- Retire better.
LIZ: INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES
WITH OPERATIONS IN UKRAINE AND
RUSSIA ARE RUSHING FOR THE FAST
CLOSING EXITS AFTER RUSSIA
LAUNCHED ITS ATTACK ON THE
EASTERN EUROPEAN NATION LAST
WEDNESDAY.
TOYOTA SAID TODAY BEGINNING
FRIDAY THE AUTO MAKER WILL STOP
PRODUCTION IN RUSSIA UNTIL
FURTHER NOTICE, AND THEN YOU
HAVE ORACLE TWEETING THAT IT HAS
NOW SUSPENDED ALL OPERATIONS IN
THE COUNTRY.
EXXON-MOBILE SAYING IT’S ENDING
ITS INVOLVEMENT IN A LARGE OIL
AND NATURAL GAS PROJECT IN
RUSSIA, AND LEAVING ABOUT
4 BILLION IN ASSETS ON THE
GROUND IN RUSSIA.
EXXON-MOBILE JOINS BP AND HE’LL
WHICH ALREADY ANNOUNCED PLANS TO
END THEIR RUSSIAN INVESTMENTS,
BUT AS MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANIES
CEASE OPERATIONS, THEY STILL
HAVE EMPLOYEES AND THEIR
FAMILIES STUCK IN THE EMBATTLED
REGION.
ENTER U.S. FIRM GLOBAL GUARDIAN
WHICH WORKS 24/7 TO EXTRACT
CORPORATE EXECUTIVES AND
EMPLOYEES OUT OF THESE GLOBAL
HOTSPOTS.
IT HAS EVACUATED SOME 3,500
CLIENTS FROM LARGE AMERICAN
COMPANIES IN UKRAINE TO-DATE.
JOINING US NOW WITH THE CEO OF
GLOBAL GUARDIAN U.S. SPECIAL
FORCES VETERAN DALE BUCKNER.
DALE, BRAVE STUFF YOU GUYS ARE
DOING.
WE’D LOVE TO KNOW, HOW DO YOU DO
IT?
WE HAVE SEEN THE VIDEO OF BOMBS
FLYING, WE HAVE SEEN THAT WHO IN
THEIR RIGHT MIND BE DRIVING ON
THE ROADS THERE.
HOW DO YOU PULL THESE PEOPLE OUT
>> SO, LIZ, THERE’S NO MAGIC TO
IT.
THERE’S NO SECRET.
THIS IS GOOD COMMUNICATION, GOOD
PREPATORY PLANNING, IF YOU WILL,
AND THEN ADJUSTING TO THE
ENVIRONMENT.
THERE ARE PLACES, LIKE KYIV,
THAT WE CANNOT GO TO THE CENTER
OF THE CITY.
WE CAN SERVICE OUR CLIENTS TO
THE SOUTH AND TO THE WEST, SO
PROVIDING AN EXACT PICKUP
LOCATION, AN EXACT
LOCATION, CONSOLIDATING
PERSONNEL, BRINGING ALL THAT
TOGETHER, IN A VERY CLEAR AND
CONCISE WAY, IN EVERY 24-48
HOURS IN THAT CYCLE INSURING
THAT OUR CLIENTS ARE WELL-
INFORMED, THEY HAVE AN
EXPECTATION, THEY KNOW WHAT
THE JOURNEY WILL BE LIKE AND
THEY’RE PREPARED FOR THE
ELEMENTS.
REALLY, THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DOING.
LIZ: ARE THESE FORMER MILITARY
PEOPLE YOU HAVE DOING THIS?
>> THEY ARE EX-MILITARY, EX-LAW
ENFORCEMENT PRIMARILY, AND THEN
THEY ARE JUST AVERAGE BUS DRIVER
S AND AVERAGE VAN DRIVERS
THAT ARE UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
THAT FORMER MILITARY LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENT THAT IS
RUNNING THE VEHICLES, IF YOU
WILL.
LIZ: CAN YOU GIVE ME A SENSE,
DALE, OF AN EXAMPLE OF WHO AND
HOW YOU PULLED SOMEBODY OUT OF
UKRAINE IN THE LAST LET’S JUST
SAY 48 HOURS.
>> YEAH, SO WE RAN NINE MISSION
S THIS MORNING.
WE’RE CLOSING IN ON 4,000
EXTRACTIONS.
SIMPLY PUT, WE HAD NINE CONVOYS
FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM GO TO
A DESIGNATED LOCATION THIS
MORNING, A VERY EASY
EXAMPLE WAS IN ODESSA.
WE PICKED UP 52 CORPORATE
EXECUTIVES OR EMPLOYEES FROM A
TECH FIRM.
WE PLACED THEM ON MULTIPLE BUSES
, WITH FAMILY.
WE DROVE THEM TO THE ROMAINE
YONKERS BORDER TOOK ABOUT FOUR
AND A HALF HOURS TO ARRIVE.
IT THEN TOOK 11 HOURS TO CROSS
THE BORDER, INTO ROMANIA WHERE
WE HAVE A ROMANIAN SET OF BUSES
AND THEN WE DRIVE THEM TO THE
CAPITOL CITY AND PLACE THEM IN
HOTELS.
THAT IS A VERY SIMPLE TEMPLATE,
ALTHOUGH IT IS FULL OF, YOU CAN
IMAGINE, WITH A SERIES OF DANGER
S AND UNCERTAINTIES IN
EACH ONE OF THESE MISSIONS SO
THE OUTLINE I GAVE, VERY
SIMPLISTIC.
WHAT MAKES IT COMPLICATED IS THE
TWISTS AND TURNS OF HAVING
TO GET AROUND ROADBLOCKS,
DEALING WITH CURFEW, MOST
IMPORTANTLY HAVING TO DEAL WITH
THE THREAT OF CONFLICT AND
BOMBINGS AND SOLDIERS.
LIZ: ODESSA, I MEAN, WE HAVE
HEARD THAT THE RUSSIANS ARE
DESPERATE TO GET ODESSA BECAUSE
IT IS ON THE WATER, AND IT IS AN
IMPORTANT PORT.
I MEAN, DON’T THEY ENCOUNTER
TANKS AND TELL ME, BECAUSE WE
KNOW THAT FOR EXAMPLE, KFC HAS
1,000 RESTAURANTS IN RUSSIA, 49
IN UKRAINE, PAPA JOHN’S HAS
RESTAURANTS IN RUSSIA,
MCDONALD’S HAS 108 RESTAURANTS
IN UKRAINE, NIKE HAS GOT 12
STORES IN UKRAINE.
THOSE ARE IN RUSSIA, BUT YOU
KNOW, THEY DO HAVE OPERATIONS
THAT ARE EXTRAORDINARILY IN A
VERY BAD POSITION RIGHT NOW, I
WOULD IMAGINE.
MANY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE
LOCALS BUT YOU’RE PULLING OUT
SOME OF THESE EXECUTIVES AND
THEIR FAMILIES, BUT HOW DO YOU
MANEUVER AROUND WHAT’S GOING ON
IN A PLACE LIKE ODESA?
>> YEAH, SO IT IS TRUE, 24
HOURS AGO, YOU CAN LOOK AT OPEN
SOURCE INTELLIGENCE BRIEFS IN
THE MEDIA.
ODESA WAS STRUCK FROM RUSSIAN
SHIPS JUST IN THE LAST 24 HOURS.
IT INHERENTLY, IT DID GET MORE
DANGEROUS.
WE ANTICIPATE IT’S GOING TO GET
MUCH, MUCH WORSE SO THERE’S
A SERIES OF CITIES AS I STATED,
WE WILL MANEUVER AROUND THOSE
POCKETS OF RUSSIAN
SOLDIERS AND ARTILLERY AND TANKS
, THERE ARE PLACES WE CAN’T
GO IN ODESA WE ANTICIPATE WE ARE
GOING TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE
THERE FOR ABOUT THE NEXT 48-72
HOURS AND THEN WE MIGHT SEE
RUSSIAN FORCES START TO
ENCROACH AND THEN WE’RE GOING TO
HAVE TO CHANGE ROUTES AND EBB
AND FLOW.
WE’RE AT A POINT DAY SEVEN GOING
ON DAY EIGHT NOW WHERE WE HAD
FREEDOM OF MANEUVER A WEEK AGO
THAT WE SIMPLY DON’T HAVE ANY
MORE, SO THIS IS ALL ABOUT
PATIENCE.
WE EVACUATED ALMOST 600 CLIENTS
OUT OF AFGHANISTAN THAT TOOK
THREE AND A HALF MONTHS.
WE’RE NOT THINKING IN DAYS AND
WEEKS RIGHT NOW.
WE’RE THINKING IN MONTHS, AS
THIS EBBS AND FLOWS AND WE’RE
GOING TO ADJUST TO THE THREAT
AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES WITH
THE CONFLICT ITSELF.
LIZ: DALE IT SOUNDS KIND OF
MERCENARY FOR ME TO BRING UP
MONEY AND I KNOW YOU DON’T NAME
THE NAMES OF COMPANIES WHO
EMPLOY YOU, BUT WHAT KIND OF
COMPANIES ARE THESE, AND WHAT’S
THE CHARGE?
>> SO IT IS THE FORTUNE 1,000
AS YOU KNOW IT AND LARGE
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, COMPANIES,
PRIMARILY.
IF YOU ARE A GLOBAL GUARDIAN
ANNUAL MEMBER, WE ARE CHARGING
STANDARD RATES FOR A COMBAT ZONE
, SO FOR EXAMPLE, TO GIVE
YOU A SENSE OF THIS , A 50 PACK
BUS IS COSTING ANYWHERE BETWEEN
$12,000 TO $18,000 DEPENDING ON
WHERE IN THE COUNTRY, WHAT THE
THREAT IS, AND THE DISTANCE
OF THE EVACUATION.
IF YOU’RE A NON-GLOBAL GUARDIAN
CLIENT, WE ARE CHARGING A
MOBILIZATION FEE AND THEN THE
CHARGES FOR THE STYLE AND
CAPACITY OF THE BUS THAT WE’RE
PROVIDING.
LIZ: WELL, BLESS YOUR PEOPLE ON
THE GROUND THERE.
WE HOPE EVERYBODY STAYS SAFE AND
YOU CAN’T PUT A PRICE ON
SOMEBODY’S LIFE.
DALE, THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD
WORK YOU’RE DOING I COULD TALK
TO YOU FOREVER BY THE WAY SO
WE’LL DEFINITELY HAVE YOU BACK.
>> THANK YOU, LIZ I REALLY
APPRECIATE IT.