Counter Terrorism and First Responders
as the doctors who attacked Scotland’s Glasgow Airport,
who are ready to rain violence and destruction on our
society and families. While our defence and security
departments rush to meet this threat, they have
discovered that it takes more than the superhuman
effort that they give, to actually prevent it outright.
As civilians we think that it is the responsibility of our
defence forces to protect and respond to these evil
organisations and individuals. Yet maintaining a secure
society depends on the full cooperation of us all –
uniformed and not. We have seen in recent disasters
worldwide how, when we all join forces, we arrive at the
solution quicker, resulting in the saving of lives.
When we hear the term “first responder”, we often
think of police officers, the SWAT team and medics.
However, they take time to arrive and situation reports
are only begun when such “forces” arrive on the scene.
The time lost till a comprehensive picture is available
often has a cost in terms of human life. The real “first
responder” may be a passer-by or, in an airport
scenario, a check-in agent, baggage handler or flight
attendant.
In every forum, conference and discussion in the realm of
terrorism and Homeland Security, we hear from Generals
and Intelligence Officers as to what steps and equipment we
need in order to defend ourselves – and I believe them all to
be correct – the voice of the “first responder” or those that
deal directly with the threat is often not heard. What
information and equipment is he lacking? What could we do
in order to increase his efficiency and those that arrive?
Millions, if not billions are being spent on security
systems and training of personnel, and rightly so.
However, one of the most important resources is often
overlooked, the Security Director/Coordinator, the
people he works with and the employees or personnel
readily available. Any professional knows that
organisation is often the key to success. All too often
terror or natural disaster situations suffer from “too
many cooks in the kitchen”, each with their own theory
and S.O.P. We find that most infrastructure solutions
lack internal organisation and proper coordination and
operating procedures with the forces that respond. This
is due to the lack of importance that our “professionals”
give to the civilian field of security and response.
The situation in Israel is different. It is these
individuals that the armed forces depend on to give
them primary situation reports and at times “tactical
and emergency first response”. Being that they are most
familiar with the facility or community where the event
has occurred, they are the most qualified to do so. Their
training covers many facets of the majority of situations
that can occur, albeit that, in recent years, experience
has regrettably become the best teacher.
While various organisations have been sending
security professionals to Israel for learning forums and
programmes, it is extremely rare for these groups to
meet with the people who are directly responsible for
saving lives. “Security Director /Coordinator” in Israel
takes on a different meaning. Meeting with the “higher
ups” is valuable; meeting with the guys in the “real”
field can be a real learning experience.
20 Register now for FREE instant access to ASI online by visiting www.asi-mag.com February 2009 Aviationsecurityinternational
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