Personal Security for Field Staff (HEAT)

This course provides an intensive, threat-specific level of personal security training, for individuals travelling to or based in severe risk environments. It includes threat situation-specific information, protocols, and active simulations and scenarios. The curriculum covered on this course is similar to that referred to as HEAT or HEFAT training (Hostile Environment Awareness Training).

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The Aim of this course

To prepare staff to work in/travel to, the field in an insecure environment under the umbrella of an existing security framework, by highlighting the most prevalent threats and risk reduction measures and giving an overview of what precautions to take and what provisions can be expected from the agency.

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Key Learning Objectives for this course

By the end of the training participants should be able to:

• Understand situational awareness to assess specific situations and take appropriate action.
• Understand what threat and vulnerability mean, the link to programming and how to assess real or perceived risk and apply personal risk assessment and risk reduction measures.
• Able to assess situation-specific security risks to make more informed decisions on how to best reduce risk exposure and minimize the potential impact
• Understand and implement different security strategies to reduce risk
• Understand the link between image, acceptance and security
• Understand the how individual and organisational identity and context-specific presence, programming and operational habits and behaviour impact on vulnerability
• Develop one's personal strengths, weaknesses, behavioural habits and attitudes and understand how these impact on security
• Understand the most relevant security concepts and terminology to enable a common understanding of security
• Understand how to identify, analyse and interact with stakeholders and actors who might influence security and programs
• Equip participants with awareness and techniques in how to best defuse anger and aggression in various situations
• Be equipped with the first aid skills and knowledge to react appropriately, preserving life in a range of injuries
• Understand and develop skills for different communication technologies and relevant security considerations for effective communications
• Understand evacuations, hibernation, and suspension situations and procedures for individual staff members, including procedures for using grab-bags
• Understand sexual aggression and how to reduce risk of this threat including awareness of risk, prevention and response and how this differs for different demographics
• Understand the importance of reporting incidents and near-misses, including options for reporting incidents, near-misses and sensitive incidents while maintaining confidentiality
• Understand key measures for hotel residential and office security
• Understand, recognize and manage different types of stress and how to cultivate personal and team resilience dealing with trauma and traumatic events including critical incident response
• Awareness of different criminal threats and good practice in prevention and response
• Understand how to prepare before travel and deployments, and considerations during travel
• Understand vehicle and travel safety including how to prevent and respond in vehicle related incidents
• Aware of and able to respond to the following situation specific security risks :
  • Improvised Explosive Devices and Bombs
  • Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War
  • Indirect and Direct Fire, Shelling and Weapons
  • Crowds, Mobs and Demonstrations
  • Kidnapping, Abduction and Hostage Taking
  • Interrogation, Detention and Arrest
  • Hostile Checkpoints
  • Civil Disorder.