The Elusive Nature of Security

By Patrick Estebe

The past, present and future security regulations are perceived by most as added chores and added costs, while many question loudly or silently their effectiveness. What most of the people do not realize is that regulations are no more than a skeleton of measures, a common denominator meant to avoid gross negligence. It is up to each corporation or individual to put flesh and brain on that skeleton. But, why should one add anything to already cumbersome procedures?

There are some good reasons:

• Firstly because like all skeletons, security regulations and other warnings are by themselves frightening; and inevitably scared people tend to limit their travels.

• Secondly because regulations are always reactive in nature, always fighting the last war, always fighting a virtual adversary, always based on yesterday news. Everyone instinctively knows that today’s enemy may not be so virtual or so dumb as to try against yesterday’s treachery.

• Thirdly because most of the competition will fail to integrate these regulations in a comprehensive package, merely meeting the requirements and passing them as expenses. Great opportunities for the leaders of the pack to further distance themselves from the common crowd.

Let us consider the threat and its very elusive nature.

Indeed, in the current confrontation, one is not facing weapons, one is not even facing individuals, or a group. One is facing fanatics, who truly think of themselves as the “Soldiers of God”. One is facing the unlimited creativity and power of the human spirit. To make matters worse, we have let ourselves be conditioned by society because it flattered our vanity; we are soft creatures of comfort.

On the other hand, the average terrorist who has little to lose has a much freer mind. Except for his hatred and anger, his mind is not tethered by politico-economical- social considerations. Therefore the threat is constantly changing, undergoing transformations of all kinds.

To adequately face that threat one must have a very swift mind, an extraordinary alert and free spirit. While most prominent security experts state that we must now “think unconventionally”, “think out of the box”, they simply admit their limitations to provide a valid answer. How could anyone think unconventionally? One is only thinking based on his experiences and his conditioning through his own psychological bias, and tethered by his interests, goals or ambitions. Intuition is certainly not intelligence-born.

Pilots, however, are well trained to face this evolving threat. They are indeed flying every day through constantly changing conditions. They know how to listen attentively to weather forecasts, yet do not take it for granted. But most importantly, they know how to stop guessing and thinking, in order to observe. They know how to discard their impressions born from their conditioning and trust their instruments instead.

While the I.F.R qualification clearly separates boys from men in the aviation world, it is most unfortunate that the same line is not obvious in the world of security. Obviously when most security experts genuinely claim that they are “flying”, they are not conscious that they are in fact tethered by their very training. Free spirits would not fit very well in the various government agencies where most of them got their initial training. For that reason, they have not been trained to be free from fear, but to overcome it, thus being respectful of the authority that trained them. That authority inhibits their creativity, that training limits their intuitive perception.

Enter now the terrorist who is free from fear to the point that his own life is insignificant to him, let alone evidently targeted victims. Being free, he does not have any respect for authority, proof of that is the chaos of terrorists’ organizations, which ends up being another of their strengths. Being free, he is extremely creative and will reinvent terrorism every other day.

One can see that the fight is unfair. No tethered guard dog, however strong, however trained, will be a match for the angry and hateful jackal.

Against the jackals, one must bring in some wolves.

Only experts with a free spirit can have enough creativity to follow a very elusive threat and also enough intuition to prevent it from taking shape. A rare breed indeed. Such experts could tailor a training program for FBO and flying personnel that would emphasize not so much on the usual cliché of awareness, but truly bring everyone involved at a level of alertness that would guarantee a real security for the clientele.

Interestingly that alertness is effortless, non intrusive, subtle.

This type of training would bring flesh and brain to the regulations in such a way that instead of the cumbersome, and scary skeleton of security procedures, the clients would barely notice that there is indeed a serious level of security. The organization would offer its clientele a double-way mirror type of security; clients would see through it as if there were none, while any threat would be reflected.

If people would relearn the subtle art of observing effortlessly, and free from prejudices, they would not worry about what would come next as they would know that they would see it coming. Security would not be reactive any more, and the staff would be ready to face the next challenge with a flexible mind.

One can see that this way security is improve, not increased.

One of the ways to develop intuitive perception with employees is very much like IFR training. Ask them to use all their senses in every and all relationship. Indeed, when “scanning” with all senses, in any situation, one becomes the pilot of his/her body and acquires a much better perspective of the situation, instead of being merely involved in whatever is going on. One is more in charge of oneself, and as a result of the situation.

We end on this quote that Shakespeare gives to Henry V; as we all know his enemies are well rested while his men are exhausted, they have cavalry while most of his side will have to fight on foot, and most importantly they outnumber his poor “band of brothers” 10 to 1. Yet when he has the message that the French are attacking, he simply answers: “All things are ready if our minds be so.”

We are in a fight of the minds; he who has the freest one will win.