If you are travelling with
a Security Detail, will they understand the operating environment at your destination and act
within it? You have every right
to challenge every single one of
their assumptions, until you are
happy with their approach.
A businessman friend of
mine recently travelled to Lagos and after shopping around,
he eschewed the high-profile
(and expensive) armed police,
screaming-siren escort usually
offered to visiting executives
and opted instead for a single expat Nigerian, who lived outside
the country but knew
the operating environment perfectly.
The guy was not allowed by local law
to carry a weapon
but compensated for
this with a low-key
approach and ability
to sniff out trouble
before it happened.
A pre-trip planning
meeting in Europe,
to run through all
routes and meeting
locations so that they
could be reconnoitred in advance, gave
added confidence to the client
during the operation and the individual gained his trust quicker
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