Our Team

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VERN J. ABILA
PRESIDENT

Vern Abila is a 19-year veteran in the security, investigative and training industries. He founded Abila Security & Investigations Inc. (ASI) in 2001. Under his leadership, ASI has seen a strong and steady growth -- starting with one corporate office in Colorado and expanding to include offices in California, New York, New Mexico and Washington DC, as well as successfully operating on a global scale. Mr. Abila has also designed and implemented a world class Security, Training, Military and Law Enforcement equipment sales division around the world. Mr. Abila has developed a diverse client base for ASI, to include: the U.S. Government, Fortune 500 firms, private individuals, CEOs and Hollywood megastars.

Mr. Abila has personally consulted on and/or worked a multitude of contracts, both domestic and international, providing security and vulnerability assessments, surveillance and counter-surveillance operations, riot control tactics, overseas courier services, private and corporate investigations along with a wide variety of low and high threat protective details. Mr. Abila is considered a subject matter expert by the US Department of State in VIP Protection, Critical Infrastructure, National Leadership and Diplomatic Security for their Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program.

Mr. Abila has served on several high profile, high threat protective details for the US Department of State, including a contract where he was chosen to be a team leader for the security team to Ambassador Robert Frowick - Head of Mission, Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Bosnia-Herzegovina. Mr. Abila received several letters of commendation from Ambassador Frowick and other entities involved for his role in stopping an attack on the motorcade carrying Ambassador Frowick, President Zubak and President Izetbegovic.

While performing duties as a member of the US Department of State’s Presidential Security Advisory Unit (PSAU) in the Republic of Haiti, Mr. Abila served as Assistant Detail Leader for the protection team assigned to guard Haitian President Rene Garcia Preval and former President Jean Betrand Aristide. In addition, Mr. Abila was selected to be part of a three-man team assigned to develop and train an elite Counter Ambush Team for the Haitian Secret Service.

In Bogotá, Colombia, under the auspices of the Regional Security Office in the U.S. Embassy, Mr. Abila served as a VIP Protection Instructor for the US Department of State’s Presidential Security Program. He was tasked with training members of the Colombian Secret Service as well as members of the protection team for the Colombian Minister of Defense.

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MIKE CHANEY
VICE PRESIDENT, SPECIAL PROJECTS

Mr. Chaney retired from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, having served in several Special Forces Groups, 1st BN 75th Rangers, and a special mission unit. Since his retirement in 1990 he has been recognized as an expert in the DOD and civilian security arena. He has conducted border security surveys, emergency evacuation planning, training of security forces, and the protection of cargo and executives worldwide. He has conducted these programs in support of the United States Government and private industry both in the USA and overseas. He lends his background to all levels of client support both vertically and horizontally. He assists the ASI clients on special projects and business ventures. He holds a Top Secret security clearance.

Mr. Chaney provides support to USAF Pacific Command, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and consulting for a private oil company in Africa. Mr. Chaney has been working with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Center of Disease Control (CDC) to develop, prepare, and supervise the security operations at United States Government vaccine repositories that are our national response to a biological or chemical attack. Mr. Chaney was also contracted to conduct vulnerability analysis based on the probability of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) used against US Government complexes in the Washington D.C. area.

Mr. Chaney was part of a team of subject matter experts that wrote the first template for the J-34 Anti-Terrorism / Force Protection Division of the Joint Staff, for the standard to be used in the development of force protection plans DOD wide. He has attended several Peace Keeping (Stability) and Force Protection training programs conducted by UK MOD. After spending extensive time observing UK and USA training and operations, Mr. Chaney spent a period of time with the Israeli Defense Force, observing their training and conduct of Stability Operations throughout the country.

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RALPH A. PALMIERI
VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT

Mr. Palmieri is responsible for the coordination and synergies of International Clients, business affairs and focusing on strategic relationships on a global scale. Mr. Palmieri recently retired as Staff Vice-President of the Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Services business area. Mr. Palmieri was responsible for the coordination and synergies of International Clients and business affairs across all nine of the operating units of this business area of Lockheed Martin. Previously, from 2004 to 2005, as the Vice President, International, for Lockheed Martin Information Technology, Mr. Palmieri successfully launched that business unit on a pioneering course focused on strategic relationships, mergers, and acquisitions of IT and BPS oriented firms based primarily outside the United States and on virtually every continent. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin Corporation, Mr. Palmieri was an Executive Vice President of the SYTEX Group, Inc. (TSGI), and the Chief Operating Officer of SYTEX, Inc., the flagship company of TSGI’s three operating firms: Sytex, Inc., Mac Aulay Brown, Inc., and INS, Inc. He joined Sytex as a start-up enterprise in 1989, helping to kick off the Washington, DC-based segments of the growing government technical services company. As the COO of Sytex, he was ultimately responsible for all day-to-day operations of the company, including strategic planning, program development, administration, and technical performance. For over 16 years, he helped grow Sytex and TSGI into an internationally-recognized professional services company of over 3000 employees world-wide, supporting Department of Defense, Non-DoD Federal, commercial, and foreign clients in areas of Homeland Security, Counterterrorism; Command and Control, Counternarcoterriorism, and Intelligence Systems; Information Warfare and Information Operations; Systems Engineering and Integration; Program Management and Business Administration; and Global Logistics and Readiness Systems Support. Mr. Palmieri contributes personally to these projects, primarily addressing issues of systems analysis and design, economic evaluations, international business operations, technical system acquisition/fielding/maintenance, program management techniques, and the human side of Corporate management-- all areas in which he is considered in the community to be a leading professional.

Prior to joining SYTEX, Mr. Palmieri was with Analytics, Inc. for over six years (1984-1989). He began as a Project Engineer and ended as a Principal Analyst, and was responsible for growing his segment of the company from a staff of zero to over 55 technical personnel providing technical and professional services to the Department of Defense and to the Drug Enforcement Administration. As a "hands-on" manager, he personally participated in numerous technical efforts, making significant contributions in supporting deployed Commands, developing concepts for the fielding and maintenance of Non-Developmental Items (NDI), applying emerging technologies to the solutions of specific law enforcement problems, and formulating tailored system acquisition approaches for both major and non-major programs, both domestically and internationally.

Previously, Mr. Palmieri served as an electronic warfare officer in the US Army (1964-1984), with tours spent at Ft Bragg, NC, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. He is professionally qualified in German, Persian (Farsi & Dari), and Spanish languages, with lesser competencies in Italian, Arabic, and Vietnamese.

Mr. Palmieri received his BS degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Richmond; he completed his graduate MA work in International Relations at the University of Missouri; he is also a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces’ Systems Management Course.

Mr. Palmieri maintains current membership in the following Professional Organizations:

• American Nuclear Society (ANS)
• American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS)
• Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association (AFCEA)
• Institute for Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
• International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association (INEOA)

• Security Clearance: TOP SECRET/2005

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MICHAEL C. SIMLER
VICE PRESIDENT, INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION

Mr. Simler has over twenty five years of experience in both public law enforcement and private sector Security & Investigative services. During the course of his career, he has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally for his commitment to excellence in the execution of his duties as a homicide investigator. His background in law enforcement includes assignments to several specialized units whose missions involved hostage/terrorist incident containment, riot control, gang interdiction and armed career criminal offender apprehension. He is a Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training Board certified instructor who taught crime scene search procedures and report writing at the El Paso County Sheriff's Office Training Academy.

The last eight years of Mr. Simler's law enforcement career, his primary duty assignments were with federal law enforcement task force operations. He was the lead agent assigned to a multi- jurisdictional task force combining local, state and federal law enforcement agencies which produced indictments and convictions in U.S. Federal District Court of fifty-three members of a violent California based street gang who were charged with murder and the intra/interstate distribution of cocaine. He was also assigned as a Gun Interdiction Unit Task Force Officer with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives Regional Office in Colorado Springs, CO. Part of Mr. Simler’s work in private sector security involved the provision of personal protection services to the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan and Mr. Paulo Zannoni, President of Fiat Defense Corporation, American Division. He also worked in the private sector as an undercover investigator for corporations experiencing internal issues with drugs in the work place, theft and workers compensation fraud.

Mr. Simler attended American University in Washington D.C. where he was enrolled in the School of Public Affairs and had a minor in Justice. He is a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, GA, the United States Capitol Police Training Academy and the El Paso County, CO Sheriff’s Office Academy. He has been certified in the states of Nevada and Colorado by the Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training as a Category I Peace Officer. He has attended advanced training in numerous law enforcement disciplines including crime scene reconstruction and blood spatter recognition. He has testified as an expert witness in municipal, state and federal court in the areas of homicide investigations involving narcotics trafficking, federal firearms trafficking investigations and police policies and procedures.

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