The daughter of a former Secret Service agent has detailed the ‘most important’ piece of advice her father has ever given her when it came to her safety.
Her father was an agent for over two decades
Ashley, who is 36-years-old, shared the advice she was given in regards to personal safety from her father, who spent over two decades working for the US Secret Service.
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And who better to ask about personal safety than someone whose job was to protect important political figures?
She opened up about her life as his daughter
Talking to MailOnline, Ashley opened up about her life as the daughter of a Secret Service agent, sharing safety advice she was given from a young age.
Some of that advice was things we all know like to never give out her address to people she didn’t trust or to never linger once inside her car.
Ashley shared the ‘most important’ thing
Among those pieces of advice, the 36-year-old shared the ‘most important’ one which can improve your safety in any situation.
According to her father, the most crucial thing is to have ‘situational awareness’ at all times. Situational awareness would basically mean that a person registers and understands everything going on around them at all times, and is ready to respond to threats if they happen.
What that means in practice
Ashley explained what situational awareness would look like in day-to-day life.
She said, “When entering a room, take a few seconds to locate the entrances and exits, know what is around you, and who’s around you.”
You should also trust your gut
Ashley added, “[He also taught us] to always use our gut – if a situation feels off, it likely is.”
She explained that you should keep an eye on entrances and exits wherever you are, adding that she never sits with her back to the door in a public place.
Ashley shared her father said to be alert
“You want to be alert,” she continued. “You want your back towards the wall to be able to visualise the entrances.”
“My dad always took that position and now I do. It’s so you can see.”
She also shared, “It’s about considering the worst case scenarios as you never want to be caught off guard.”
But Ashley doesn’t let that scare her away
Despite her upbringing, Ashley shared that she doesn’t sit around and assess the possibilities of threats whenever she’s in a new place as she doesn’t let fear stop her from living her life.
“Statistically, the odds of being a victim of a random crime is low, so be aware but keep living life,” she elaborated.