Risk 102- Lose “A” Match but Win “THE” Game March 23, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Risk & Risk Management, weapons and tactics.Tags: Chris Mark, decision, force recon, mark consulting group, recon marine, risk, risk management, security, USMC
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Risk management is about decisions. Given certain information, people then make decisions that they hope will minimize the risk of a particular outcome. This post is about risk and decisions.
Years ago I was a young Marine attending the USMC’s Amphibious Reconnaissance School (ARS). Upon successfully passing the school I would be conferred with the coveted Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of 0321- Reconnaissance Marine. Recon Marines operate in very small teams conducting various reconnaissance missions to provide intelligence to the commander. The last phase of ARS training is known as “patrolling phase”. This is where all the students put their skills to use and run back to back patrols for a week while begin graded by the instructors.
During one of the final patrols we came upon a road known in military speak as a “linear danger area” and were considering a “two man bump” and other techniques to safely cross the danger area. After having not slept for the better part of a week my mind was a bit foggy. I asked the instructor: “SSGT, if we apply these techniques can we be confident that we will cross safely?” He looked at me and said: “Mark, you can do everything by the book and exactly right and still get your entire team killed. All you can do is make tactically sound decisions and hope for some luck.” Certainly without meaning to do so, this Marine Staff Sergeant articulated the idea of risk and risk management as well as any academic. (more…)
Colombian Troops Kill Dozens of FARC Guerillas March 21, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in terrorism, weapons and tactics.Tags: Chris Mark, Colombia, FARC, kidnapping, narco, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, security, terrorism
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According to a story on CNN, Colombian government forces have killed dozens of leftist guerrillas in the past two days. Various operations throughout Colombia killed an estimated 39 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). FARC has been at war with the Colombian government since the 1960’s and by 2005 had kidnapped an estimated 2,500 people. In the first half of 2011 FARC had kidnapped 108 people.
While self labeled as a “leftist” guerrilla group, many organizations have labled FARC as a terrorist organization or ‘narco terrorist’ organization. (more…)
Articles by Brad Carr- 2nd Force Reconnaissance Commanding Officer March 14, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Risk & Risk Management, weapons and tactics.Tags: 2nd force recon, airborne, brad carr, Chris Mark, HAHO, HALO, USMC, weapons and tactics
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I received a call from an old friend last night. I served with Brad Carr years ago when we were both young, enlisted Marines. Brad is the former CO of 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company and served with Her Majesty’s Royal Marines. has recently completed a Command course and his Masters Degree in Military Science. As we were rehashing old days, he sent me a few articles he had published. I am republishing (with his permission) his articles here because they are interesting reading. Additionally, they should assuage any concerns that Marines are simply knuckle dragging meat-heads 😉 Congrats to Major Carr on his accomplishments!
The Carpenter, Not the Hammer, Builds the House March 8, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, Risk & Risk Management, weapons and tactics.Tags: Chris Mark, cybersecurity, InfoSec, mark consulting group, risk management, security
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I was in a discussion yesterday with a friend of mine who happens to be the Editor in Chief of The Counter Terrorist Magazine. Chris and I served together long ago and I always enjoy talking to him as he is one of the most insightful people I know. He mentioned what he felt was the over reliance on technology in CT operations and how it was causing people to lose sight of the fact that it is the people that matter and not the tools.
I find this particularly relevant in all areas of security but especially in information security. In a past life I operated as a Marine Scout/Sniper. When my civilian friends learn of this, it is not uncommon for me to hear the question: “What is the best rifle to use?” (more…)
GPS At Risk of Jamming… February 23, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, weapons and tactics.Tags: Chris Mark, GPS, jamming, mark consulting group, privacy, security
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There is a good article on Foxnews about the risk of the GPS network. Our GPS network is a series of satellites that are geosynchronous orbit about 12,000 above Earth. Basically your GPS receiver receives a time code from three or more satellites and calculates the position by simple triangulation. The civilian satellites are ‘open’ and require not authentication and have no encryption although the military GPS can use encryption. According to Todd Humphries of the University of Texas: “The civil GPS signal’s completely open and vulnerable to a spoofing attack, because they have no authentication and no encryption,” … “It’s almost trivial to mimic those signals to imitate them and fool a GPS receiver into tracking your signals instead of the authentic ones.” If you consider how prevalent GPS has become it could clearly be a target for terrorists or others with bad intentions. In doing some basic research I found a number of GPS jammers on sale over the Internet for between $100US and $500US. It should be noted that GPS jammers are illegal in the US.
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