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PROJECT UPDATES

What we’ve been doing, where we’ve been travelling, and what’s next.

Welcome to 2026!

As this is the first newsletter for the year, and I have a few new subscribers, I'll provide an outline my work. Throughout the rest of the year, I'll focus more on specific projects and activities.

Off and Running

This year has started with a flurry of activity, running workshops in Bengaluru in India and crisis simulation exercises in Hong Kong. In addition, I've completed the first custom deployment of Incident Manager for a major technology company. As always, a steep learning curve, but I'm up for it. Plus, the first draft of the sequel to Memoirs of an Assassin is complete (yet to come up with a good title). It's going to be an exciting year.

Website Updates

I've made a few adjustments to the Spartan9 website over the Christmas period. I've focused on Crisis Management and Travel Risk Management and have deprioritised security evacuations and intrusion testing. That reflects the nature of the current demand, which also nicely overlaps with my primary interests. Security evacuations now sit under travel risk management, so they are still very much a part of what I do.

I've also added a 'tldr' page to the website, which provides a consolidated overview of the work I'm doing.

TRAINING

Training workshops and customised training solutions.

We run practical, experience-led workshops designed to build real capability in crisis management, travel security, and evacuations. All workshops are interactive and can be delivered in person or remotely.

Crisis Response Fundamentals. Learn the fundamentals of crisis response with our engaging and interactive workshop. Build your confidence and develop essential skills for responding to crisis events effectively and efficiently.

Designing and Delivering Effective Crisis Simulation Exercises. Learn how to design and deliver crisis simulation exercises that challenge your teams, build capability, and deliver actionable insights—without overwhelming participants.

Practical Crisis Communication. Master the art of crisis communication with this interactive workshop. Develop the skills to communicate clearly, calmly, and empathetically during crisis events—protecting both people and organisational reputation.

Practical Safety and Security for Travellers. Learn essential techniques to assess threats, manage risk, and stay safe while travelling in higher-risk countries.

Managing Traveller Emergencies. Develop the skills to respond effectively to incidents impacting travellers. This workshop focuses on real-world crisis management and incident response techniques to protect traveller safety and wellbeing.

Practical Information Security for Travellers. Protect your devices, communications, and data while travelling in autocratic or higher-risk countries. Learn practical strategies to reduce digital exposure and risk.

Planning Security Evacuations. Build the skills to plan and execute security evacuations by air, sea, and land, including domestic relocation scenarios.

Decision Making for Security Evacuations. Develop your capability to make informed decisions in high-stress situations. Learn how to determine when and how to evacuate people safely while minimising risk.

Executing Security Evacuations. Develop the practical capability to coordinate and execute security evacuations by air, land, and sea—focusing on control, coordination, and people safety under pressure.

View the full details of our training workshops here.

PUBLICATIONS

We’ve published a number of books on crisis management, travel security and security evacuations.

The Crisis Response Handbook. The comprehensive guide to building resilient organisations, equipping readers with practical tools and techniques for effective crisis response in an unpredictable world.

The Crisis Simulation Handbook. A practical guide to planning, designing, and delivering world-class crisis simulation exercises.

The Guide to Travelling in Higher-Risk Environments. The comprehensive guide to staying safe while travelling in higher-risk environments.

The Field Guide to Deployment Planning. The essential guide to planning engagements in complex or higher-risk locations and getting there safely.

The Field Guide to Personal Security. Practical guidance focused on ensuring you can stay safe while operating in complex and higher-risk environments.

The Field Guide to Accommodation Security. Guidance on selecting safe and secure accommodation while operating in complex and higher-risk environments.

The Field Guide to Transport Security. Practical guidance focused on keeping you and your team safe while on the road in complex and higher-risk environments.

The Security Evacuation Handbook Vol I – Fundamentals & Planning. An introduction to security evacuations, covering the principles and processes required to plan an effective evacuation.

The Security Evacuation Handbook Vol II – Decision Making & Execution. Focused on decision-making and execution during security evacuations, building on the foundations established in Vol I.

View all our publications and download samples here.

Buy copies for your team

Several highly regarded organisations (and one prestigious university) have purchased copies of our books for their teams. If your team would benefit from the knowledge and experience contained in our books, please reach out. We'd be happy to provide a discount for bulk orders.

STATION XV

Updates on our in-house gear.

We design and build bags and accessories for people who are going places.

Our bags and accessories are purposefully designed to provide discreet and hard-wearing solutions for urban adventurers and people who live, work and travel in challenging environments.

Check out the full range of Station XV bags and accessories here.

APPLICATIONS

Updates on our applications.

Whistler

A simple, secure whistleblowing app for organisations to receive and manage confidential reports. First launched 10 years ago, Whistler 2.0 now features stronger encryption and case management tools. Pricing starts at $19 a month.

Learn more here.

Incident Manager

Incident Manager help teams to effectively manage crisis events. It brings everything into one place—tasks, logs, comms, support cases, playbooks, resources—so teams can focus on what really matters. This application is the culmination of 25 years working with crisis and incident management teams around the world. Now with incredibly useful AI features.

Please reach out if you'd like a demo.

Tenacio

A project management app purposefully designed for people like me who are struggling to manage diverse workloads. It prioritises tasks based on deadlines and personal work preferences, ensuring you stay on track.

If you'd like to try Tenacio, get in touch.

Our Shared Stories (new application)

Our Shared Stories is a calm, privacy-first writing space designed for people who have lived through difficult or life-changing experiences. You can write in any language, choose exactly who can see your stories, and explore similar stories through our secure AI-powered matching system. There are no feeds, no algorithms pushing content, and no social-media pressures—just a quiet place to write, reflect, and connect with others who understand what you’ve been through.

Learn more here.

READING LIST

Links to interesting articles worth your time.

Xi’s control of his regime is looking ever more Stalinist. (ASPI). Read here

We Are Witnessing the Self-Immolation of a Superpower. With Donald Trump’s actions in Greenland, Minneapolis, and Venezuela, a foreign enemy could not invent a better chain of events to wreck the standing of the United States. (Wired). Read here

How malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy. The fusion of agentic AI and LLMs marks a new frontier in information warfare (Science). Read here

Iran’s Protest Movement and Diaspora Politics. The uprising has left the country reeling from the deaths and destruction — and has exposed deep divisions (New Lines Magazine). Read here

The Stories That Shed Light on Power in Iran. The Islamic Republic and its opponents both draw on myths and religious narratives, shaping political culture to mobilize support (New Lines Magazine). Read here

The Drone Supply Chain War: Identifying the Chokepoints to Making a Drone. (CSIS). Read here

Russia wants to drain Europe's investigative resources with its sabotage campaign. The Associated Press has tracked a sabotage campaign that Western officials have linked to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. (AP). Read here

The Afterlives of Assad’s Prisoners. A year after the Syrian dictator’s fall, three former detainees trace the uneven road of life after captivity (New Lines Magazine). Read here

The Ultra-Realistic AI Face Swapping Platform Driving Romance Scams. Capable of creating “nearly perfect” face swaps during live video chats, Haotian has made millions, mainly via Telegram. But its main channel vanished after WIRED's inquiry into scammers using the app. (Wired). Read here

Drones in Ukraine: Four lessons for the West. From overreliance on China to the growing involvement of civilians, the extensive use of drones in the Ukraine war offers crucial lessons for future conflicts (ECFR). Read here

What’s It Like to Be a Chinese Soldier? Behind the parades, recruits face long deployments, strict rules, and limited opportunities. (FP). Read here

The Longest Suicide Note in American History. The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy targets liberal democracy itself (The Atlantic). Read here

Europe needs a doctrine to halt Putin’s expansionist ambitions. The Russian president’s specious justifications for the war in Ukraine mean he won’t stop there. But time is running out for Europe to formulate a defence strategy (Chatham House). Read here

Ten Jolting Takeaways from Trump’s New National Security Strateg. (War on the Rocks). Read here

AI chatbots can sway voters with remarkable ease — is it time to worry?. Experiments involving real-world voters show how talking to a chatbot can shape people’s political opinions. (Nature). Read here

Local Spies With Lethal Gear: How Israel and Ukraine Reinvented Covert Action. A potent new fusion of old-style human spycraft with cutting-edge technology is having a big impact on high-stakes conflicts. (WSJ). Read here

That’s it for this month, folks.

Thanks for reading and stay safe out there.

Grant Rayner

Spartan9