Very interesting page on Secret Service defensive stances

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nothing to notice they have been doing this for years in close protection

no secret its a good postion to react from to the draw stroke if need be to there impact weapons to grabbing defending from..... nothing here to look at move on
 
For protection-staff, it's more so that their hands are protected against being grabbed

Imagine standing with your hands at your sides - you're vulnerable to having your hand grabbed or pinned and rendered useless, particularly from the side or behind when in crowds. You keep your hands in front of you so that you can keep them protected and under your own control - as well as having them in an apparently inoffensive position, yet ready to grab or draw as required.

It also has the benefit of keeping the front of the jacket closed through mild pressure from the forearms, even though it's unbuttoned - hiding the hardware.
 
The Pope knows a LOT of secrets, anyway!

Seriously, that stance make a lot of sense for any defensive purposes. BG isn't likely to get inside that, especially when they travel in groups!
 
Most all of those guys look like bad-ass dudes, which is, I am sure, the intent. :)
 
I shall now walk with my hands like this. Either I will be viewed as a preacher or a agent.

Wonder if I'll get noticed hehe
 
It also has the benefit of keeping the front of the jacket closed through mild pressure from the forearms, even though it's unbuttoned - hiding the hardware.
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I noticed that as well. It is difficult to see printing under the jacket with the elbows in the way as well.

I wonder what they carry? IIRC when Regan was shot the SS was using UZIs. Is it MP5's these days?
 
pict36.jpg


That agent looks pretty interested in the guy with the partial mask.

Dope
 
JColdIron:
IIRC, the sidearm is a .40 Sig. From publically-available photos, MP5s are carried in mounts in the 'burbans (one per agent, including the driver), and a P90 was spotted when someone jumped a fence at the White House a few years back.

They have other vehicles with heavier hardware, W caused a stir when his detail wanted to bring an M134 (yes, a minigun) to England when he was there for the Queen Mother's birthday, I'd assume anti-tank & anti-air hardware is available.

Dope:
He should, thats a keffiyeh/shemagh in a pattern commonly worn by Arafat & other anti-Israel Palestinians. The individual is also partially concealing his left hand with his right arm.

Kharn
 
pict74.jpg


love the caption:

A U.S. Secret Service agent with an assault rifle stands guard as U.S. President Bush, rear left, poses with U.S. embassy personnel after he officially opened the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan ahead of his trip to India and Pakistan. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Click to expand...
 
"IIRC, the sidearm is a .40 Sig."

The USSS issues DA/SA 229s chambered in .357 Sig to its personnel. As for other guns, they have a variety of options ranging from "the usual" to "the pretty well prepared for just about anything unusual."
 
As for the hand positioning, you'll see among folks "in the know" and not just in the USSS.

"Looks like the "interview stance" I was taught in the police academy."

There is a similar train of thought going on, with perhaps the main difference being that it is less directionally specific than the classic law enforcement interview stance.
 
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I thought it looked a lot like the interview stance too. Too bad the pictures are so crowded because I'd like to see their foot position and legs. I'd bet none of them are standing with locked knees or their feet next to each other.
 
A lot of P90s in use by security personell. I didn't know they were that popular. Though it makes sense--light weight, compact, high capacity magazines that don't protrude from the gun. I got to handle a PS90 at a recent gun show and it handled very well even with the longer barrel.
 
Important tip: it appears that the agents are looking at people's hands, not faces.

Danger comes from the hands, not the eyes.
 
Important tip: it appears that the agents are looking at people's hands, not faces.

Danger comes from the hands, not the eyes.
Click to expand...

True, but in a protection scenario you're looking to see the threat as quickly as possible. Looking a crowd of people in the eyes requires you to focus your attention too narrowly (in order to see their eyes) and hampers your ability to process multiple potential threats quickly. By keeping their visual focus more general, they can see and recognize weapons in the hands, and more importantly, suspicious movements of the hands. The human eye perceives motion far more quickly than detail. Sudden, furtive movements of the hands has gotten more than one person shot unnecessarily.

We were taught in one on one situations to process the hands and their movements, the eyes and facial expression and then the dress and overall attitude in that order. It happens quickly, but in a crowd you have to scan for threats from the hands before you evaluate the person further or you won't be fast enough to react to a real threat. If you wanna get these guys real upset, reach inside your jacket for a cell phone just as the principal is walking by. :evil: (Note: this is a dangerous thing to do. I wouldn't.)
 
sergeant sabre said:
Looks like the "interview stance" I was taught in the police academy
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. They call it the "Field Interview Stance" in my department.

No big secret. It keeps you in a better ready-to-engage position, without looking threatening to every person you speak with.
 
That was pretty interesting. In addition to having their hands ready for action, they are making their own sidearms much more secure. It would sure look bad if an assasin was able to snatch a weapon from the holster of an unsuspecting SS agent.
 
Almost all of the SS are showing the proper hand position.

Anyone notice the "fully-armed Emergency Response Team officer" with his P90 slung and his hands in his pockets! :scrutiny:
 
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