MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, jAPAN -- When Britney Spears exits a limousine, it is probable that a bodyguard is next to her. Up the ante, and imagine President Barack Obama exiting Marine One, to his left, to his right, an army of secret service agents.
Today’s political figures and international celebrities are generating large amounts of exposure via the Internet and cable television.
With all the attention comes an equal amount of safety concerns, making V.I.P. security paramount.
From Nov. 23-25, Marines from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, trained with former members of the Israeli Special Forces in tactics used in V.I.P. protection.
“The face of the world is obviously changing,” said Nir Maman, a former member of the Israeli Special Forces and the course instructor. “The global threat of terrorism is attacking and interrogating every allied nation in the world. Those countries are now beginning to experience the type of threats that us in Israel have been experiencing for 61 years now. The methodologies that we use are already advanced. We have been dealing with a threat that the world is only now getting introduced to.”
Like Maman said, Israel’s 60-plus-year history in counter terrorism has become a methodology, a methodology that translates in their martial arts, Krav Maga, to the way they protect their high profile figures.
“I gained a lot,” said Sgt. Allen Goode, an explosive ordnance disposal technician here. “How to protect a V.I.P with your fire arm, getting in front of him, moving him, extracting him from the area. It’s the ideas and the mentality of it all.”
With only three days to bestow years of training, one could consider this a crash course.
The fast pace lent itself to some extremely high-speed training appropriate for mastering the Israeli’s “methodology.”
Over the course of the three-day-period, Marines found themselves running obstacle courses, simulating drive-by shootings, and practicing aggressive attacks.
“Excellent training, excellent training,” said Lt. Col. Tray J. Ardese, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron commanding officer. “It is very different than some of the Marine Corps training we do, but it gives you a new perspective. It’s like martial arts: you can train on Krav Maga, you can train on Brazilian Jujitsu, you can train on Muay Thai, you can train on boxing. All it does is add another tool to the tool box to where if you are failing on one type of training, you can shift to something else. So somebody who has trained in only one style will never be as good as someone who has been crossed trained in different styles.”
Ardese mentioned that there will be more training opportunities available in the coming year.
Those interested in future training opportunities should contact their chain of command.