Field Notes: Protection in Stockholm
The Call
I was working in New York when I got a call from a Swedish intelligence officer. At first, I thought they had the wrong guy. They asked about a case with my name on it. I looked it up and, sure enough, years earlier our office had prosecuted a man in Brooklyn who had moved tens of millions of dollars’ worth of restricted electronics overseas. ITAR-controlled stuff, the kind of components that end up in weapons systems if they get to the wrong hands.
I wasn’t the case agent then. The original agent had rotated out, and the file got reassigned to me quietly. I hadn’t thought much about it until that call. The Swedes said they had a man in Stockholm who had basically stepped into the same role. Same playbook, same Russian military intel connections. They wanted to build a case, and they wanted my help.
Building the Case
So I started working with them. We compared notes, pulled old files, pieced together what he was doing in Sweden. The prosecutors put together a national security case, and eventually it went to trial in Stockholm.
That’s when they asked me to come testify. Not something you say no to.
Two Witnesses
There were two of us flying over. Me, and another witness. I had the easier job. Because of my role, I got to testify behind closed doors, anonymously, shielded from the record.
The other witness didn’t have that luxury. His testimony was in open court, his name in the record. And his testimony mattered. He had real, firsthand knowledge that tied this Russian agent back to the procurement network.
That was the problem. Russia plays by different rules overseas. People get followed, people get intimidated, sometimes worse. We knew he was vulnerable.
Working With DSS
That’s where the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service came in. They pulled me aside, gave me the crash course on how to operate in Sweden. Local police, where our authorities ended, what help they could give us. And then they basically said, “The rest is yours.”
So I built a plan. Advances on the hotel and courthouse, routes in and out, contingencies if something felt off. Most of it was just me sticking close to him, eyes up, staying ahead of the rhythm. Round the clock, until we got back on the plane.
The Reality of Protection
Stockholm in the winter is dark and cold, so we kept things simple. Most of the time we laid low, spent hours talking in the hotel lobby or reviewing what he might face in court. One afternoon I convinced him to lace up skates for a friendly game of pond hockey with some locals. It was a small break from the pressure, but I think it mattered. Protection is not just about shielding someone from threats, it is also about giving them the space to breathe when everything around them feels heavy.
What Stuck With Me
Nothing happened, and that was success. He got to court, told his story, and went home safe.
That trip changed how I think about close protection. People imagine the big movie moment, someone diving in front of a threat. And you have to be ready for that. But most of the work is quieter. It is the advance, the planning, the positioning, making sure the window for trouble never opens in the first place.
For me the takeaway was simple. The real craft in protection is not about being the fastest or the toughest. It is about being thoughtful, being prepared, and giving someone the confidence to do their job or live their life without looking over their shoulder. That has stayed with me ever since.
