Feral Jundi

Friday, March 11, 2011

Black Swan Events: Earthquake/Tsunami In Japan, Uprisings In The Middle East

Filed under: Black Swan Events,Disaster Response,Hawaii,Japan,Libya,Saudi Arabia,Washington — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:47 AM

     This is tragic, and my heart goes out to all those impacted by these disasters.  I was watching the tsunami in Japan on television and the footage was remarkable.  The tsunami was a result of an earthquake and it has pummeled Japan. There is a tsunami warning for Hawaii, other Pacific islands, and the entire West Coast in the US. To follow this stuff, definitely track the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and your local news to get updates.

     A couple of things that come to mind on this.  This event, along with what is going on in Libya and potentially in Saudi Arabia, are all combining to make a Blackswan Event. Events that were not predicted, and change the dynamic dramatically. What I mean by that, is that the shock waves from both disasters, could have drastic consequence. The price of oil will rise, and all the business and economies that depend upon the stability of Japan will be negatively impacted. If Hawaii and the West Coast of the US are hit, that could have consequence as well. I will further update this post as events unfold and we will see how it goes…. –Matt

Update: 03/12/2011- Now the latest deal is the Nuclear Facilities in Japan are in dire straights. If they melt down, the fallout is of concern.  In the comments section, I have put up an article that discusses the fallout potential, and especially how it would impact North America via the Pacific Jet Stream.

Major Earthquake, Tsunami Hit Japan

Saudi police open fire at protest

Oil Rises in New York as Libyan Violence Intensifies, Refinery is Bombed

Major Earthquake, Tsunami Hit Japan

March 11, 2011

A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off Japan’s northeastern coast, triggering a four meter tsunami that washed away cars along parts of the coastline.Video from national broadcaster NHK showed dozens of cars, large ferries and some buildings being swept out to sea in the port city of Kamaishi in the province of Iwate.The Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warming for the entire Pacific coast of Japan following the quake that struck about 125 kilometers off the eastern coast, at a depth of 10 kilometers.  Residents in the coastal areas have been urged to immediately evacuate to higher ground.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in the U.S. state of Hawaii said a tsunami warning was also in effect for Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas.  It said a tsunami watch was issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Hawaii.

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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Disaster Response: PSC’s Come To The Rescue For Massive Evacuations In Libya

Filed under: Disaster Response,Industry Talk,Libya — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 10:26 AM

     Governments and private companies around the world scrambled Thursday to evacuate citizens and workers from violence-hit Libya, as Italy braced for a “biblical” exodus of up to 300,000 migrants.

     Fears of a full-scale civil war in the North African country prompted countries from Canada to China to scramble to charter ferries and planes to secure their citizens’ safety despite poor communication links and growing violence.

     Thousands of foreigners packed Tripoli’s airport hoping to leave the widening chaos behind.

     I am only scratching the surface here on what private security companies are actually doing in Libya. But to say the least, what they are doing is incredible and life saving.  There are thousands of citizens and clients trapped in Libya, and it is a massive evacuation effort to get them all out. From the oil workers and engineers, to the diplomats and businessmen from all over the world–there is a massive exodus going on in Libya and private security companies are a crucial part of this evacuation.

    One of the pieces of news that jumped out at me was the mention of the British SAS working with PSC’s to rescue British citizens.  There are many of that country’s expats working in Libya, and they are scrambling forces to get in there and rescue folks.  The PSC’s are on the ground already and many are prior service folks with connections to special forces units from all over. It makes perfect sense that they would coordinate with groups like the SAS.  The point I wanted to emphasize here is that it isn’t just private industry or government doing this alone. This is an ‘all hands on deck’ moment, and it takes private industry and government working together to accomplish the task.

     It is also important to note that we are hearing the same kinds of pleas coming from the folks trapped in Libya, that we heard in places like New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.  That too was a massive evacuation effort that dwarfed the capabilities of the government and what was available to deploy right then and there. During that disaster, PSC’s were called upon to participate in a massive evacuation effort as well, and their use was driven by the concept of ‘do whatever it takes’ to save people.  That included using private security along with the thousands of fire/police/military units from across the US. Plus, PSC’s can deploy extremely fast and can scale up or down pretty fast to meet the needs on the ground.

     Now on to the future of PSC’s in Libya.  After everyone is evacuated, the next step will be either extracting equipment or protecting it in place.   There are millions, if not billions of dollars worth of equipment in the oil fields of Libya and I just can’t see the companies that either own or leased that equipment willing to just throw it away or leave it to be pillaged and neglected. Not to mention the money lost in oil revenues.  So will we see future contracts like when EO was contracted back in the early nineties to rescue equipment for Ranger Oil in Angola?  Who knows, but I do know that these oil company assets are definitely exposed and extremely vulnerable right now.

     Finally, bravo to SOS International, Control Risks, Blue Mountain Group and all of the other PSC’s for all the work they are doing out there. These guys are saving lives in an an extremely dangerous and chaotic environment and they are the unsung heroes of this historic uprising spreading like fire across the Middle East and Africa. –Matt

BREAKING NEWS… Successful Libyan Evacuation

Control Risks supports clients in wake of Egypt protests

International SOS responds to unrest in Libya

SAS ready to rescue desert Britons

Countries rush to evacuate citizens from Libya

BREAKING NEWS… Successful Libyan Evacuation

Blue Mountain Group News

February, 2011

BLUE MOUNTAIN TEAM HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A SAFE EVACUATION OF CLIENT PERSONNEL FROM LIBYA.

*****

Success has its own rewards, growth is one of them, welcome to the new Blue Mountain Group website.

The Blue Mountain Group is a Special Forces based company that has evolved into four distinct operational divisions (click on the links to the left) specialising in Security, Maritime Security, Driver Training and Adventure.

Each division is specialised and focused on delivering unique quantifiable services which are customer driven and client  focused (please review our news column below and on each of the four main home pages where some of our recent activity can be seen).

In a market saturated with companies offering the ‘best available’ we stand or fall on our reputation.

Please review the services that you are interested in and then allow us to validate these services through demonstration of capability and through our historic client recognition.

(more…)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Leadership: Lecture Series–The Art Of Critical Decision Making, By Professor Michael Roberto

Filed under: Cuba,Disaster Response,Industry Talk,Jundism,Leadership,Podcasts,Strategy — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:24 AM

     After the Bay of Pigs failure, President Kennedy and his advisors reflected on their mistakes and created a new process for group discussion and decision making to prevent future groupthink and promote diverse perspectives. Here, Professor Roberto introduces the concept of developing a decision-making process. -From the Lecture ‘Deciding How To Decide’

     This is a great lecture series that a friend of mine hooked me up with, and I highly recommend it. It was engaging and thought provoking, and there were so many cool ideas to take away from this if you are looking for leadership guidance. As I listened to it, there were many Jundism concepts that kept popping up in various forms and examples.

     The particular lecture that I will highlight in this post is the ‘deciding how to decide’ portion.  I took notice, because this method of decision making was born out of the highest levels of leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs invasion failure.  The Bay of Pigs invasion was an embarrassing mistake that resulted from poor decision making at the top.  Or what the professor referred to as ‘group think’ (being surrounded by ‘yes men’ and folks unwilling to question the group or leadership out of fear of being wrong or just assuming everyone else is right)

     The Cuban Missile Crisis was an extreme test of wills, and required the best possible strategy that would prevent the US and the Soviet Union wiping each other out with nuclear weapons. President Kennedy devised a system of decision making that would produce the best product or solution possible, that was not a victim of group think.  He used a system of subgroups that would develop solutions independently, then those groups would exchange their solutions with the other groups and critique.

    A second set of devils advocates or eyes would also review the solutions, and further nitpick the possible solutions until the best idea was standing. So this solution was hammered out of truly honest debate, and any influences that would cause people to not speak up was eliminated.  I thought it was an ingenious way of problem solving, and especially during crisis. (be sure to listen to the series to get the specifics on how to set up this system) The situation with North Korea bombing South Korea, and the US and China reaction to it is a prime example of modern day critical decision making with high stakes involved.  How President Obama decides, will really be based more on deciding how to decide first, so that the solution he gets is strategically sound and not at all influenced by group think.

    Military leaders and CEO’s can learn from this as well.  Leaders should strive hard to have honest debate about strategy and it takes listening to your people, and being open to ideas to get there.  It also requires breaking down those walls that limit honest debate, and really being aware of group think and it’s dangers. Check out the series to learn more, and let me know what you think. Also check out Professor Roberto’s blog if you want to follow his ideas or contact him. –Matt

THE ART OF CRITICAL DECISION MAKING

Genre: Audio or video CourseLength: Twenty-four, thirty-minute lecturesTeacher: Prof. Michael Roberto, Bryant UniversityPublisher: The Teaching Company

By Tom Alderman

July 23, 2009

Following the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, President Kennedy asked former President Eisenhower to the White House to seek the old soldier’s counsel. The new president wanted to know what he could learn from the whole sorry mess. Instead of the expected military hoo-hah, Ike wanted to know how the decision was made to go ahead with the Cuban invasion? How did the president gather advice from his advisors? Not a surprising question considering the five-star general led a contentious military coalition during World War II, not because of his martial skills, but because of his extraordinary leadership abilities which included understanding the core ingredient in all critical decision making: whether you’re launching a D-Day invasion, a career, a product or service, HOW you decide is more important than WHAT you decide. The process you use determines a successful outcome and if that process is not clear and effective, you’re going down.

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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Industry Talk: DynCorp International Supports Pakistan Relief Efforts

Filed under: Disaster Response,Industry Talk,Pakistan — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:27 PM

    Good on DynCorp and Mr. Gaffney for donating this money to the relief effort.  This is the kind of stuff that not only makes the Pakistani Taliban bite their lip, but also puts a shot across the bow of today’s critics of the industry. Maybe some more companies will follow their lead and donate as well?

     Now I have no idea if DynCorp will be called upon to drop supplies or anything. In this particular disaster response, security would be a huge issue, and PMC’s like this company are ideally suited to not only deliver supplies but provide their own protection. Using a PMC would also free up vital military aviation units for the war in Afghanistan.

     Although I kind of doubt Pakistan would be alright with DynCorp or any other company doing such a thing, just because getting life saving aid from one of those evil contractors is just too repulsive for the suffering muslims of Pakistan to handle. pfffft. –Matt

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DynCorp International Supports Pakistan Relief Efforts

September 02, 2010

DynCorp International today announced that it will donate $10,000 to the American Red Cross to support the people of Pakistan in the aftermath of the worst flooding the country has seen in more than 80 years.

“Right now families in Pakistan are in need of shelter, health services and supplies. We hope our contribution provides them some comfort in such a difficult time.”

The donation will fund relief supplies, mobilize relief workers and provide additional financial resources to the overall relief effort. The American Red Cross is working with its partners in the global Red Cross and Red Crescent network, including the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, to reach those in need.

“As a company that operates globally, it is our responsibility to assist globally,” said Steve Gaffney, DynCorp International president and chief executive officer. “Right now families in Pakistan are in need of shelter, health services and supplies. We hope our contribution provides them some comfort in such a difficult time.”

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Friday, March 26, 2010

Training: EDCD And Mental Resiliency Training For High Stress Operations

Filed under: Canada,Medical,Training — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:36 AM

   This is a project that Angela and company have been working on, and I wanted to get the word out about it.  I like the concept and think that this is the kind of stuff that will allow anyone in this field, or any high risk field, to continue working and effectively dealing with mental trauma when it happens.

    EDCD gives you the tools necessary to deal with the tough stuff.  Things like deploying to disaster zones like Haiti where thousands of people have been killed, surviving IED’s and ambushes in wars like Iraq or Afghanistan, or having co-workers killed or wounded in these war zones. The idea of having the tools necessary to work through these traumatic events, or even help others who have gone through these traumatic events, is something that should be in everyone’s mental kit, and there just isn’t a lot out there that goes over this stuff. The modern militaries of the west have attempted to provide these tools of coping to the troops, but for private industry, there isn’t anything.  And we have talked about that here before and Angela has wrote some great stuff about the subject.

   Also, if you look at cases like Fitzsimmons, or with some of the suicides this industry has experienced, resiliency training might be something the companies could look at.  At least have something set up to direct contractors too if you have some contracts that put people in high stress positions.  The military is constantly trying to reach out to their soldiers in order to put a stop to any mental suffering out there.  Wars and disasters can mess up a brain pretty good sometimes, and civilian contractors are experiencing some of the same war time traumas as soldiers.  Yet there is nothing being done to deal with that fact.

   Now for a disclosure. I have never been through this course and I have not read any feedback about it. So I cannot give it the thumbs up or down.  But what I would like to do is promote it and get the readership to think about this stuff.  If you have gone through the course, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments section.  I am sure Angela will pop up too if anyone has any questions.  –Matt

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Dear Colleague,

Resiliency has become a buzz word for all of us working within security and safety professions.

TRAINING personnel to adapt and prepare for high stress operations is a priority within all sectors.

EDCD TRAINING will help your teams to achieve higher levels of operational effectiveness.  What is EDCD?

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