Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (Fort Gordon, GA to be exact) the MP unit I was with secured all the "Pay Day Activities". In reality the said activities amounted to turning a basketball gym into a place to cash checks for all the trainee soldiers.

One month before said activity, the OIC of the area asked those of us on the SRT team how we would go about robbing the place.

To a man, our first comment was the obvious guards inside and outside would get a round between the eyes within the first three seconds. Then the team would split between "crowd control" and "theft" teams.

Obvious guards are called objects of intimidation. In a takeover robbery or hostage situation, you eliminate them first and VERY VIOLENTLY. This action then intimidates all the other occupants of the area you wish to control, and eliminates the visible armed threat to your group.

Conversely, were we to have to end a situation like this our aim was also swift, violent, but controlled action.

This ladies and gentlemen is why you want any security to be all but invisible.