Unfamiliar cities and “routine” trips can hide real security risks. In this episode, Garrett Thomas breaks down the travel security checks executive protection teams handle during advance work - from verifying medical coverage and nearby hospitals, to planning ground transportation options, to knowing where the closest embassy or consulate is if a passport is lost or stolen. You will also hear why travelers who look like tourists can become easy targets for snatch-and-grab theft, and what simple pre-trip planning can prevent a trip from turning into a crisis.

Hi and welcome to the Guardian Way.

2

Today's episode, episode 115 again

deals with executive protection.

3

And today we're going to talk about

4

some of the world

that revolves around travel and related.

5

Our co-founder and sponsor

for this entire series, of course,

6

is Gareth Thomas,

the founder of Guardian Protection Force.

7

Good morning Garrett.

8

Good morning.

9

Yeah.

10

So when it comes to your travel,

you know there's some

11

security risks there hidden there

that a lot of people don't think about.

12

You know, one of the simplest ones,

you know, is your medical, you know,

13

does it does your current medical

insurance work where you're going?

14

If you're going out of the country,

15

you know,

does it work there, even out of state?

16

Do you have something in network?

17

Is there a hospital nearby?

Have you identified that?

18

So, you know, if I'm on a vacation, I'm

skiing somewhere, you know, in Colorado.

19

Do I know where the closest, you know,

20

hospital is and, where I'd be able

to get my broken leg fixed.

21

You know?

22

So that's something

that you really need to consider.

23

This is something that executive

protection agents,

24

you know, figure out,

and they do their advance work.

25

This is something done

in executive protection.

26

This is great.

27

Okay, Garrett.

28

Well, here, we've got a few cue cards

up here for some of the different elements

29

that fall into this whole thing

of executive protection in travel.

30

So why don't you walk us through

31

a little bit of this, and then,

we'll kind of wrap up this episode

32

and, nearly

wrap up the year of our, of our podcast.

33

Absolutely. It's been a quick year.

34

It seems that came and went.

35

So when it comes to unfamiliar cities,

unpredictable environments,

36

sometimes unseen

threats could be such as I described the,

37

the medical,

your, your ground form of transportation.

38

So maybe you've got your, your,

plane booked and all that,

39

but you know, what ground transport

are you going to use?

40

Do you have a, hired driving company?

41

Do you have a taxi service?

42

You're just going to rely on?

43

Is Lyft and Uber available

in that location?

44

Even certain cities,

here in the United States,

45

don't have Lyft and Uber, or

they're not allowed to go to the airport.

46

So these are things

that need to be considered.

47

Did you rent a car?

48

How do you get to

that rental car? These types of things.

49

You know,

50

another thing,

when you travel to another country,

51

to consider is where your closest embassy

or closest consulate.

52

Let's say you lose your passport.

53

What are you going to do?

54

You know, what? You're going

to have to get that rectified.

55

So you're going to have to get to that,

you know, consulate or the embassy.

56

Have you identified,

you know, where that closest one is?

57

With that, you know,

58

other concern is targeting,

you know, do you look like a tour?

59

Do you look like somebody

who doesn't fit in?

60

So would you be for that simple theft?

61

You know, the snatch and grab?

62

Would you be considered

a good target for that?

63

A lot of people go travel abroad

and their purse or wallet stolen,

64

their passports are missing,

65

and they don't know where to go

to get that rectified.

66

So those are some of the hidden,

you know, risk in your travel.

67

Hopefully you've, put some thought

to that and, or you're lucky enough

68

to have an executive protection team

to do it for you.

69

Fantastic.

70

Well, Garrett, as we wrap up this episode

and look forward to our next,

71

why don't you just, familiarize

our audience one more time

72

with the array of services that Guardian

Protection Force does provide?

73

Absolutely.

74

We can do your site assessment, workplace

violence prevention, air camera systems,

75

garden patrol services,

security operations plans and assessments,

76

contentious termination services

and executive protection.

77

Until next time. We'll see. See you then.

78

Stay safe and see you in 2026.