Rusty Firmin

1980 – SAS Iranian Embassy siege assault team leader. Mission to rescue 19 hostages held by 6 well-armed terrorists in the heart of London.

1992-Present

Rusty’s recent speaking events include: Texas Tactical Police Officers Association TT POA and he has been invited back to speak in April 2024. In December of 2023, Rusty will speak at the California Association of Tactical Officers CATO SWAT team convention.

Note, Rusty is available for advertising and PR campaigns, corporate events, and office openings around the world.

Over the years, Rusty has been featured throughout mainstream media and news in the UK, and on television shows such as Nigel Farage, Piers Morgan’s Good Morning Britain, and many more. Rusty is the author of two books. Go! Go! Go! The story of the Iranian Embassy Siege has been turned into a Netflix filming called 6 Days where Jamie Bell, famous British actor/producer, plays Rusty Firmin by name in the film. His second book is called The Regiment: 15 years in the SAS. Both books are non-fiction.

Rusty can provide security training for all levels. Currently, security training is a necessity, not a luxury. Rusty can provide tips and tricks based on his proven track record of success throughout his career in defense.

Operational consulting is another lesson that Rusty offers. This is a unique opportunity to learn from someone who has survived and worked in over 120 countries during his time in the military. Many of these places were considered hostile environments.

Consider having Rusty speak as your after-dinner keynote speaker. Commerce and battle are both about achieving goals. Oftentimes, resources can be scarce in an unpredictable environment. Rusty draws parallels between the battlefield and the corporate world. He brings convincing evidence from the SAS of winning formulas in demanding circumstances.

Rusty’s presentation is unique because he has the only original PowerPoint presentation of the Iranian Embassy siege which he delivers with passion and conviction. This presentation highlights how to work under an immense amount of pressure, life threatening scenarios, and the steps required to achieve the mission. You do not want to miss this behind-the-scenes presentation.

Born and raised in Carlisle and adopted at 14 months, Rusty lived with different relatives and attended many different schools up until the age of fifteen when he had to fend for himself. At the age of seventeen, he joined the Royal Artillery and remained there for approximately four years. He represented British Army football team at the top amateur lever in the UK. He completed several tours of Northern Ireland as a patrol commander and was heavily involved in adventure training, completing the Italian Alps walk, French Pyrenees walk, and the Great Divide trail walk in Canada in successive years. Rusty volunteered to serve with 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, having completed the grueling commando selection course, and at Lympstone received the coveted Green Beret. Rusty served 3 years in the commandos then having cold feet he applied to join the SAS in 1977. He completed the SAS selection regarded by many as the toughest selection in the world for special forces. On receiving the coveted beige beret and winged dagger in six months, he was assigned to B squadron 22 SAS.

In B squadron, he faced the threat from Guatemala of Belize. He spent time in the jungle of Belize making three trips of duty. He also visited the jungles of Malaya, Brunei, Borneo, and Botswana. There were numerous desert training trips to the Middle East, four tours in Northern Ireland conflict, four tours on counter terrorist team and Rusty was heavily involved as a Blue Team leader as a lance corporal at 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London where he was directly involved with the incidents inside the embassy. In 1982, Rusty took part in the Falkland Island conflict whilst serving in the SAS. This was known as operation Mikado.

During his time in the SAS between 1977- 1992, Rusty took part in training operations around the world. The types of training he did were Special Forces training, bodyguard training at presidential level and counter terrorist training to name but a few. He was a qualified paramedic, demolitionist, and a colloquial Arabic and Malay speaker. In 1990 he was (stood to) for the Stansted aircraft hijacking (Afghan terrorists seized a jet, flew it to Stansted airport with 150 passengers on board, after a few days of intense negotiations all 150 passengers were released and sixty of them claimed political asylum in the UK. After 13 years with B squadron, he went to HQ squadron 23 SAS as permanent staff instructor (PSI). In 1992 he attended Plymouth College and gained a NEBS M Diploma in safety management along with a National Examination body of Occupational Safety and Health certificate (NEBOSH)

From 1992 until present, Rusty has worked all over the world or on the circuit. His jobs included being a diamond mine security consultant located in West Africa, delivering armored cars to CNN news crew in Sarajevo during the war and carrying out close protection and surveillance jobs, both as a team leader. He was a security manager for Mobil Oil Company in Algeria and spent eight years working for Herbalife International of America as an on the road security adviser (58 countries in all at that time and close protection operative for Mark Hughes the only CEO and founder of the company.

Additionally, Rusty was the security advisor for Mel Gibson whilst making the film Braveheart in Scotland. He served as the security advisor and bodyguard for the Japanese embassy in Afghanistan, he provided security in Athens at the Olympics for the American swimming team and was the security consultant and personal protection officer for the Japanese ambassador at the Japanese Embassy in Kabul. In Afghanistan, he was also a hostile training and security coordinator, once again for the Japanese Embassy. In Europe he was an overt vehicle fleet and logistics manager on a sensitive government project. Rusty has also worked on a residential security team and as a close protection operative for dignitaries and VIP’s.

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