A while back I contributed a short article to the “Training Log Book” by Rob Pincus. Rob came up with a rather unique and ingenious idea, a book that documents your training. The book contains over 2 dozen essays from training industry professionals offering their advice in regard to defensive and tactical training. Whether you do a little or allot of training the book is a must. The essays are worth the price of the book.
A project we are working on requires us to put together a series of animations depicting vehicle ambushes. The Gus Boulis ambush is a rough draft of our first animation, which means you will need to read the scenario (below) to get an idea of what is going on. We will be adding voice over and making some small changes. Eventually we will have a series of animated vehicle attacks – all with lessons learned. The animation is the work of Larry Snow from SJC if you have any comments or questions you can reach Larry at lawrence.snow@yahoo.com
On Feb. 6, 2001 Boulis left his offices on Southeast 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale about 9:30 p.m. and headed down Miami Road, a shortcut to Federal Highway on his way home to Hollywood.
As he was driving down Miami Road a car stopped in front of him, blocking his way. A vehicle coming from the other direction pulled up next to Boulis. A passenger sitting in the back seat fired on him with a semi-automatic weapon.
Boulis managed to drive out to Federal Highway before crashing into a tree. He died a short time later at Broward General Medical Center.
Background
Gus Boulis was the owner of SunCruz Casinos, a Florida company. SunCruz consisted of boats that would travel off shore onto international water, where the passengers could gamble.
In September of 2000, Boulis sold SunCruz for $147.5 million. Problems arose between Gus and the people that bought the boats. Throughout his business career Gus had a knack of pissing people off. You can read about him in this series of articles.
At the time we were doing some work with the people who bought the boats. Because of the concerns they had for their safety they had bodyguards and an armored Mercedes (I was a consultant with Mercedes at the time). The people who bought the boats eventually ran afoul of the law and wound up in jail, but nothing to do with the Boulis attack
In September 2005 Anthony Moscatiello and James Fiorillo, both Florida residents, were arrested in connection with the murder. Anthony Ferrari, who resided in New York, was also detained in connection with the killing. You can gather from the names of the individuals who Gus pissed off.
A short article I did for State Farm Insurance
It has been more than 20 years since the assassination of Alfred Herrhausen. The roadside bomb that killed Herrhausen changed the way protection was looked at. In the late 80’s surveillance detection had become part of the protection plan but it was not given the attention that was needed. It was unorganized, and most of the time the surveillance detection team had no idea what it was they were trying to detect. At that time most training was reactive in nature, basically protection teams were trained to ram or shoot their way out of a problem. This attack and another roadside bomb that occurred in Bogota made surveillance detection a top priority with companies working in high risk area. But, as time moved on, it seems we have gone back to the reactive approach to training. This is an article that appeared in Wired Magazine a few years back. The author highlights an article I wrote for Security Management Magazine in 1990, a year after the incident took place.
A good friend is looking to fill a slot in New York City; security driver, preferably retired NYPD or similar LE post, job description 2-3 days per-week in and around Manhattan for a business executive & family. Respondents can send resume to the below listed info.
This article was written by Gordon Mitchell, PhD, CPP. Dr. Mitchell operates Future Focus, a Seattle based company which provides electronic eavesdropping. The article was written more than ten years ago but still has some valid points.
A good chauffeur is concerned about not spilling the boss’s coffee and avoiding bumps. Generally chauffeurs can handle routine emergencies if they happen slowly. This has nothing in common with the skills needed for a trained security driver.
Security drivers are very aware of the environment and are always prepared to drive out of a problem using the full potential of the vehicle. This is guaranteed to spill coffee. It also saves lives.
Good Security Driver
In no particular order – security
The most critical skill is learning to recognize trouble and stay out of threatening situations. The most critical thing to recognize is the presence of surveillance.
Security skills of course include defensive driving but the most memorable training involves offensive driving. Even though few security drivers use their training in ramming or pursuit driving these sort of high adrenaline activities make an impression. In fact making an impression on a student is what a good driving school must do.
Out of Control
A security driver has absolutely no control over several critical factors in executive security. The first is where the executive lives. Only in unusual cases such as high threat overseas assignments will the executive home be chosen by security personnel. The executive’s neighborhood may be on a dead end street, an apartment building or near a busy highway. All require different approaches to avoid the problems that threaten the executive.
Weather and traffic are also out of the control of the security driver. They affect the general security environment and may allow threats such as ambushes to become more of a problem than they would be on “normal” days. These variables must be part of a security driver’s thinking and need to be part of overall contingency planning.
Ex-cops make good Security Drivers
Because they are naturally suspicious of people and circumstances, former police officers make good security drivers. They have been trained and conditioned to observe their environment and have generally been prepared for some of the driving situations that security drivers may encounter.
A significant change of strategy is necessary in the transition from ” To Protect and Serve” to being concerned about the person in the back seat. Good security drivers do not think about apprehending anyone; they are expected to drive away from dangers, not confront them. Police officers that are able to leave their egos behind do well in the driver’s seat.
All drivers must have good driving skills and physical capabilities. Since physiological changes occur with age, which can make drivers less effective, it is critical that basic vision, hearing and reactions are tested for all security drivers. Additionally, over the age of forty, night vision should be measured. At the age of fifty-five, peripheral vision should be added to the annual physical.
Even a driver in good physical condition can become a liability if fatigue is present. This is especially a factor in city driving. Overtime pay may lure drivers into working longer than they should but eight-hour shifts should be the rule. A tired driver may only be able to operate the vehicle missing all of the security aspects of his job. A very tired driver may not even be able to handle the basic driving tasks.
Knowing the Threat is Key
Even though it makes sense to avoid danger by understanding the threat, many drivers do not employ effective surveillance detection skills or have a basic knowledge of threats. It is critical to begin the security driver’s work well before getting behind the wheel. This includes working closely with corporate security and executive assistants to keep updated on threats to the executive, changes in the corporation, and the general image of the organization.
Background work to identify and contain threats is much more effective than last minute offensive driving to get out of a tight spot. If a driver spends significant amounts of time with the executive she bears an even greater responsibility for the executive’s welfare. This situation requires even more work with security to define threats and avoid them.
Medical Emergencies
Most executives won’t be kidnapped but many will face medical emergencies of some sort while traveling. The obvious requirement for security drivers is knowledge of medical facilities along any given route. This does not just involve knowing the address of a hospital. Specific information on the nearest trauma centers, emergency rooms, fire stations, and outpatient facilities should be at hand. Knowing the direct line to an emergency room can save valuable minutes for a seriously ill or wounded executive.
A sensitive issue that is not normally addressed involves medical background information for the executive. Sharing medical history information with security drivers improves the survival probability for an executive but it is not common for “just a driver” to know about the boss’s chronic illness. If a medical emergency does occur or if an accident threatens the life of an executive a driver’s knowledge can be a lifesaver.
Watch out for the TaxMan
The Internal Revenue Service look for opportunities to tax corporate compensation and executive protection can become a problem in this area if it is not handled properly. Imagine the difficulties associated with an unexpected $100,000 tax bill for the CEO. It is possible if the salary of a security driver and other related expenses are considered executive compensation. In a 40% tax bracket the personal income tax on several years protection can easily reach astronomical amounts.
To avoid this problem it is crucial to employ an independent professional to study the corporate security needs. The study should be based on objective facts and circumstances. If security threats require a trained driver and security car for the benefit of the company the IRS should not tax the individual executive who also benefits.
Dealing with Executive Objections
Whenever a change of executive lifestyle is involved, expect a problem. This is especially true for security where there is no direct link to corporate profits. If the CEO must have a security driver expect that the change will be resisted. The same security survey that was done to justify the expenses to the IRS may be helpful in convincing management of the need.
One approach to the subject might be to explain the need for a proactive approach in terms of the other parts of the organization. No good manager would wait for a disaster to make changes in manufacturing, accounting or marketing. The same is true in security. Spending an effort and some money up front can produce significant results in the future.
I just read an article that was in Slate Magazine by Benjamin Popper – “Why do so many terrorist have engineering degrees?” – It caught my eye because I have a degree in engineering and knowing what it takes to get that degree could not imagine why, after all that work, would anyone would look at terrorism/suicide bomber as a career opportunity, and a short one at that.
The article mentioned that 8 of the 25 hijackers from 9/11 were engineers, and that the person that attempted to blow up the airliner this Christmas was also an engineer. The article references papers written by scholars that to explain why an engineer would take this career path. A good read.
We have developed an iPhone Application on Distracted Driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) driver distractions are the leading cause of most vehicle crashes and near-crashes. The App came about when we looked at a study released by the NHTSA and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). The study discovered that 80% of crashes and 65% of near-crashes involve some form of driver distraction – and the distraction occurred within three seconds before the vehicle crash! For those in High Risk Security that number “three seconds” is familiar. It is the “Kill Zone”.
The Kill Zone Concept is used to train our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to avoid a vehicle ambush. Our iPhone Application uses the same theory to explain and avoid the dangers of Distracted Driving.
The theory is simple; a Kill Zone is a time-distance relationship. How much time does the driver have and how close is the problem (distance)? The Kill Zone is directly related to the speed of the vehicle when the incident occurs.
An example of how Kill Zones relate to Distracted Driving look at the following scenario – You are 300 feet from a traffic light moving at 40 mph which is 60 feet per second. You get a text message; it takes 3 seconds to read the message – that means you drove 180 feet (3 seconds x 60 fps) without looking at the road.
You were 300 feet from the traffic light, but as you were reading the text message, you moved 180 feet. When you looked up from the text message, you are 120 feet (300 -180) from the traffic light that has now changed from yellow to red.
You are 120 feet in front of the red light and closing in at 60 fps. You are in the Kill Zone, a time distance relationship, the distance is 120 feet and some quick arithmetic tells you that you have two seconds to react. And you are driving deeper into the kill zone.
If you can get you foot on the brake in a half-second (that’s fast), you will travel 30 feet (half of 60 fps). So at the point of applying your brakes, you are 90 feet from the traffic light (the initial 120 feet minus the 30 feet it took to reach for the brake).
You will have to stop a car moving at 40 MPH (60 feet a sec) in 1.5 seconds. Life is going to get terribly exciting.
Our App uses case studies in the form of presentations, similar to the one above, and offers lessons learned. The objective is to keep you out of the kill zone.
You can direct any questions or comments to
In the process of a putting together an iPhone Application about vehicle attacks I came across this You Tube video. It is a re-enactment of the 1978 Moro kidnapping. At the time, the kidnapping of the highly respected elder statesman of Italian politics, Aldo Moro, shocked the world. This incident would be similar to the kidnapping of one of our former Presidents. Although the Moro attack occurred more than 30 years ago it is still a lesson learned scenario.
This event (plus the Schleyer ambush) had a profound effect on the security community. To gain an understanding of the historical significance of this attack we need to examine the security industry the 70’s.
Some History – During the 1970’s these types of attacks had been occurring often in South America, the prevailing attitude was that it would never spread beyond those borders. Although the terrorism experts at the time (there were maybe three of them), had all been predicting this type of attack was going to spread, and become prolific. No one paid much attention to them, and the general feeling was that the terrorist were not that good – and that if you put a guy with gun sitting next to the chauffer, and maybe some guys with more guns in a vehicle following the boss the problem is solved. At the time the general thinking of the non security community was that the enemy was not that smart. The following is an actual comment from an executive “After all we are dealing with unsophisticated rabble”.
Lessons – Moro was one of the attacks that brought to light that terrorist actually plan what they do. You can see from this re-enactment that these guys, and girl, had their act together.
This was one of the attacks that made the “powers to be” come to the conclusion that –
Having guys with guns with the boss doesn’t solve the problem – it creates a different problem
We ought to train those guys that are protecting the principal – drivers and shooters should be trained to drive and shoot
Armored cars are a good thing – we are talking about 1970’s armored cars that were a lot less sophisticated than they are now.
The protection team was expendable
This is a question – not a comment – have things changed that much in thirty years? What do you think?
Tony Scotti’s Vehicle Dynamics Institute is offering our Protective/Evasive Driving program at the Louisiana State Police Joint Emergency Services Training Center (JESTC). Dec. 9th - 11th. It is the last program in 2009.
Regarded by many in the security field as the most advanced and effective driver training available today, this intensive three day program provides participants the advanced skill sets needed to recognize and respond to life threatening situations which they are likely to face in the real word, ranging from potential accidents to deliberate attacks or roadside ambushes.
This course is designed specifically for security drivers, executive chauffeurs, protection specialists and others responsible for providing safe and secure transportation for high profile individuals or high value assets, either as a standalone function or in conjunction with broader protective security operations.
Students will receive a copy of Tony Scotti’s bestselling book, Driving Techniques.
For additional information call 732-738-5221 or email jautera@vehicledynamics.net