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When Bob Dole took the stage to a thunderous applause this past Tuesday morning in the San Diego Convention Center to keynote the ASIS International tradeshow, I began to get a little nervous for him because he didn’t look as I had remembered. His head hung a little lower, his hands were a bit shakier, and he moved unsteadily across the stage.  It was a glaring reminder to me that it had been a whole decade since he had run for president; and while I was still confident that he would deliver an able speech, I was lowering my expectations as the welcoming applause gradually became fainter and fainter.     

But soon after Dole’s speech began, he really got rolling and had the crowd in stitches with quips such as, “Some of you in this audience have benefited from a few of my commercials,” and “No, I didn’t bring any samples.” 

Dole also poked fun at the Super Bowl Pepsi commercial he appeared in with Britney Spears, saying she got $10 million and he got a year’s supply of free Pepsi; and he told of the letters he had received that accused him of being a “dirty old man” for appearing in that Pepsi commercial (which showed a risque Britney Spears dance video followed by Bob Dole watching from his couch and patting his barking dog on the head, saying “Down boy.”)  With a smile, Dole defends himself by explaining, ”The dog was barking, not me!”  

Dole mainly made light of himself, but he also kidded about Democrats (and Republicans).  For about the first 10 minutes of the speech, he was in comedian mode, and the crowd was overwheminly loving it.  On more than one occasion I was surprised by how loud the laughter got.  In the middle of an otherwise serious, businesslike day at a security tradeshow, people were really having a great time.

However, the wounded World War II hero and former senator finally settled down and the nature of his speech became more serious.  He explained how the very stage he was standing on had special significance for him because it was in that same San Diego convential hall ten years earlier that he had accepted the 1996 GOP Presidential nomination and how that had been a very exciting time in his life.  He then went on to talk about 9/11 and its aftermath, the security concerns of today, and the heroism of all our military veterans.

The recently-opened WWII memorial, for which Dole worked tirelessly to help raise money, is near to his heart.  And so he winded down his speech by using a story from WWII to make a general, yet powerful, point about leadership.

Dole recounted the decision facing General Dwight D. Eisenhower when the Allies were on the brink of the D-Day invasion.  The weather wasn’t cooperating, and they kept putting it off day after day and the pressure was building.  If they waited much longer, the Nazis would catch on and the element of surprise would be lost.  Finally, the military meteorologists reported to Eisenhower that they thought the skies were going to clear up just long enough to launch this monumental land, air, and sea campaign.

As Eisenhower deliberated at to what to do, Dole said, he knew that even if ordering this attack was the right decision, it would still result in many of our young men and boys never returning home.  (And as it turned out, 400,000 didn’t return home.)

Today, we know that the story of the D-Day invasion ends with the Allies victorious over the Nazis, but Dole reminded us that back then we didn’t know how it would go.  Eisenhower had no guarantees.  The stakes were enormous.  Millions of lives were on the line and so, in a way, was the course of history.  

And the decision was General Eisenhower’s to make.

After Eisenhower gave the official order to launch the D-Day invasion on June 5, 1944, he retreated to be alone in his tent and put his head in his hand, praying that he had made the right decision, said Dole as he built the drama, retelling this story on the San Diego stage for the ASIS attendees.  And then Eisenhower did something else, Dole continued.  He wrote a short, 4-sentence note that would be delivered to the media in the event that the invasion failed.

The note read: “Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”

The last sentence echoed in the San Diego hall.  If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.

“Leadership without responsibility isn’t leadership at all,” concluded Dole, which is a good reminder for all of us regardless of profession. 

And as I left the keynote to make my next ASIS appointment, I kept reflecting upon Dole’s speech and the talent with which he had delivered it.  I couldn’t help but admit, even after all these years, Bob Dole has still got it.

-Greg

The crew from the Cygnus Security Group of publications — SecurityInfoWatch.com, Security Technology & Design and Security Dealer — are out here in San Diego, Calif., where the weather’s awful. Ok, we’re pulling your leg on that last part. We just wrapped up Day 1 of the 2006 ASIS International Seminars and Exhibits, and I think after reviewing all the technology, we’re on a little bit of a buzz.

From new digital signal processing in cameras to analytics systems, to PoE switches, to Ethernet managed door hardware (yes, right to the door itself), we’ve seen a bit of everything. Look for our show reports over on www.securityinfowatch.com/asis2006, and if you’re out here, please stop by at booth 1029, drop off a business card and say hello.

-Geoff Kohl

I just returned from approximately two weeks in Peru, and while I was there for a little R&R, I can never seem to take off my security hat. While most of my time was spent in rural areas slinging a camera and enjoying the natural wonders of the Incans, I couldn’t help but bump into a bit of “security” along the way, so I want to share some observations:

1) Security lines are better than ever. I flew out on Labor Day weekend, a pretty popular weekend as far as flying goes, but TSA security lines seemed faster than ever at the Atlanta airport. I chalk it up to more checked luggage as people are putting items like hair gels and shampoo bottles into their checked luggage, and only bringing the on-plane essentials through the passenger lines.

2) New technologies aren’t the through-put problems many thought they would be. The TSA security checkpoint for Miami’s Terminal A is using one of GE’s “Puffer” machines that dislodges particles from skin and clothing and tests those particles for contraband. While the machines get a wary eye from children and new users, I was able to compare the time of the puffer line to the non-puffer security line. Incredibly, the two lines moved along at close to the same rate, despite the fact that it took the machine approximately 20 seconds to process individuals. What seemed to be happening was that the machines took advantage of “dead time” people stood in line waiting to get their bags through the X-ray systems and used that time to process them for explosives.

3) Air security isn’t yet standard. Also at the Miami Airport, I went through the security lines a few times. On two out of the four times, my shoes went through the X-ray, but not the others, despite the fact that I was wearing the same pair of sneakers. Let’s make a decision and stick to it. TSA screeners don’t need a guessing game – they need clear policies and standards.

4) Some airports have a lot of catching up to do. Three out of the four airports I journeyed through had great security. Number four (which shall remain anonymous because of the obvious implications) was a hazard waiting to happen, despite the fact that it was an international airport. Without going too deeply, let’s just say that the border between “secured” and “unsecured” was a joke. Any manner of prohibited substances and items could have been freely passed between the different areas, and worse, there was not a single camera monitoring that weak point.

5) Hotel security is what you make of it. At one hotel, I had the pleasure of chatting with an armed Wackenhut guard decked in full body protection. This incidentally was at a rural hotel, where I was one of only 10 guests for the two nights I was there. At a busy hotel in Lima – which catered toward Americans and Europeans and which saw travelers arriving at all hours of the night, and which was in a convenient yet crime-laden portion of the city — security was practically non-existent. The outcome of that was that I spent some time thinking about the need to develop an international system for ranking the security of hotels which could be used by corporate security directors, travel agents, business travelers and anyone else interested in their personal welfare.

6) Car-jacking continues to persist. My friend and guide kept a knife with a six-inch blade strapped for ready use to defend his SUV. We never faced a car-jacking, but this is the reality that corporate business travelers continue to face today. Your facility in Denver may be great at protecting employees, but how well can you manage their security when they are overseas?

7) South American cash-handling crews are a study in efficiency. Relaxing at a café, I was able to watch the methodical processes of two crews from two different companies running their mid-day routes. I found this interesting because SecurityInfoWatch.com had published articles recently of how cash-handling vehicles have been struck around the world. These Peruvian cash-handling guards were faced with unique challenges including 1) high vehicular traffic, 2) a great volume of pedestrian traffic, 3) access only from a car-packed curb, and 4) a random protest/march occurring on the same street. Guns drawn and with a two-person tarry that covered their exposure constantly until they were safely inside the cash vans, these cash-handling details were beautiful to watch, though not nearly as impressive as the Andean Condor.

NOTE: This has been re-posted from July.  Thank you.

Regardless of where you stand in today’s heated debate over Verified Repsonse in the burglar alarm industry, one thing is clear: The number of police departments enacting Verified Response policies is growing.

Police departments and security dealers both want to keep people and property safe.  However, things start to get interesting (i.e., “contentious”) when it comes to how costs and responsibilities should be divvied up in the event of a false alarm.  

So what’s your take?  In your experience as a security dealer, do you see Verified Response at the wave of the future?  What about Enhanced Call Verification (ECV), where multiple calls must be made by the central station before the police department is notified–is that the more practical solution?

-Greg