Chuck Randolph and Chris Story, two well known names in the security and executive protection fields, have put together a great podcast series, “Conversations in Close Protection”. Every episode is worth listening to, but I would like to highlight the recent interview they did with Bob Nichols, regarding his experiences with his security team, leading over 150 people to safety during the 2008 terrorist attack at the hotel they were staying at in Mumbai.
Bob and his team were in Mumbai preparing for a high profile cricket tournament in November 2008. They thought they were just going to dinner at the hotel restaurant before beginning their operations the next day. They quickly found themselves in the middle of a terrorist attack with no weapons, no preparation, other than their wits and their security mindset. What happened there is a story worth listening to by everyone in the security and protection industry, especially those tasked with special events and personal protection details.
Bob also related these experiences to the audience at the 2017 Close Protection Conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada (see IPS-Board.org). The podcast is a recap of those experiences along with additional insight brought out by the interviewers.
The 2008 attack, in which terrorists hit multiple high profile areas around Mumbai simultaneously, was highlighted in the movie “Hotel Mumbai”. The mastermind behind the attack was just recently arrested by Pakistani authorities.
Bob Nichols along with Rory Stein, are the heads of NSA-Global Security Consultants, based in South Africa, providing security services throughout Africa, India, and the Middle East. https://www.nsa-global.com/
Chuck and Chris’ CICP, Conversations in Close Protection, podcast series can be found on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/user-626750400 and on iTunes and most other podcast apps. The interview below begins at 6:55 with some background information provided before that by Chuck and Chris.