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Article: 12-2005
Tactical Response
High Risk
Civilian Contractor Course
Part 2 of 2
By: Andy Fitzgerald
This is Part Two of a two part
report on Tactical Response’s (www.tacticalresponse.com)
High Risk Civilian Contractor’s course held the week of 05 to 10 September 2005
in Camden, Tennessee. The goal of the
course was to prepare individuals for Executive Protection in Iraq. Mr. James Yeager was the course instructor.
Day #3:
Day Three consisted of class room
lecture. The morning began with one of
the students, a US Government employee working in South America, detailed the
planning and execution a complex security operation involving the moving of
specialized communication equipment through rebel territory. During the operation, the team stumbled upon
a rebel raiding party looting and killing civilians.
The student was able to
effectively engage the Bad Guys, both killing and capturing numerous BG. One BG was actually a bad girl, who tried to
bullshit her way out by claiming to be a nurse. Our fellow student was astute enough to see through the ploy
quickly wrestled her to the ground and found a Walter’s PPK in her groin. It pays to check everywhere. This presentation reinforced the previous
day’s security exercise with a real-life example.
Next Mr. Yeager spent the rest of
the morning detailing his executive protection experience in Iraq. Mr. Yeager originally went to Iraq with an
American Company which was bought out by Edinburgh Security, an English
Company. It was Mr. Yeager’s job to
protect and transport Iraqi government officials in and around Baghdad. It was during one of these transport
missions his team was attacked and three co-workers were killed. This mission and tragic action was captured
on video using a camera mounted in one of the three vehicles. Mr. Yeager had several weeks earlier
detailed the training and organizational deficiencies in a letter to the
management Edinburgh Security. Unfortunately,
he was correct in his assessment.
The video begins with the three
vehicles, a Detail with eight contractors, leaving the secure compound en route
to the Baghdad Airport pick up an Iraq election official. Mr. Yeager was not in command of the Detail,
as American employees were not placed at the top of the food chain. The video clearly shows major missteps by
the English contractors. These included
the wearing inappropriate prayer headdresses and the firing a MP5 from the one
vehicle to ward off approaching vehicles – none of it conducive to maintaining
a low profile. The Detail was stopped
on the infamous ‘Road to the Airport’ by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)
which had exploded earlier. The
Detail’s major misstep of the mission was waiting in traffic for over 26
minutes. This gave plenty of time for
the BGs to maneuver a RPK (a light 7.62 x 54mm machine gun) into position and
strafe the three vehicles. Three of the
contractors were hit and all died at the scene. The Detail, with the exception of Mr. Yeager, did not follow
their SOPs for such a situation, which resulted in confusion and the inability
to respond effectively. Proper medical
gear, such as the Cinchtight, was not carried.
Lives may have been saved using the Cinchtight. Mr. Yeager was able to engage and kill
several BG who had come by as the ‘Clean Up’ crew – not a standard BG practice
in Iraq. Mr. Yeager left Iraq several
weeks later after completing his contract.
The afternoon class was a lecture
by Mr. Shawn Hughes, an independent consultant specializing in explosive
devises. Mr. Hughes explained the type
of IEDs currently used in Iraq and passed around numerous inert examples of
what may typically be found. Mr. Hughes
described a new technique of ‘Daisy Chaining’ the IEDs and how the BGs counter
the used of cell phone jammers. We then
went to the range to practice with ‘Flash Bangs’. Unfortunately, the practice FBs did not provide anywhere near the
fun as the real thing – somewhat of a disappointment. Also at the range we got a short briefing on the AK-47, the main
small arm in Iraq.
In another exercise Mr. Hughes
planted IEDs in three junked vehicles brought in just for this class and had
the class search for them. Team A and B
were each given three minutes to inspect the three vehicles. It’s not easy to completely inspect three
cars with four men in three minutes. In
my team, we switch vehicles after our initial pass to get a fresh look. This technique worked as I was able to
locate an IED missed by both the first team and our team’s first pass.
Day #4:
Mr. Tracy Hightower conducted the
training for the last two days. Day #4
started with the ‘Australian Peel’. In
this drill the students line up behind each other perpendicular to the firing
line. The first student would empty his
magazine at the target and soon as the weapon either runs empty or malfunctions
he runs to the back of the line and the next student engaged the target. The line does not step forward, but as
students ‘peeled’ away and the next in line is one person further from the
target. The drill continued until three
magazines were fired. The peeling was
fast as some used full auto fire. Much
to the surprise (delight?) to Mr. Hightower, all weapons stayed up and no one
peeled prematurely due to functional issues.
The second drill of the day was
practicing the ‘Diamond Formation’.
This is a standard five-man body guarding formation. It consists of the client in the middle of
the diamond with his main body guard immediately to his right. The other guards are positioned to the right
of the main guard and to the immediate left, front and back of the client. As the client walks and turns the four
outside men change position seamlessly from side to front to back as dictated
by the client’s movements. The main
guard always remains to the client’s rights.
This is to be done while maintaining situational awareness. This drill is not easy to master and would
take days of practice to become proficient enough to execute well.
This drill was expanded by having
a threat observed. The nearest guard
would engage the threat while the main guard would hustle the client to the
safety of a vehicle. The Team needed to
call out the direction and type of threat to the team. Gun and knife threats were engaged; explosive
threats were retreated from. Mr.
Hightower also had a vehicle simulate a drive-by shooting threat.
The third drill of the day was the
classic ‘Chinese Fire Drill’ using the three vehicles. We practiced egressing disabled vehicles and
accessing the functional ones. This is not
easy to do quickly with all your gear.
The fourth drill was using the
three vehicles as cover while engage the target. Mr. Hightower wanted us to fire one magazine at 3-rounds per
second then move away from the vehicle.
The three junked vehicles formed the firing line and two students were
placed at the front & rear of each vehicle. Mr. Hightower wanted us to keep 2 to 3 weapons in the fight at
all times. This drill was expanded to
include the treatment of down teammates – the same techniques as used on Day
#2, using the Cinchtight battle dressings.
It’s no fun being dragged over gravel when you’re playing the injured
role. Communication once again became a
factor. Our lack of training in this
regard had seriously impact to our performance. My use of the vehicle as cover resulted in my shooting out the
rear window. This may sound bad, but
the proper use of cover involves keeping a low profile behind the vehicle, but
yet not ‘crowding’ the vehicle.
Shooting the vehicle is to be expected in this situation.
The last drill of the day was the
use of UTM SIM rounds in 5.56mm (imported by K-Tech Tactical Division of
Tucson, Arizona). The UTM system uses
as special bolt in an AR-15/M-16 and unique SIM ammunition. The ammo does function the bolt allowing for
semi and full auto fire. We engaged a
drive-by shooter in the back of a pick up with the SIM sounds. The SIMs BG was covered with nice big red
blisters in no time at all.
I was somewhat disturbed at the
way the SIMs training was handled.
There have been too many SIMs training exercises which have resulted in
trainees getting killed because someone uses a real weapon with real ammo. I feel Mr. Yeager and Mr. Hightower should
have taken better precautions such as clearly identified SIMs weapons and body
searches of all participants prior to entering the SIMs drill. This is one of two safety concerns I had
during the entire five days.
Day #5:
Day #5 picked up the vehicle
drills where we left off. We started
with team drills inside a vehicle. One
of the three vehicles was moved into the middle of the range so as to be able
to engage targets from either side (the range had high berms on both
sides). We started with pistol drills
shooting targets in front of the car by opening the door and shooting between
the door and the frame. Mr. Hightower
strongly suggested the use of seat belts to make this as real as possible. Seat belts should always be worn so as to be
able to maintain control of you and the vehicle. This drill expanded to include the use of a rifle. I found it best to shoot weak side when I was
in the driver’s seat (I’m left handed); other struggled to use strong side
regardless of their seating position.
The drill next expanded to include
a two-man drill – driver and passenger – with rifles and then again with a
four-man team – two front, two rear. We
engaged targets to our right and egressed the vehicle to the left. Mr. Hightower wanted the team members on the
right to empty one magazine before regressing.
This gives the other members 10 seconds to egress and take positions to
the front and rear of the vehicle and begin engaging the target. Once the right side members where out,
reloaded and engaging the target, the first two would reload and bound away
from the vehicle. Once they engaged the
target the last two members would reload and join them.
This was a real hairy drill. We had to be aware of the lanes of fire,
maintain a high rate of fire and communicate over the noise. The drill became hairier when an injured team
member was added to the mix.
I made a serious mistake during
one drill. I was seated in the front
passenger seat and the driver was quietly told to be injured. I was to have pushed the driver out the door
and climbed over him. Instead, in my
own ignorance, I exited to the right of vehicle, which is down range of the fire. It was my fault, but I believe it could have
been avoided by instructing us never to exit the target side of a vehicle. One mistake I will never make again. This is the second safety issue I had.
It was shortly after one of these
vehicles drills that a round cooked-off.
90 or so rounds in less than one minute make the weapons exceptionally
hot.
After numerous repetitions of this
drill, we moved on to one of the highlights.
With two students seated in the front of the vehicle we were instructed
to engage a target immediately forward of the vehicle through the
windshield. Having two M-4s firing
together in a car through a windshield is something to experience. After the first shots, the windshield cracks
and obscures your vision of the target.
My partner was positioned in such a fashion that exiting rounds sprayed
me with glass to the point I had to stop firing and cover my face. Needless to say, I was covered in glass and
small cuts. Very cool.
After this drill we each had the
opportunity to skip pistol rounds off the hood of a vehicle into a target. This was to give us an understanding that
incoming rounds can do the same.
The class ended with the drive-by
shooting drill. Mr. Yeager loaded his
vehicle with three students and he drove by the junked vehicles at 30 MPH while
the students engaged the junk. This was
very cool when shooting full auto, but it’s not easy to hit much at 30 MPH.
END