The Good Traveler

If there is one asset that will benefit an executive protection agent, it is being a well prepared “efficient” world traveler. In my many years of traveling and protection work, I have witnessed a lot of situations that I do not care to repeat or see repeated by others. I could write a book on this subject but I’ll hit just a couple of main points here.

As I write this, I am sitting in a sketchy luggage pick up area in West Africa. My plane landed 3 hours ago, and prior to this delay, all was going smoothly as planned. Then, the inevitable happened.

I walked up to the immigration window with all my documents properly prepared and in “good order”. With the inherent language barrier, a game of charades served as our means of communication but I produced what was needed, and processed through within 10 minutes. I uttered under my breath a premature “YES!” Awesome! All done, and ready to get to the hotel for a real dinner and review the next day's plan with my advance agent partner.

But wait. Where is my travel partner? Well, it appears he did not fair so well with security, and is hung up in a secondary immigration area for the next 3 long hours. In other words, things did not go so well for him, and since we are attached at the hip for this trip, they aren't going to go well for me either.

So why did he get hung up, and I didn't? Why would one person have a smooth process, but the other get stuck in immigration hell? There are many factors that can cause this to happen, simple things like; we picked a different immigration line, a new immigration officer took over, I was first in line or last in line, just wrong place at wrong time.

Who knows! But what I can tell you for sure is there are a few simple steps that you can take to mitigate any hold ups or delays.

First, and most important; have ALL your documents in-hand (literally out of your bags and in your hand). You'd be shocked at how many people don't even bother to do this. These include having the correct passport, a printed itinerary, a destination or hotel address, immigration card completely filled out, and smooth verbal delivery of occupation and reason for entering the country. All of these may seem like common sense things, but I can assure you leaving just one of these out or bumbling your way through a nervous explanation of why you are 'in country' will very likely land you in that dreaded secondary line. I’ve seen this happen many times.

And what’s worse, the rest of your entire advance team has to wait on you after that long, tiring 22-hour flight. Clearly this won't earn you any bonus points with your buddies, so making sure you are not the cause of your own demise is critical.

The second basic piece of advice that I see regularly ignored, is to have a good/professional and patient attitude with the security and immigration staff you encounter. After many years in Law Enforcement, and thousands of traffic stops, I still have friends continually ask me “what is the best way to get out of a ticket/citation?”. My best advise to them is always the same, be polite, courteous and respectful (even when you don’t want to), and have all your paperwork in order. Let the Police manage that conversation (and your time) for that brief 15 minutes of your day, and you can continue to be in-charge for the other 23.75 hours.

This advice holds true at the Immigration and Customs line. Unless you relish an extra few hours in a hot, sweaty office discussing your passport and protein supplements, you might think about just going with the flow, and letting those people do their work. Get your paperwork in order. Don't cop an attitude. It will not get you anywhere, other than a longer, more uncomfortable line. If your goal is to get off your coach flight, and into an air-conditioned hotel and a nice meal, do yourself a favor and get your documents in order and behave.

Another point to ponder is the fact that (assuming your advance trip goes well) you may get another chance at a later date to repeat the entire process (for better or worse). The only difference will be that you will be leading your “Principals/Protectee” through as well. Remember to 'practice like you play', as you never know when you will be back again and dealing with the same officials you bumped heads with the first time around.

When you come back with your Principal, don't forget to brief them about having all of their documents in order! Oh, and try to relax and smile. Never hurts!

Safe travels!