Poor Man Survival
Self Reliance
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ISSN 2161-5543
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Digest of Urban Survival Resources
TACOP:
How To Be Invisible in Any Environment
One of the first lessons I learned in covert operations was to
be a chameleon, to blend into any environment. To do this like a pro, there are
four critical criteria that you must address, and they are: personal awareness,
cultural awareness, situational awareness and third-party awareness.
Let me tell you about one of the first lessons I learned, call
it “Close Call Bravo.” I was attempting a “legal” entry into a Third World
playground when I was stopped by customs. I had all my ducks in order, nothing
out of the ordinary in my suitcase, just the basic necessities, some clothing
and toiletries.
I was wearing a pair of torn jeans, older high-top sneakers and
a well-worn jean jacket. I had just seen the last several people breeze through
the customs checkpoint without so much as a question … then came my turn.
I causally sauntered up to the customs officer, and he
immediately looked at me differently. Studying me for several seconds from head
to toe, he finally broke his silence and told me to put my bags on the table for
inspection.
I set the bags on the table, at which point the agent opened one
bag at a time and literally took everything out randomly.
As my belongings lay strewn across two tables, he asked me what
I was doing in “his” country. I replied quickly, “Sir I am visiting some family
members.” He said, “So you would classify your visit as ‘personal’ ” ? I said,
“Yes.”
Without even a pause he said, “I think you’re going to be very
hot here, please remove your jacket.”
For those of you who don’t know this, let me tell you something
about these Third World customs officers. They may sometimes come off as jolly
and friendly people, sometimes they play poor desperate government employees
who cannot afford to eat or send their kids to college. But beware!
These folks are drawn from an intelligence pool, and they can be
quite adept analytically when it comes to spotting lies and deception,
especially by studying behavior and body language.
It is essential to understand that “presentation” upon arriving
at customs is an important key point. Presentation here meaning how you dress,
carry yourself, demeanor and body language.
Customs officers are trained to look for certain distinctive
signs, like calluses on your elbows and knees, bruising, tattoos and other
features that set you apart from what they deem “normal for their environment.
For the non-warrior’s among you, you are probably wondering why
they would be looking for things like calluses and tattoos?
And the answer is this: Other than on the rare professional
athlete they may see, calluses on your knees and elbows could indicate that you
have been crawling around on the ground a lot. And that could indicate to them
that you are either a) potential terrorist or other bad-guy type or b) a
soldier or a mercenary, such as myself.
As for why they look for tattoos? They could reveal that you
belong to a particular gang, triad or syndicate.
So let’s get back to the first of the four elements that help
you become “invisible” or blend in with the surroundings and that is personal awareness.
In personal awareness, we want to develop a “look” that helps us
blend into the local environment. This may take some research if you have not
been to your destination previously. But primarily, you will want to dress as
the locals do. And you want to conceal tattoos as well as avoid piercings and
jewelry that could set you apart – in this case not something you want to do!
Following that same thinking,
you need to make sure your mannerisms and actions also fit with local customs.
For example, the sign for “OK” can be expressed in many ways across different
countries and cultures.
In America, many of us have
used the traditional “thumbs-up” method of signaling to others that things are
“OK.” That cultural tradition has taken on a more global significance as the
symbol when you “like” someone or something on a Facebook page. However, a
rapid thumbs-up has a very negative connotation in places like Greece, the
Middle East or even Australia.
The second element we have to
address to become invisible is cultural
awareness. In its simplest terms, cultural awareness is the
ability to recognize the different values, customs and beliefs within an
environment and to then be “sensitive” to them.
For example, if you are in
Japan and you are an American on a business mission there, do you bow to your
Japanese counterparts or shake hands? The answer is usually to shake hands
because while bowing may seem appropriate, you will not likely know the correct
ritual and this could either offend or more likely be very awkward for them.
Here is a quick
checklist of culturally sensitive areas to watch for:
Language Barriers:
(verbal and non-verbal.)
Communication and methods of communication:
Communication can be challenging within your own culture at times and given the
different cultural contexts possible, you must recognize differences and
address them for clarity and so as not to offend.
Cultural Identification: Make
sure you identify the person’s culture so as not to offend them.
Beliefs:
Identify religious and or spiritual beliefs.
Food:
Identify what foods are eaten in that region and make note if you are allergic.
Comprehension: Bear
in mind that just because someone in another part of the world “nods” in an
affirmative way, it does not necessarily mean they understand what you meant or
the point you were attempting to get across to them.
Self-Monitor Bias: You may
not like a certain way of dress or food item, but be sure you do not express
those feelings in verbalization or body language.
Physical Contact: Identify
proper physical contact and mannerisms. Consider that when one greets someone
within the United States we may shake hands. Or if you meet a person you have
known for a period of time and they are of the opposite sex, you might feel a
kiss on the cheek and a hug would be appropriate. However, if you are doing
business in Paris, a quick kiss on each cheek is acceptable.
The third element is Situational Awareness. Your
role here is to get a good baseline on your area of operations (AO) so that you
can discern what is normal for that particular region or locale.
In this manner, you will be
able to recognize any change in status to alert you something is not right. The
key takeaway for you here is that you must keep your head on a swivel but do so
casually and without drawing attention to yourself so that you can quickly
recognize danger and avert potential critical incidents or conflict.
The final element in becoming
“invisible” is third-party
awareness. This could also be called “hostile-party awareness”
because the concept here is to maintain alertness to anyone that may be
“watching” you.
And that means for any reason.
So whether you are operating either stateside or at your host country or
destination, always stay alert to hostile surveillance.
Remember you are trying to
blend into the environment but as you do so keep an eye out for those that have
an eye on you.
To accomplish this, you must
understand some tradecraft basics. And the first principle is: Listen to your
gut instincts. If you see someone at your local coffee shop and then you see
that same person on the other side of town at another time in that same day,
that should set off some alarm bells.
“It is demeanor that is
critical in identifying the intent of the person or group that is watching you”
In the world of hostile
surveillance detection, one of the most critical ways in which we “identify”
people watching us lies within certain characteristics or demeanors they
exhibit as they are watching. Think of demeanor as behavior.
The behavior a person exhibits
while carrying out surveillance on a target is what makes the “surveillant”
vulnerable to your detection.
Your job is to proactively and
in a low-key fashion observe individuals within your environment as you move
about your activities and look for things that you find a bit suspicious.
This could be a car that seems
to be following you after you have made several turns or a person who stops to
tie shoelaces as you stop to window shop.
It could also be that car that
is terminally parked on your block or in front of your hotel each day.
From my experience in covert
surveillance I can tell you that professionals will never look directly at you.
And they may change their hats, glasses and other clothing, even vehicles. But
one thing they rarely change is their shoewear! Start now and acclimate your
awareness skills to include scanning feet!
As for my close call with
customs, well I’m here to tell the tale aren’t I?
Until next time, stay alert,
check your six, put your back against the wall and stay safe!
Jeff
Dr. Jeff
Cantor is one of the country’s leading experts on personal and International
security, including preparation and response to active shooter and domestic
terrorism incidents, kidnap and ransom response, travel security, close quarter
combat, tactical edged weapons and personal defense.
Yours for better living,
Bruce , the Poor Man
A Final Note…
You Have a
16-Cylinder Brain-Learn How to Use It and Reawaken the Genius Inside You!
Additional
Resources
The Anatomy of a Breakdown
The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through Any Disaster
Prepper’s Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary
Contact! A Tactical Manual for Post Collapse Survival
Health Ranger Store
Arm Up System-Defense Without Regulation
PM’s Guide to Home Defense
PM’s Guide to Home Defense
It is a crazy world out there with plenty of violence and everyone knows you that under most circumstances, police usually arrive after the fact. Your rights to defend yourself are often under attack, even for non-lethal self-defense tools…Includes 2 books and 4 bonus CD ROMS…dozens of useful DIY self defense manuals.
http://www.bonanza.com/listings/Guide-to-Home-Defense-Arm-Up-System-Defense-W-out-Regulation-Bonuses/370808566
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2 comments:
Sound advice.
Very interesting post-thanks for the share.
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