Close Protection

Protect and Tell

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It would seem that plenty of close protection officers want to write a “Tell-All” book after protecting someone rich and Famous. Recently Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stopped an ex-bodyguard writing a tell-all book. They hired top US and UK lawyers to prevent Mickey Brett revealing details of their private lives in a book. According to the New York Daily News newspaper the book would have been detailed accounts about protecting a number of Hollywood stars that included Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Richard Gere, Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise .

Should you write a book like this? Depending upon who you looked after and what juicy tales you have to tell, a book deal might earn you a lot of money. However, be sure to balance the book earnings with any future earnings that you might have earned in close protection, because the chances are you will never work in the industry again! Being a confidant and keeping your clients private life confidential are fundamental to your employment prospects, a few quid now might be prove to be a costly mistake if you lose a few years earnings.

I am sure that some of these books are written “in spite” by disgruntled bodyguards who for whatever reason are no longer employed. You might feel that “dishing some dirt” and earning from it, would be adequate recompense. However this shows you to be completley unreiable and unprofessional which are two words that any bodyguard who wants to work is not associated with.

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Bodyguard Training – Skills You Should Turn up on Your Course With

To become a professional bodyguard requires plenty of training, if you have never done anything like it before there really is a lot to learn. However it never ceases to amaze me how some people feel that as long as they have the money then the trainer can do the rest and turn them into a bodyguard. This is simply not true. Whilst I would be the first to admit that close protection is not “rocket science” you do need to turn up for training with some skills and attributes. This article discusses the skills and attributes which are essential if you wish to become a professional close protection officer. It goes without saying that you should be honest, punctual and have a mature outlook; however I will outline other essential skills and attributes below.

Good Communication skills

The close protection officer has to display excellent communication skills throughout. He needs to be able to speak not only to his principal but to other team members as well as officials. You must be a “people person” because a bodyguard will find himself dealing with people at all levels, from heads of security to hotel chambermaids. Without good communication skills you are unlikely to become a professional bodyguard, in fact you are unlikely to get past the first interview for your first job.

Common Sense

You will need copious amounts of common-sense. Close protection officers often have to “think on their feet” making decisions on their own, assessing situations and working out the appropriate action to take. Unfortunately you cannot be taught common sense, you either have it or you do not.

A Professional Attitude

Close protection officers needed to project a totally professional attitude throughout their working day. You must display this attitude from day one. Anything less than a professional attitude will not see you through your course, let alone a subsequent career.

Good Team Player

Close protection is a team sport, if you are not a team player you should reconsider your career choice. There is absolutely no room for individuals who cannot function well as part of a team. Teamwork is everything and if you do not function well within one then close protection is probably not for you.

Confidence

Whether you have it or not you must learn how to ooze it. Your principal needs to trust that you will do the right thing in an emergency. The confidence that you show on a day-to-day basis will go a long way to you earning the trust of your principal. Professional close protection officers that are not confident in everything they do will just not be taken seriously.

Tony Blairs Bodyguard Fires Gun at Airport

Tony Blair can’t be brimming in confidence with his close protection team. Maybe now that he is not prime minister he has to put up with a second class security detail. I’m sure that is not the case but it does look bad. Only a short time ago one of his bodyguards left her weapon (Glock 17 semi-automatic) in the toilet of a coffee shop on the Edgware Road in London, rumours circulated that this was not the first time this had happened. 20 minutes passed and the weapon was found and further embarrassment was averted. Now just as they have stopped blushing, one of the team today has a Negligent Discharge of his/her weapon at Ben Gurion international airport in Tel Aviv. Many people are calling this and “accidental discharge” In situations like this the correct terminology is Negligent Whatever actions led up to the firing of the weapon the close protection officer was negligent. The incident happened as Tony Blair was leaving the country and I am sure that it caused a bit of a stir. Negligent Discharges just should not happen at this level, and I am sure when they were finally allowed onto the aircraft someone was sat quietly on the aircraft wondering where their nice blue uniform was along with their white traffic directing gloves.

10 Reasons Why You Are Not Getting That Bodyguard Job.

1. Poor Training
Are you are poorly trained? Did you choose the wrong bodyguard training company? Take care when choosing the company that you train with, some have better reputations than others. Speak to employers. Who would they prefer that you were trained by?

2. Your CV is Poor
Think about revisiting your CV, it should be designed solely to open doors of opportunity. It is not an application form and nor is it your autobiography. Focus not on what you have done, rather on what you can offer the employer now!

3. Employers don’t get past your covering letter
If your covering letter is poor, or non-existent, this will affect your ability to gain employment. The cover letter is the first thing that the recruiters see. It is your proxy introduction. The cover letter should never be a stock letter. Each one should be personalised to the recipient. Take a look at the letters you send out, what do they say about you?

4. You are speaking to the wrong people
You are sending your CV to the wrong companies or individuals. Do your due diligence. Are they recruiting? Are they even in the business? Do you fit the bill? I advertised for some staff quite recently, the advert stipulated that applicants must be able to speak French. Predictably I still got countless CVs from those who could not speak French. Some even started their covering letter with the words “I don’t speak French but…”

5. You are not following up
Once your CV is out, do not just sit there and wait for the call. Be pro-active and chase that work. Never send a CV out without following it up with a call, or at least an email to ensure that it was received. Whether they got your CV or not; try and get an interview. There is a fine line between persistence and pestering. Be consistent with your follow-ups but don’t do it so often that you become a pest. That will be counter-productive.

6.You only have basic training
If your CV shows that you are only trained in the basics, then do not waste time whilst unemployed. Use this down time wisely. Look for some complimentary training courses that might make you appear more of an attractive proposition to employer. Courses like surveillance, surveillance detection, fire-fighting or learning another language will greatly assist you in your search for employment.

7. You are not networking
You must put yourself about, let everyone know who you are and what you do, never miss an opportunity to hand out a business card. The more potential employers that know you, that know you are ready to work, the better.

8. You are too narrow-minded
It is rare that close protection officers are always working. Think about adding a string to your bow, such a surveillance or event security. You might scoff at the idea of doing these menial security tasks but they always afford a good opportunity to network. Try to think outside the box, who could you write to let them know that you are available for work? Who hasn’t seen a copy of your CV yet? Write direct to individuals such as industry leaders, the rich and famous or their managers. They can only say no or they might ignore you altogether, but what if they say yes!

9. There is no work
Close protection is a popular occupation and sometimes there just isn’t enough work to go around. Even the very best close protection officers can go without working sometimes. We all like too rest a bit between jobs but do not get used to big gaps between them. Be proactive and whenever possible start looking for new contracts before the last one finishes.

10. You’ve given Up
Plenty of people give up this career before they even start, close protection can be a difficult business to get into, especially in the early days of a new career. One thing is certain, those that are tenacious and determined to succeed are the ones that do. If this is the career you want, do not give up.

Presidential Bodyguard

When the race for the White House finally ended the speeches given by both President-elect Barrack Obama and Senator McCain were very similar, they were both complimentary of each other and acknowledged that there was a lot of work to be done to get America back on track. As a close protection officer looking on I couldn’t help but notice the security differences between the two speeches. The most obvious Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech from behind a 3 inch thick screen of bullet-proof glass.
The President of the most powerful country in the world has many enemies. Many of those are more professional than even the most well organised white supremacists who are just another group that would like him dead joining the queue to do it.
It has been reported that the Secret Service have already investigated more than 500 death threats against the President-elect since his campaign started. Two neo-Nazi skinheads were arrested a few days before the election for conspiring to assassinate Mister Obama. We were treated to images of them holding automatic weapons and sporting swastika tattoos courtesy of ubiquitous YouTube. The president of the United States has many enemies
I imagine that once the President-elect is sworn-in January 2009 he will be protected by more bodyguards than any one individual has been, ever. Hundreds of close protection officers will advance every move and accompany him.
Barrack Obama seems pretty laid back and I’m concerned he said that is protected by some of the best in the business and was quoted as saying “It’s not something that I’m spending time thinking about day to day. I think anybody who decides to run for president recognises that there are some risks involved.”

I am sure the presidents bodyguards are pretty well paid and they probably going to get a lot of overtime, but would you want the job?