Veterans Covert Protection Group

Today, we honor the Navajo Marines whose language became one of World War II's most effective communication tools.

In 1942, the Marine Corps recruited the first 29 Navajo men to develop a code based on the Navajo language. That code allowed vital battlefield messages to be transmitted quickly and securely across the Pacific theater, helping U.S. forces communicate troop movements, positions, and tactical information under combat conditions.

The Navajo Code Talkers served in major Pacific campaigns and helped solve one of warfare’s most important problems: how to communicate critical information without giving it to the enemy. Their code was never broken, and the program remained classified for decades after the war.

Navajo Code Talkers Day is observed on August 14, the date President Ronald Reagan proclaimed in 1982 to recognize their service and legacy.

Their work helped protect American forces. Their service helped shape history. Their legacy deserves to be remembered with respect.

Recent burglary investigations in San Jose, CA, offer a useful reminder that residential security begins with understanding how a home operates.

Police have warned residents about tactics that allegedly included concealed cameras positioned near homes to determine when residents were away. Authorities have also described suspects posing as delivery workers or landscapers while scouting properties.

The lesson is not to treat every unfamiliar person, package, or object as a threat. It is to understand what is normal around your property.

Every residence develops patterns. Certain doors get used more than others. Packages arrive in predictable places. Landscapers, housekeepers, contractors, and other vendors may have regular access. Vehicles come and go. Some parts of a property remain visible from the street, while others receive very little attention.

When homeowners understand those patterns, they are better positioned to recognize meaningful changes.

That is also why residential security should be evaluated as a system rather than a collection of products. Cameras can provide useful coverage, but placement matters. An alarm can detect certain events, but it does not address every vulnerability. Locks are fundamental, but they are only one part of access control. Lighting, landscaping, gates, deliveries, visitor procedures, vendor access, and periods when the residence is unoccupied all deserve consideration.

Keep doors, windows, and side gates secured; consider alarm and camera systems; and build relationships with neighbors who can help when a residence will be vacant.

Veterans Covert Protection Group develops site-specific residential protection programs by assessing how a property operates, identifying vulnerabilities, and determining where trained security personnel, access-control procedures, monitoring, and response protocols can strengthen the existing security environment.

What is one security improvement you have made that you would recommend to another homeowner?

Big Bear has lost one of its most recognizable residents.

Jackie, the beloved bald eagle watched by millions through the Friends of Big Bear Valley nest camera, has died following weeks of veterinary care at the Ojai Raptor Center.

For years, Jackie and her longtime mate, Shadow, gave people around the world an extraordinary window into the life of bald eagles in the wild. Viewers watched them build and defend their nest high above Big Bear Lake, endure snowstorms and harsh mountain weather, incubate eggs, raise young, and return season after season.

Jackie became more than the subject of a wildlife camera. She became part of the Big Bear community and helped connect millions of people with a species whose recovery represents one of America’s great conservation successes.
Jackie’s story gave that recovery a face.

Through an unfiltered camera above a California mountain lake, people witnessed both the beauty and the difficulty of life in the wild. There were successful seasons and unsuccessful ones, severe weather, long periods of waiting, new eaglets, and moments that captured audiences far beyond Big Bear.

Our thoughts are with the Friends of Big Bear Valley community, the wildlife professionals who cared for Jackie, and everyone who found themselves checking in on Jackie and Shadow over the years.

Rest in peace, Jackie.

Today, we observe Purple Heart Day, remembering those American service members who sacrificed in service of our nation.

The Purple Heart traces its history to August 7, 1782, when General George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit during the Revolutionary War. Intended to recognize extraordinary merit among enlisted soldiers, the original decoration was a purple, heart-shaped piece of cloth. More than a century later, the award was revived in 1932 and redesigned into the Purple Heart recognized today.

Today, the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the president to members of the United States Armed Forces who are wounded or killed as a result of enemy action or other qualifying hostile circumstances. Unlike decorations recognizing a particular act of valor or achievement, the Purple Heart represents something fundamentally different: sacrifice made in direct consequence of military service.
Behind every Purple Heart is a person, a family, a unit, and a moment when service carried a lasting cost. Some recipients returned home carrying visible wounds. Others carried injuries that permanently changed the course of their lives. Some never returned home at all.

Veterans Covert Protection Group honors those who were wounded in service to our country, remembers those who gave their lives, and recognizes the families who have carried that sacrifice with them.

To every Purple Heart recipient and to the families of those no longer with us: you have our respect and our gratitude.

Fifteen years ago today, the call sign “Extortion 17” became part of American military history.

On August 6, 2011, a U.S. Army CH-47D Chinook supporting a Quick Reaction Force mission in Afghanistan’s Tangi Valley was shot down, resulting in the deaths of 30 U.S. service members, seven Afghan commandos, one Afghan interpreter, and one U.S. military working dog.

Among the American fallen were 17 U.S. Navy SEALs, making Extortion 17 the deadliest single incident for U.S. forces in the war in Afghanistan.

Today, we remember every member of that mission, along with the families, friends, and teammates who have carried their legacy forward for the past fifteen years.

Fifteen years have passed, but the significance of Extortion 17 has not diminished.

Today, Veterans Covert Protection Group remembers the 38 personnel and one military working dog who lost their lives on that mission, and we honor their place in U.S. military service history.

A violent robbery at the San Bruno Post Office has prompted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to offer up to $150,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. According to authorities, one or more suspects reportedly assaulted a postal employee and stole four tubs of mail before fleeing the scene.

Police advise anyone who recently used the San Bruno Post Office or its collection boxes, including some in South San Francisco, to monitor their bank and credit card accounts, as well as other financial statements, for unauthorized activity.

Facilities that process sensitive information do not just protect property. They protect the people who work there and the information entrusted to them. When a breach occurs, the consequences can extend well beyond the building, creating risks such as financial fraud, identity theft, operational disruption, and continued exposure for customers and organizations.

Effective security programs go beyond doors, locks, and cameras. They evaluate how employees move through a facility, how sensitive assets are protected, how assistance can be summoned quickly during a violent incident, and whether procedures are in place to detect, delay, and respond to unauthorized activity before it escalates.

A high-rise lobby is the point where a public street becomes a controlled workplace.

During the morning arrival period, employees present credentials, clients look for hosts, vendors make deliveries, contractors move equipment, and tenants expect the experience to remain efficient and professional.

At the same time, the security program must determine who belongs in the building, where each person is authorized to go, and whether anyone’s behavior requires additional attention.

This is where high-rise entrances become vulnerable.

The problem is not always the absence of security technology. It is often the space between systems: visitor information that has not reached the lobby, inconsistent procedures at secondary entrances, limited visibility across the reception area, or access controls that stop at the turnstile rather than continuing through the elevator bank and tenant floors.

The lobby layout supports clear observation. Employee and visitor traffic follow understandable paths. Guests are verified before entering controlled areas. Elevator access corresponds with authorized destinations. Parking structures, loading areas, side doors, and after-hours entrances follow the same security logic as the main entrance.

Security personnel are trained to welcome normal activity, recognize unusual behavior, de-escalate conflict, and act when a routine access issue begins to develop into a potential violent encounter.

Veterans Covert Protection Group provides high-rise corporate security by assessing each property’s layout, employee density, operating environment, and surrounding risks, then placing trained security professionals where access control, situational awareness, de-escalation, lobby security, and emergency response must be managed in real time. This reflects VCPG’s published approach to high-rise offices and corporate environments.

The best corporate security programs protect people, assets, and operations without disrupting the workplace.

Security measures that create unnecessary delays, frustrate employees, or complicate the visitor experience can interfere with the very operations they’re intended to support. At the same time, convenience should never come at the expense of appropriate security controls.

Employees should be able to move through the workplace efficiently. Visitors should receive a professional, welcoming experience. Access to sensitive areas, executive spaces, and critical business operations should be appropriately managed based on the organization’s risk profile.

When security is thoughtfully integrated into workplace design, technology, and daily operations, it becomes part of the employee experience instead of an obstacle to it.