in or around your locations that could be a cover for an IED: an unattended and out-of-place bag, an unknown car that has been parked next to your building, an approach road too long, unknown people acting nervously, etc. You must be aware and suspicious, but you must understand the realistic threats or you will be seeing IEDs and terrorists everywhere. Common sense is something that is lacking in people today in general but, as a security or law enforcement professional, you need to be able to keep things real and not get caught up in what can be classed in many
cases as group hysteria. So, at a basic level everyone needs to know what to do if they are caught up in a IED incident, need to deal with a suspicious object, or in the worst-case scenario have to survive the aftermath of a IED attack! Detecting IEDs can be extremally difficult; there are many bits of equipment on the market that can sniff explosives, x-ray bags and vehicles, etc. These are all good if you have them and they are well-serviced and -maintained. As far as I know most of the “bomb sniffers” have to be regularly calibrated and have their filters changed… I remember visiting quite a few high-profile locations in Abuja, Nigeria, where the gate guards were using such devices to check cars, but I doubt the devices had been maintained since being taken out the box, and I would be surprised if they were even charged up. I paid numerous visits to a very high-profile hotel in Abuja, and even though you had walk through a metal detector, it was clear if you looked that the power cable was unplugged… The best example of fake bomb detectors was the British-made ADE651 that claimed to be able to detect
You must be aware and suspicious, but you must understand the realistic threats or you will be seeing IEDs and terrorists everywhere. explosives, guns, drugs, ivory, and even truffles and was powered by the users’ static electricity. You may laugh, but the Iraqi Government apparently bought £52 million UK pounds’ worth of them. It’s claimed that up to 20 different governments bought the fake device at £60,000.00 a piece… They were made by the British company ATSC, which was dissolved in 2013, and the company owner Jim McCormick was sentenced to 10 years in prison on fraud charges. So, if you use bomb detectors, make sure they are real, are maintained, and the people using them know what they are doing. In my opinion, the best thing for
The site of the first bomb at the 2013 Boston Marathon Photo by Aaron “tango” Tang. The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 29
detecting IEDs and explosives is properly trained and handled sniffer dogs. Again, at a base level, the dog needs to be properly trained, looked after, and handled… I know of one company in UK that used to ask their guards to bring their pet German Shepherds etc. on residential security details so the clients could see what they believed to be handlers and trained dogs. I have seen Civil Defense sniffer dogs in Nigeria that were so afraid of the cars they were checking they had to be literally dragged to them. Always verify you’re getting what you are paying for, of all industries the security and defense industry should be one of the most credible but, in many cases it’s a scammer’s paradise. The issue with using dogs and the manportable bomb detectors is you must get close to the potential device and within the blast range. This is a big issue if you are dealing with devices that could have been put in place just to draw security forces into an ambush.
THE SECONDARY DEVICE Remember: The Secondary Attack, The Secondary Attack, The Secondary
Attack!!!! If one incident has just occurred, then what’s next: another IED, follow-up ambush, ambush on those responding, or ambush on evacuation routes? An IED can be used on its own or in conjunction with other IEDs or weapons. Good bombers will always place a second device near the first device in a likely control point for security forces or on an evacuation route from the blast area of the first device. The second device is to catch the personnel or emergency services coming to the aid of anyone hurt in the first blast, security forces dealing with the incident, or personnel escaping from the first blast. Sometimes the first device is designed to go off for no other reason than to draw in emergency or security services or drive people into the larger main device. This happened in Northern Ireland with the Omagh bombing in 1998. Irish terrorists called in the location of a car bomb to local police with the wrong address, this resulted in civilians being evacuated into the blast area of the device; 510 lbs of AMFO… 29 people were killed and over 220 injured… I have a good friend whose family lives in Homs, Syria, where there have been too many car and suicide bombings to count. After
one suicide bombing incident, the locals rushed to help the victims, and one man came out of the blast area bleeding and screaming for help. When people started to pick him up to carry him to an ambulance, he blew himself up, killing several of the civilians who went to help him; he was a terrorist. I was recently talking with a client/ friend who had a relative working at a hospital in Orlando, FL, on the night of the recent terrorist attack on a Pulse nightclub. After such incidents, the security for the casualty-receiving hospitals, etc. needs to upped because they are a prime secondary terrorist targets, as are the responding ambulance crews. When republican Irish terrorists bombed Thiepval Barracks, Northern Ireland, in 1996, they placed a secondary car bomb outside of the barracks medical center to try to maximize British military casualties. Think about it: Where will everybody he heading after a terrorist attack, and if the terrorists murder the doctors and nurses, who will treat the casualties? Terrorists do not operate by the same human rights laws they expect to be protected by! You must always expect if an explosive device has been found or gone off or that there could be a second or third device somewhere.
NORTHERN IRELAND
EOD technician assigned to the Canadian Fleet Diving Unit Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class ALFRED COFFIELD/Fleet Combat Camera Pacific. 30 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
Here are a few examples of how IEDs were employed by Irish terrorists; these are taken from when I was a teenager serving in the British Army and stationed in Northern Ireland from 1989 to 1991. There were many more incidents; at the time, dealing with such things was the bread and butter work for the infantry battalions stationed in Northern Ireland. • 9th of January 1990: Olven Kilpatrick was murdered by terrorists in the shoe shop that he ran in the town of Castlederg; he was shot at close quarters.
The terrorists left behind an explosive device in a shoebox set to detonate 30 minutes after the shooting, by which time security forces and emergency services were in the immediate area. Mr. Kilpatrick was an off-duty member of the Ulster Defense Regiment. Think about how many shoe boxes there are in a shoe shop! The device detonated and several Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were injured; there were no further fatalities due to the fact that secondary devices were expected to be left at crime scenes, and the area was evacuated. • 15th January 1990: A car bomb was detonated in the Village of Sion Mills and caused major damage to the RUC station that was unmanned at the time. The security forces had limited routes they could use to get to the village. A QRF team form Strabane, led by at the time Cpl Lewis Weaver, responded to
Photo: Pixabay. the incident and on the way out spotted a suspicious white van along their route; it was noted and they moved on at full speed. The same van was passed on the QRF’s return route, and the info was reported. On further inspection, the white van contained 1000 lbs of AMFO. It was reported several years later that one of the terrorists involved in the operation
“Bernard Declan Casey” was working for British Special Branch and had ensured the command wire was not connected to the device in the white van… It was expected for an IED to be placed along one of the routes into the village to catch the security forces entering or leaving the area. If time was available, the routes would have needed to be searched
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The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 31
and cleared, if time and helicopters were not available, this would consist of the responding patrol in driving in at top speed if there were no foot patrols in the area. • 1990: A car was parked a short distance from the “Hump” security force base in Strabane with what appeared to be mortar tubes inside. A security force cordon was placed around the car to secure the area, and when the security force teams were conducting their clearance searches around their cordon points, a team found an IED attached to a trip wire. Further searches of the cordon positions turned up other IEDs. The mortar tube in the car turned out to be a piece of drainpipe, it was a hoax that was used to draw security forces into the IEDs that the terrorists placed in likely security force cordon positions. • 4th May 1989: Corporal Stephen Mcgonigle, a very respected member of 1 WFR, was killed near Silverbridge, South Armagh. A car was parked on the side of a country road in an area regularly patrolled by security forces. When the foot patrol spotted the car, they checked with their control room to see if the car was registered as stolen. It was not. The patrol saw nothing overtly suspicious with the car and so moved forward to check it. At least one of the team was carrying electronic counter-measure equipment that can identify and block radio signals from remote-controlled bombs. The bomb was not remote controlled; it was detonated with a command wire. The three other members of Cpl Mcgonigle’s team were all injured in the blast. You should take nothing at face value and always remember the secondary device. Always be suspicious of anything that looks out of place; if you are in an area where there is an active IED threat, you need to draw up plans and procedure for how you will respond if you are caught up in an incident.
TYPES OF DEVICES: LETTER AND PARCEL BOMBS
Up until the late 1990s the letter and parcel bomb was the most widely used of all IEDs. The bombers who use this type of device range from stalkers through to hardcore terrorists. The letter bomb gives the bomber a direct line of access to the target and affords the bomber virtual anonymity, as the device can be sent from anywhere in the world. As the name suggests, the device is placed into an envelope or parcel and posted to the target. Upon opening, the device explodes. Below is a list of things that should be checked for on any package that you suspect of being an IED. If you or your
32 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
client is under a threat, all mail should be checked. If some of the following criteria are evident on a suspect package, it should be put through an x-ray machine to confirm or allay your suspicions. If you don’t have an x-ray machine, then the suspect package should be placed in a safe area and specialist assistance sought. The package would have been knocked around whilst in the postal system, so it will be safe to move—just don’t open it. Letter and parcel bomb recognition checklist: • Were you expecting the letter or package? • Was it delivered by hand (to avoid the postal system)? • Is it uneven or lopsided? • Is the envelope rigid?
Mail Bomb Photo by dbking.
• Is there excessive securing material such as cellophane tape, string, etc.? • Are there any visual distractions on the envelope such as company, official stamps? • Are there any protruding wires or tin foil? • Was there excessive postage paid? • Was the address poorly written/typed? • Any excessive weight? • No return address? • Any oil stains, discoloration, fingerprints? • Any incorrect titles? • Any titles but no names? • Any misspellings of common words? • Any restrictive markings such as Confidential or Private? • Any suspicious postmarks such as Belfast, Baghdad, etc.? • Is the address stenciled? • Any holes or pinpricks, which could be to let out explosive fumes? • Any smell of almonds, marzipan, or perfume used to mask the smell of explosive fumes? • Any mechanical sounds?
INCENDIARY DEVICES A simple form of this device can be made as small as a cigarette packet and be made from condoms and commercially available chemicals. When properly ignited, they will burn at high temperatures and are primarily designed to destroy property. Incendiaries require an initiator (flame or chemical action), delay mechanism, igniter, and main incendiary charge. Incendiary bombs are usually used against shops and businesses for extortion purposes, or they could be used against a lawyer’s office to destroy case records before a trial, etc. They can easily be placed between the cushions of furniture, among flammable objects in the case of thermite, or on or above machinery or vehicles, and timed to go off when the business is empty
of staff, causing the maximum fire damage. This can also help to give the bomber anonymity. If either your client or his business is under the threat of incendiary attack, the following precautions should be taken. A deterrent would be to install overt CCTV and employ high-profile 24-hour security guards. The CCTV could, in the event of an incident, be used to identify the bomber, but keep the videos in a fireproof container or, if using Internet cameras, back everything up on the cloud. If the client’s workplace is an office suite, then access needs to be restricted as much as possible. Visitors should not be left unsupervised, all non-fire retardant furniture should be removed, and all areas should be searched at the end of the business day. Cameras should be placed in high-risk areas entrances/exits and outside toilets, and all personnel entering the suite should be searched.
BLAST BOMBS This device can be made very small. A device can easily be placed in a take-away food container or bag or hidden in a trash
Grenades Photo by Chenspec.
can or pile of rubbish. This type of device is used to cause disruption and confusion. In the city of London, UK, in the early 90s, a spate of such devices placed in trash cans resulted in all trash cans being removed from the streets and the London Underground. These devices can cause great disruption and kill indiscriminately. Realistically, there is very little that can be done to stop a bomber planting these devices in city areas. The device can be easily disguised and moved during rush hour. It would be impossible to watch everyone, let alone search them; dogs could be employed, but they will not be able to sniff everyone. Security cameras on buildings and in shops would be useful when trying to identify the bomber after the device has detonated.
PIPE BOMBS/GRENADES Pipe bombs are simply metal tubes filled with some type of explosives, usually mixed with a type of shrapnel (nuts, bolts, nails) and detonated by various means. If put together properly, they can be very portable, concealable, and devastating weapons. Military-grade hand grenades are available on the black market and are again very portable and concealable, most with an effective blast radius of 10 to 15 meters. One incident that comes to mind is from when I was in Jos, Nigeria, in 2011, where a church was attacked on Xmas Day… A grenade was thrown at a church, and the police officer working security was shot and killed… This simple attack took seconds, and the attackers escaped. You have to be aware of your environment and constantly assessing people and their body language; in highprofile areas where the threat assessment identified a possibility of this type of IED attack, extra security measures need to be put in place such as screens on windows, etc. so nothing can be thrown in.
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 33
UNDERCAR BOOBY-TRAP (UVB) This device was a favorite weapon of Irish terrorist groups when targeting offduty police and military personnel. The device is placed in a container such as a Tupperware container and attached to the underside of a vehicle using magnets, usually under the driver seat. The usual method for triggering the device is by using a tilt or vibration-sensitive switch. The UVB enables the terrorists to attack selected targets. There is a risk of discovery involved when placing this device, as access to the target’s vehicle is
attached to the door of the garage or a mine in the driveway. If the vehicle has to be left unattended, the surrounding area needs to be searched and then the vehicle. Searching a vehicle for IEDs is a basic and important skill and needs to be practiced regularly.
CAR AND TRUCK BOMBS Car and truck bombs enable the terrorist to conceal and move large devices. The car bomb can be used against individual or indiscriminate area targets. All it takes is for someone to drive the vehicle to the target and leave it to
Improvised explosive device (IED) detection dog Photo by U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos. needed. If the bomber manages to plant the device, it will kill and maim the occupants of the car if it is not discovered. The best defense against the UVB is to deny the bomber access to the vehicle. If you are under an IED threat and the vehicle is secured in a garage, the entrance and driveway to the garage need to be physically checked before the vehicle is moved. There could be a device
explode. Against an individual this device could be placed along a route or near an entrance to a building that is frequented by the target. The device can be triggered by remote control, command wire, or, if the target is setting a pattern, by a timer. A method of delivering a device to a highsecurity area is to use a suicide bomber or force someone to drive the vehicle with the device in it. The latter was a common
34 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
tactic of Irish terrorists. It starts with the intended driver being kidnapped or having his home taken over. The driver is then informed that if they don’t drive to the device or to the target, they and their family will be killed. If they drive the device, at least he has a chance of survival. The driver is then chained and locked into the vehicle with the device and he is told how long they have got to get to the target before the device explodes. The driver has little choice but to drive the device to the target and hope the security personnel has some bolt cutter on hand with which to cut him out of the car before the device explodes. Nearly all front gate guard posts and check points in Northern Ireland in the day had bolt cutters available for exactly this situation. On 24th October 1990, our Battalions main base “Lisanelly Barracks” in Omagh was proxy bombed; the driver of the vehicle was cut out by the front gate guards. This 1500 lb AMFO device failed to fully detonate due a faulty detonator. As I stated earlier, in major cities you can get caught up in IED incidents without being a target, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. April 24th, 1994, I had just landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was at the main bus station waiting for a bus a to Durban and talking to a girl I knew there on a payphone. What I thought sounded like a bomb was a bomb that killed 9 people just up the road and I am sure injured way more, but the positive thing, as I remember, was my bus still left on time. While in Abuja and Jos, Nigeria, late 2011 and early 2012, there were numerous attacks on churches. One car bomb attack in Abuja killed 37 people; the car had been parked in the church parking lot for days before the attack but never checked or searched. A simple pre-service sweep by a trained search dog would have identified the device.
SLEEPER BOMBS An IED can be placed in a position a month before it explodes. If it is known that at a certain time in the future you or your client will be attending an event or function or staying in a hotel at a certain time, precautions need to be taken. In 1984 in Brighton, England, such a device killed five people in an IRA attempt to kill the then British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
DEFENSE AGAINST CAR BOMBS AND MINES
A bomb or an IED Phtoto by Alexandre Dulauno.
IMPROVISED MINES These devices can vary in size and be disguised as virtually as anything. Their triggering methods are only limited by the imagination and ability of the bomber. In Northern Ireland, large devices were usually placed in rural areas in culverts, under roads, or perhaps disguised as milk churns or in bales of hay. In the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, IEDs have been hidden in animal carcasses. In urban areas, they can be placed in lampposts, rubbish bins, or vertical drain piping on the side of a building. To place a bomb into a drainpipe, the terrorist lowers the device into the drainpipe from the top, and a command wire detonates the device. The command wire can go over the building or be laid in the guttering connected to a firing point out of the line of sight of the killing zone. In all such operations, the terrorists use youths as watchers. The child playing at the end of the street shouting to his friends could be telling the bomber you are in the kill zone.
To beat the area car bomber, one has to vigilant and suspicious. If a vehicle looks suspicious, then get it checked out. Security forces have an advantage over private security personnel in being able to check out the background (whether it is stolen or rented) of a vehicle very quickly. So, if you are suspicious of a vehicle, call the authorities and let them check it out; if you are unwilling or unable to contact the authorities, then just avoid the vehicle. For private security personnel: When the car bomb or mine threat is directed at your client, then
precautions need to be taken. If there are limited routes in and out of the client’s residence or office, then these routes need to be regularly physically checked. Any suspicious cars, recent digging, or wires leading away from the road need to be checked out. When the client is traveling to and from work, the routes must be varied as much as possible. All trips should be kept secret until the last minute and then be preceded by an advanced security team, which needs to arrive at the client destination with enough time to check out the area before the client arrives. When entering or exiting a building, different entrances/ exits need to be used. If possible, use fire escapes and staff entrances. If the client is to stay in a hotel, their room will need to be searched along with the adjoining rooms, if possible, and a check kept on anyone using the rooms. If the rooms are booked a while in advance, a check will need to be done on all building work and maintenance carried out in between the time of booking and the time of stay, as this work may have been used to cover the planting of a device.
U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Derek Gaines. The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 35
IDF forces apprehended a terror operative wearing the explosive belt pictured. Photo: Israel Defense Forcess.
SUICIDE BOMBERS Suicide bombings are not a new issue; back in WW2 the Japanese employed attacks against allied forces to great effect in the Pacific campaigns, but in recent years suicide attacks have become the hallmark of Islamic extremist terrorists. The Israeli security forces have been dealing with the threat of suicide bombings for decades and at a frontline level rely on training their police and military personnel extensively in reading and understanding people’s body language to try to identify suicide bombers and eliminate them before they can detonate their devices. There is no politically correct way to deal with possible suicide bombers; luckily for the Israeli forces, their Government understands their situation and supports their actions. This is a huge contrast to the witch hunts British Armed Forces have
been subjected to over the past few years. In the wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Afghanistan, the front-line troops constantly face the threat of suicide attacks, from devices in armored vehicles to devices strapped to children. In the battle for Mosul the Iraqi forces have been dealing with an extremely complex situation, as every vehicle and every civilian could be a potential bomber. Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria abiding by rules of engagement advised to them by their Western trainers put themselves at risk constantly by giving surrendering and wounded terrorists the benefit of the doubt rather than a double tap. The Kurds are seeking independence and doing everything possible to fight a fair war against an enemy that deserves no quarter. From a security professional’s
36 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
perspective, if dealing with the threat of suicide attacks, you must understand you are going to take casualties, but you need to plan to limit the extent of the casualties as much as you can. A recent example is the attacks on the Coptic Churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday, 2017; one surveillance video shows one of the bombers detonating his device at the security checkpoint, most likely realizing he would not get into the Church without the device being discovered. So, at a front-line level everyone needs to understand what indicators they need to look for in someone’s body language that could identify them as a potential threat. From a planning perspective, procedures need to be put in place to limit the bombers’ access to target areas and limit the potential blast areas at checkpoints, etc. in the case of an attack.
MORTARS These days no one seems to consider the threat from mortar attacks. Mortars can be improvised, and I see no reason why terrorists should not be able to get military mortars and ammunition. Mortars and grenade launchers have been found in the arsenals of Mexican drug cartels and recently in raids on illegal arms dealers in Spain, so they are on the open market. Improvised mortars were used widely in Northern Ireland against Security Force bases (and in the mainland UK against Heathrow airport and the Prime Minister’s residence in Downing Street, Central London). They were usually launched in quantities of ten from an improvised base plate mounted on a flat bed or high-sided truck. The mortars usually contained about 45 lbs of improvised explosives with a fuse time of 16 to 20 seconds and a flight time of 10 seconds. Their range was between 80 to 250 meters. The propellant was normally made from sodium chlorate-soaked “J cloths”. Each mortar weighed about 120 lbs and usually went straight through most anti-mortar screening. Attacks were common in Northern Ireland, one of our (1-WFR) patrol bases at the “Hump” in Strabane was hit in 1990 when D-Coy was on duty; Clady PVCP was hit when A-Coy was on duty. Luckily there were no casualties on both occasions. The Irish terrorists tried the hit the “Hump” again in January 1991 when 6 Plt, B-Coy was on duty; the terrorist tried to put the mortars in a location where a RUC patrol was having a tea break. After a quick exchange of fire where everyone missed, the terrorist escaped, but at least the attack was avoided. Military mortars come in light, medium, and heavy variations. I would say that light and medium mortars would be the most useful to terrorists as they are quite mobile. The maximum range of light mortars, 50mm to 60mm, can be
anywhere from 700 to 3500 meters when firing high-explosive bombs of about 2 to 4 lbs, with rates of fire from 8 to 20 rounds a minute. The maximum range of medium mortars, 81mm and 82mm, is up to 5900 meters with high-explosive bombs weighing 6 to 8 lbs, with a rate of fire of 8 to 20 rounds per minute. The ideal targets for mortars would be busy airports, chemical plants, gas refineries, and petroleum storage depots. The best defense against improvised mortars is to identify and dominate any likely positions that could be used as a base plate location to launch mortar attack; this can be done with CCTV or patrols. If the terrorists have military mortars, you are going to have a lot of problems controlling an area of up to nearly 6 km around your location. This could be why no one wants to consider the threat from mortars!
HOW TO DEAL WITH AN IED INCIDENT Police or sercurity forces should be informed as soon as an IED is found or if you have good resaon for suspecting an object or vehicle of being an IED. Disposal and diffustion of IED is to be left to trained professionals. Do not attempt this yourself. Everyone should know the basics for dealing with an IED incident. If you are working in or have a business in an area where there could possibly be an IED threat, you will need to draw contingency plans for an IED incident. If you are traveling to a city where IED incidents occur, you need to know how things can develop and whether security forces know what they are doing or you are putting yourself and potentially others at risk. There are four steps when dealing with an IED: • Confirmation: Confirm, to the best of your ability, whether the object/ vehicle is an IED, taking into account the following considerations: Are you
under a threat from IEDs? Are the objects seemingly out of place? Are you in an area where terrorists are operational? Is there a funny smell around the object such as almonds, marzipan or petrol? This is where your threat assessment comes in. An unattended bag in an airport will arouse more suspicion then an unattended bag in a bar or restaurant but both could be just as dangerous or just as harmless. If all unattended bags in bars or other public places were reported as IEDs, there would be hundreds of false incidents every day but one just might be an IED. If you have good reason to suspect an object or vehicle, then check it. The police and security forces should be willing to help you, if you give them good reasons for your suspicions. • Cordon: Once a device has been confirmed, the area around it and roads leading to it needs to be cordoned off so no-one can access. It depends on the size and location of the device, as to how far away the cordon will be but a basic rule is that you should be out of line of sight of the device. This is because if you can see the device you can be hit by shrapnel or debris if it detonates. Think of the potential IED as a rifle barrel, if you can see it, it is pointed at you and has a clear shot at you, it can hit you. In the private security world, cordon preparations and duties would fall on the static/residential security teams etc. If an IED turns up at your residence, the RST, if you have security personnel, would have to deal with the initial cordon and clearing of the area. Cordon equipment needs to be on hand, such as cordon tape, torches, and maps of the area and communications equipment. Plans need to be made for the evacuation procedures and cordon points for the different types of device. All cordon and control point location need to be physically searched for booby traps before being set up, the basic search would be 10 meters around the position.
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 37
U.S. Soldiers with the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment Photo: U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos. • Clearing the area: People should be moved out of the blast area of the device; the blast area depends on the size and location of the device. In some cases, depending on the size of the device, it may be safer to leave people in buildings and under cover, rather than moving them into the open. It would make sense to assign a location in your building that could be used for this purpose, and internal room with no windows would be ideal. When evacuating people, a route should be taken that is out of line of sight of the device; if the device explodes when evacuating personnel, flying and falling glass is a big danger and needs to be considered when planning the evacuation route, as is the threat of secondary devices. • Controlling the incident: Control of all IED incidents should be handed over to authorities, as soon as possible. You need to brief the responding personnel as to where the device is, when it arrived, how it arrived, where your cordon positions are, whether there is anyone
still within the cordoned area and where they are. You also need to pass on any relevant information of threats that have been made or suspicious incidents or people that have been in the area. Not only is this professional, but it could help apprehend the terrorists. When a threat assessment reveals a threat from IEDs, a great deal of planning is needed. Whether you are a business owner, lone international traveler, or a close-protection team member, procedures need to be made for dealing with IEDs. Everyone in law enforcement, homeland security, and the private security industry must have a basic knowledge of how IEDs work, the effects of an explosion, and how to deal with incidents, but, sadly, they don’t. These days basic search techniques and IED recognition are a necessity for all everyone, as IEDs are the most widely used terrorist weapon and will be for a long time to come. Times Square Car Bomb, New York
38 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
City, May 1ST, 2010 After reading what has already been written in this article, you should be able to pick out quite a few mistakes in the New York Police Department (NYPD) handling of the 2010 car bomb incident in Times Square in the City of New York. The vehicle that contained the explosives was a dark blue 1993 Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle with dark tinted windows; it had been parked on a busy tourist-crowded street. People in the area noticed smoke drifting from vents near the back seat of the unoccupied vehicle, which was parked with its engine running and its hazard lights on. They also heard firecrackers going off inside. A police officer approached the car and observed the smoke, canisters inside, and the smell of gunpowder. The vehicle was set ablaze but did not detonate. Upon arrival, the bomb disposal team used a remote-controlled robotic device to break out a window of the vehicle and explore its contents. The device’s ignition source
malfunctioned and failed to detonate the main explosives. Had it detonated, NYPD officials said the bomb would have cut the car in half, and “would have caused casualties, a significant fireball and would have sprayed shrapnel, and killed or wounded many people.” OK, the U.S. had been engaged in the war on terror for 9 years, so did the NYPD and other agencies not know how to deal properly with a car bomb incident? It amazed me when I saw the incident on the TV; they showed the bomb squad defusing the device while crowds stood watching. Basic rule: You and cordon positions must be out of line of site of the device; if you can see the device, you can be hit by shrapnel, etc. If the device had detonated there would have been many unnecessary casualties from the stupid cordon positions alone. The car bomb was described as a crude device, so was it not taken seriously? My first thought if I came across a crude and amateur explosive device would be “Where is the real one?” and that the crude device was nothing but bait to draw security forces into a trap. I strongly doubt the area and cordon positions were checked for secondary devices. In the TV coverage you could see that roads at either end of the road where the device was located were still open and cops were milling and sitting around relaxing; a suicide bomber could have driven right through the cordon and blown up the bomb squad. You can’t protect others if you can protect yourself! The NYPD’s handling of this incident can be classed as very negligent and how you should not deal with an IED incident! If you are in an urban area and there is a car bomb incident, you should initially find cover; get into a building and away from windows. If a device goes off, the shock wave can break windows for a few blocks around it. You don’t want to be on an open city street will glass falling on you from 50 stories up. When safe
to evacuate the area, use back alleys and non-obvious routes and do not hang around to watch how things develop. This is because of the threat from secondary devices and because the first device may only be there to draw in crowds of onlookers or channel people into the main device.
CONCLUSION So, hopefully from this article you can see that dealing with IEDs is a complex problem where generally the terrorists have the advantage. The responsibility for IED and terrorist attack prevention is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of the front-line security forces. • Urban planners and the like are responsible for including basic security features in their designs, be it for shopping malls or airports. Sadly, in places like South Florida, U.S., security considerations seem to be the last thing on their mind; who’s going to attack a beautifully designed airport anyway… Next you will be saying terrorists will hijack planes and fly them into buildings...! • Those responsible for security planning need to realistically understand the threats they could be facing and be allowed to put in place workable preventive measures and responses. I understand that a lot of times security management professionals (CPP) sadly have their recommendations for upgrading security procedures ignored by their senior management, etc., but they must persevere and make maximum use of the resources they have. • Front-line security forces need the proper training, equipment, and workable procedures to do their jobs properly. Untrained and badly managed guards or police are not only putting themselves at risk but also those they are meant to be protecting. • The general public needs to know the basics on how to identify and report suspicious activity and what to do if
caught up in a terrorist attack. At a family level, there should be plans in place for what to do if there is a terrorist incident at a shopping mall or public gathering, etc. Some simple knowledge and 5 minutes discussing plans and preparations can save lives. Many thanks to former 1 WFR members Lewis Weaver (Moose) and Matt Trott for helping with details of the incidents in Northern Ireland. We hope the information in this document has been of use to you. Please remember this is basic information, if you have any questions then please feel free to contact us. We supply corporate investigations, maritime security services, executive protection, tactical firearms training, kidnap and ransom services, tactical training, travel security, kidnapping prevention, community security group, SWAT, and bodyguard training. Our clients range from entrepreneurs to corporate law firms and from trainee bodyguards to specialist tactical police units and government agencies actively engaged in counter narco terrorism and counter insurgency operations. We have training location in US, Europe and The Middle East, our instructors are also available to travel to your locations. Stay safe. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Orlando Wilson Risks Incorporated International Defense Strategies LLC E-mail: contact@risks-incorporated.com Risks Incorporated: http://www.risksincorporated.com Personal Blog: http://www. cornishprivateer.com “Stay low and keep moving”
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 39
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40 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
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PRODUCT REVIEW
The Micro RONI by Ken Pagano
I
recently tested CAA’s new Micro RONI® for the Glock 17. It is said, “Good things come in small packages.” When I first received the parcel, I thought, “This is a really small box.” which was black and red-green-yellow digital patterned. It contained the MICRONI17-Advanced Kit, a letter from the ATF about SBRs and silencers, as well as a simple and excellently illustrated user manual. Spreading the parts on a table, I studied them for a moment. Knowing that the Israelis take pride in doing things that are naturally instinctive, I endeavored to manipulate the kit sans instructions. I only required a quick glance for the magazine release. That is because there is none. Accustomed to the magazine release button on my Glock, I was embarrassed that all that was required to remove the spare magazine was a simple pull down since it is held by friction. The viability came when it was placed in the hands of fellow officers, some 30 in all. Granted, not every LEO/ military person is a “gun guy,” as was true with my officers. Only two had prior knowledge of the Roni. Yet all experienced the “wow” factor at its compactness. Others were more incredulous, thinking it was some sort of toy. Shooting the Micro RONI® was like shooting a Glock because that is what you are doing; the kit in no fashion affects the function or dimensions of the pistol. It ran just like the pistol it
housed, boringly reliable. No failures with whatever ammunition used or whatever drills performed. Having the availability to access an SBR when a regular rifle is not available is a tremendous asset. I have served with LE agencies where only sidearms are carried because only specialty units had access to long guns. If anyone harbored doubts about the usefulness of the Micro RONI®, they only have to make a range trip for a simple and convincing demonstration. For the shooting test we used provided flip-up sights, although we did have some optics readily available. I asked my fellow officers to line up and fire 5 rounds at an average-sized B21 silhouette target at 25 yards. The only requirement was to be in a standing, unsupported position and headshots only. The percentages of hits varied considerably, with many being
44 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
completely unsatisfactory. When given the same challenge, only this time using the Micro RONI®, hits were almost all 100%. This particular kit fit only Glock Gen’ 3+4 (with bottom picatinny rail), including compensated models (17/22/31) but also available for (19/23/32). Available colors are black, green, and khaki. Specifications: Collapsed Length: 13.7”; Overall Length 23”; Width: 2.48”; Height: 5.7”. The Micro RONI® Advanced Kit consists of a thumb rests, flashlight, a durable onepoint sling, and flip-up front and rear sights, the rather unique and quite useful FRS Rear Flip-Up Sight that features a three-operating selectable aperture that is adjustable for windage and Picatinny rails. The ultimate pistol upgrade kit: MSRP: $420. •
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 45 Circle 279 on Reader Service Card
TRAINING REVIEW
Constellation A 24 Hour Disaster Preparation by Editorial Staff Course
I
magine what life must be like for people in the third world day-today. I have seen it with my own eyes and thank my lucky stars I was born in this country. Some places are still stuck in the Middle Ages, and daily life is survival. What would be a catastrophe to us may be the norm in some places. Now, imagine what life must be like when they have a disaster, man- or mother-made… Here in the U.S., we live in the land of disposable everything; even your car is disposable here in North America. Central air conditioning, garbage disposals, unlimited hot water, inground pools at home, customer service, free refills, and the list of things other “first world” countries do without. Enter the category 4 hurricane, earthquake, wild fire, and accompanying civil unrest and you have a society where there is no 911 and you need to be your own self-responder. Luckily for you there is a training course just for such an incident. It’s all about connecting the dots and so appropriately called Constellation, a disaster management course for the regular guy. Constellation was a 24-hour course held in Leesburg, VA, over the weekend of daylight savings. The event was coordinated with the local police department and had a 12-hour classroom/practical application section in which students learned various skills necessary for not only surviving a disaster, but thriving. The second 12
hours were scenarios through the night in which students tested their skills against role players in small teams over 8–10 missions. The classroom session was held in an event hall with all the comforts and amenities one would expect from a college course. We had a working lunch and nice 60-degree weather. The 95 students were taught by subject matter experts from various DoD and DHS elements, including the USCG, USMC, USAF, U.S. Army, professional mountaineers, the IDF, and the intelligence services. There were 9 instructors in all and 22 role players. We covered topics such as collapsed structure escape, obstacle/barrier defeat, transportation acquisition, fuel
46 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
procurement, lock bypass, chemical irritant resistance, intelligence gathering, trauma first aid, and land navigation. Following the 24 separate training blocks, it was then out on the town for us. After interacting with the role players and treating a pig who had been traumatically injured, the team was certainly better prepared to fortify a structure, escape, evade, navigate, defeat, resist, communicate, conduct surveillance, and treat wounds. This was all under austere conditions and under the watchful eye of the instructor staff. If you are interested in learning, testing your skills and gear, then keep on the lookout for the next Constellation 24 in 2018. https://www.goruck.com/ constellation/ •
The Advanced Global Security Workshop in
Israel ®
The experts on training in:
the Homeland Security professionals best resource
Since 2005, SSI has taken nearly 500 First Responders to Israel and shown them the basics of the Israel security concept. Thanks in part to that program, we are better able to defend ourselves in the United States. In response to demand, we are now offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience covering the following advanced subjects: May 11- 18 & June 1-9
Hezbollah - a threat as deadly as al-Qaeda - Learn about them in their own territory, along Israel’s northern border. Hostage Rescue - Discover how they go wrong. Hospital Response - Find out how Israel’s critical response hospitals handle surge and multi-casualty incidents. Israel Counter Terrorism units - Learn how they operate. Israel National Police - National Academy; See how they train? Sensitive Installations - Participate in a day-long exercise and training program in how to set up a complete security system. Secret Israel Homeland Security Simulator - See how this works at a base south of Tel Aviv.
Stay in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and visit some of the most amazing sites! Register now if you are US Military, a Homeland Security Professional, a Security Professional, an EMS, or an EMT.
2018
LEARN MORE at: Call now for more information.
www.homelandsecurityssi.com
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Phone: 866-573-3999 Fax: 866-573-2090 contact@securitysolutionsint.com Circle 50 on Reader Service Card Circle 215 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 47
ADVERTISER INDEX
Counter The
DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
VOLUME 10 • NUMBER 6
Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals To request detailed product information, visit our website http://thecounterterroristmag.com/readerservicecard.php or scan this code. Select the appropriate Reader Service Number (RSN) on the web-form and submit your contact information. Individual advertiser’s websites are also provided below for your convenience.”
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Ad/Company • website and/or email............................................................................................... RSN Number
45 4th Annual Police K-9 Conference •www.policek9magazine.com............................ 279 47 Advanced Homeland Security Training in Israel • www.homelandsecurityssi.com... 215 3 American Public University • www.amuonline.com/counter-terrorist............................. 25 2 Barrett Firearms Manufacturing • www.barrett.net/firearms/mrad........................... 121 4 DeSantis Holster & Leathergoods • www.desantisholster.com.................................. 241 19 Elevated tactics by SSI • www.homelandsecurityssi.com............................................. 313 31 K9 Cop Magazine • www.k9copmagazine.com......................................................... 277 7 Patriot3 • www.patriot3.com..................................................................................... 301 50 Phantom Products Inc. • www.phantomlights.com..................................................... 209 43 Southern Police Equipment • www.southernpoliceequipment.com.............................. 343 49 SSI PVB • www.SSIPVB.com....................................................................................... 226
48 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018
New and improved
( portable vehicle barrier ) When Law Enforcement in Dallas wanted a product to protect the greatest sporting event in the US they chose SSI’s PVB. The reason the PVB is used by agencies and militaries across the globe is that it transfers the momentum of the threatening vehicle upwards and stops it in its tracks. Two adults can deploy the barrier in minutes, and there is no need for electricity whatsoever. The Portable Vehicle Barrier comes with several customized configurations: • You can put wheels on it so that it acts as a swing barrier and easily opens a road • You can toughen the line by adding anchoring cables or place the PVB’s in one single row or even three rows to stop anything • Additional safety features can be added PVBs can be folded down quickly –moved and stored with ease – the PVB is reusable and durable. Best of all NO maintenance is required. Made in the USA means jobs in the USA and supporting our national economy. Ordering is quick and easy allowing us to make the PVB available to your agencies immediately. Besides being the most cost effective barrier in the business today, the PVB is a VBIED killer. CALL NOW.
Call now for more information. Pricing dependent on quantity and delivery location. Call: (305) 401-6906 or email info@homelandsecurityssi.com
Or visit our website: www.SSIPVB.com
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The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2017/ January 2018 49
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