|
What is a Personal Protection Specialist
Don Ellis,
Former FBI Agent, and Manager of BODYGUARDS OF TEXAS, LLC
It was a warm spring day in 1965 when the 60’s radical leader Malcolm X rose to address the large crowd which had gathered. As he neared the podium, a loud shout could be heard about 50 feet from the stage. Then a fight broke out.
The revolutionary knowing the danger of appearing in public, had wisely hired a five man bodyguard detail for protection.
As the fight broke out, all five bodyguards, including the leader of the detail, ran toward the scuffle, leaving Malcolm X exposed to the crowd.
Then, three men stood up in the second row of the crowd, and began firing. Before Malcolm X hit the floor, he had been shot more than 10 times.
The three men were never caught. The fight was merely a diversion to draw the bodyguards away from Malcolm X.
His five man bodyguard detail were at best “challenged” in the area of personal protection. Trained Personal Protection Specialists (bodyguards) would not have left their principal totally exposed and unguarded.
The first and most important directive to the professional bodyguard is to insure the safety and welfare of the principal. Controlling disturbances, apprehending criminals, or any other similar activity is not the task of the professional bodyguard.
The bodyguard engages in confrontation and/or combat only as a last resort. Sun-Tzu said, “To win 100 victories in 100 battles is not the highest skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the highest skill”
The personal protection business calls for more than a fast draw, a perfect bootleg, or the ability to bench press twice your weight.
The best way to protect the client generally is to anticipate trouble and take steps to avoid it. This demands many mundane tasks such as threat assessments, identifying the best route for travel, routes of escape, location of nearest hospitals, identification of all entrances and exits, advance team work, etc.
We were taught in the FBI Academy that if we had to draw our weapon, then we had probably already made a number of mistakes. This principle is even more pertinent in the area of personal protection. With the appropriate threat assessment and planning, most, if not all confrontations can be avoided.
However, even in the face of the best planning and threat assessments available one cannot always predict human behavior. A professional bodyguard should always expect the unexpected.
One morning Mark Chapman got John Lennon’s autograph on one of Lennon’s albums. Later that day Chapman returned and killed John Lennon while Chapman was still carrying the autographed album.
Arthur Bremer followed George Wallace all over the country wearing a wide smile and appearing to be a supporter. Until one day he unloaded his revolver into Wallace.
Preparing for emergencies, establishing contacts, developing and enhancing personal skills are essential for the professional bodyguard.
Vigilance is the key to a successful personal protection detail. A spotless professional career can be destroyed in a heartbeat by a moment’s inattention.
In one of the videos taken of John Hinckley’s attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981, a Washington, D.C. police officer on the protection detail was standing only a few feet from Hinckley. The officer could clearly be seen looking at President Reagan, rather than at the crowd just before Hinckley unloaded his revolver in Reagan’s direction.
Providing protective service is not for everyone, no matter how well endowed physically they are. Important issues are temperament, attitude and ethics.
Bodyguards of Texas, has several former federal agents and present and former Texas law enforcement officers on call to offer the highest standards in the business.
All officers are required to have at least five years experience in civil or military law enforcement, a bachelor’s degree, or five years full time as a licensed personal protection officer.
BOT provides diverse protection from high profile entertainers, sports figures, concert tours, jewelry transport, executive protection, to personal security for private gatherings, private estate security and family protection. A maximum 10-hour deployment option to any location in the state is offered for emergency situations.
Recently, not only high profile individuals realize the need for special security. Security-conscious citizens are now realizing the volatile, unpredictable nature of this post 9/11 world. A world which appears to introduce new and more intense chaos with each passing day.
Our company’s mantra can be found in Proverbs 22:3, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”
BODYGUARDS OF TEXAS, LLC
(903) 597-9999
www.bodyguardsoftexas.com
|
