News

Addition of Prominent Experts Strengthens Firm’s Rapidly Growing Transportation and Aviation Security Practice

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2013 – Command Consulting Group (CCG) is pleased to announce the addition of two former government officials to its growing transportation security practice based in Dallas, Texas. Rear Admiral James P. Schear and Mr. Dana Brown join CCG’s team of prominent leaders from across the homeland and national security mission space, providing expert advisory services to governments, corporations, and high net worth individuals and families.

“I am honored to have served in the U.S. Secret Service with Mr. Dana Brown, and pleased that he has joined us here at CCG. Dana led a distinguished career in the Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Air Marshals. His expertise will be a significant asset to our clients,” stated CCG Partner Mike Restovich, former Special Agent with the Secret Service and Assistant Administrator at TSA, “Admiral Schear also brings CCG an enormous amount of credibility and respected expertise in the field of transportation security. We are building a unique, diverse transportation security practice, and these individuals will play integral roles on that team.”

Admiral Schear brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to CCG, after having served at the highest levels of the transportation security community for over thirty years. He recently retired from TSA, where he served in numerous positions as a member of the Senior Executive Service, including Deputy Assistant Administrator for Aviation Security in the earliest days of the agency, Federal Security Director for three major airports, Area Director for Security Operations for three regions of the U.S., and Executive Liaison to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). In the private sector, Admiral Schear’s private sector experience includes serving as Vice President of US Airways. He retired from the U.S. Navy at the rank of Rear Admiral,

Mr. Brown joins CCG as a recognized expert in aviation security operations, and also brings extensive experience in criminal investigations, protective operations, and financial crime from his three decades in federal law enforcement, bolstering the breadth of CCG’s diverse practice areas. Mr. Brown served as Director of the Federal Air Marshals and Assistant Administrator for Law Enforcement at TSA. Mr. Brown also served at the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), most notably as Assistant Director and Chief Financial Officer for the Office of Administration where he managed the Secret Service’s first ever $1 billion dollar of combined budget authority. Earlier in his Secret Service career, Mr. Brown served as Deputy Assistant Director for Operations in the Office of Protective Intelligence and Special Agent in Charge for both the Financial Crimes Division and the Asset Forfeiture Division.

For more information or to view their full bios, visit www.commandcg.com.

Press Contact: Zach Hartnett – (202) 207-2930 – [email protected].

Command Consulting Group (CCG) is an international security and intelligence consulting firm that provides advisory services to governments, corporations, and high net worth individuals and families. Members of the CCG team helped lead the efforts to overhaul and modernize many of the agencies responsible for the security of the United States and implement major reforms in the areas of intelligence and information sharing, technology deployment, and interagency coordination. CCG’s solutions help clients meet their unique security challenges and are based on experience gleaned from years of service in leadership positions at the White House, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Intelligence Community, the military, and private industry.

 

 

CCG Partner W. R. Basham, former Director of the U.S. Secret Service, comments on the recently announted appointment of Julia Pierson as the next Director of the agency.

Julie has proven herself to be a leader, as an assistant director and chief of staff... I'd match her up against anyone in the organization.

To read the full article, go to Obama names Julia Pierson as Secret Service Director on The Washington Post.

Security for Thursday morning’s dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center will be at the highest levels in part because all five living U.S. presidents and many other dignitaries are expected at SMU. But what does that mean for invited guests and thousands of other city residents simply trying to go about their daily lives in the area?

The Dallas Morning News spoke separately to two men uniquely familiar with Secret Service operations and the security preparations behind such events.

W. Ralph Basham was director of the agency from 2003 to 2006, a term that included the opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, Ark. Basham now serves as a partner with Command Consulting Group, a consulting firm that recently opened a Dallas office…

What can you say about what goes into the planning for this and can you talk at all about the importance of working with local agencies, like the Dallas Police Department?

Basham: They are totally reliant upon the local police cooperation in these kinds of events. In fact, they literally could not do the job if they did not have the support of the Dallas Police Department and the surrounding agencies, as well as their other federal counterparts, as well as the state security forces.

It’s a huge undertaking, and obviously you are going to have a lot of dignitaries there. But their mission is not just to protect the dignitaries and the guests but to protect the general public, and that’s always a consideration.

It’s safe to say there are going to be a lot of security measures that may not be obvious to us, so what can we expect to see?

Basham: You’ll see a lot of uniformed presence on the perimeters. You will see probably magnetometers to the entrances to the general events. You’ll see canine units, you’ll see roving patrols, both foot as well as vehicular patrols.

I’m sure they’re going to have security helicopters up and other aircraft patrolling that area.

Is there anything that you think is important to say to the public regarding an event like this?

Basham: It’s important that in the aftermath of the Boston situation that people need to continue to go about their daily business but also recognizing that these events are an important part of our country’s heritage and that closing down streets are not to inconvenience the rest of the population … but for the security and safety of everyone involved...

To read the full article, please go to Former head of Secret Service, accomplished author weigh in on Bush Library security.

Source: Dallas Morning News

CCG principal, David Pagan, former Acting Director of Policy and Planning at CBP, commented on the impact the squester has had on staffing.

We understand that DHS has been given some flexibility in how it applies the cuts that the sequester inflicted.

To read the full article, please go to Increased CBP Funding, Flexibility Could Mitigate Sequester, But Overtime Cuts May Still Sting.

Source: International Trade Today