{"id":2212,"date":"2020-09-23T22:10:13","date_gmt":"2020-09-23T21:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/?page_id=2212"},"modified":"2021-02-15T17:43:07","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T17:43:07","slug":"operative-military-background","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/close-protection\/operative-military-background\/","title":{"rendered":"Should close protection operatives have a military background?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many people presume that you need to come from a military background to become a bodyguard \/ close protection<\/a> operative. In reality, it depends on which sector of close protection an individual wants to work in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hostile Environment Close Protection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If the close protection assignment is within a hostile environment such as Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria, then the answer is clearly yes. Close protection operatives deployed in hostile regions in a PSD (Personal Security Detail) role, should have a military background with extensive relevant training and hostile military deployment experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many private security companies or PMCs (Private Military Companies) that supply operatives to hostile environments will insist on a minimum of four years of military service and a number of hostile tours of duty behind them before they will even consider interviewing a candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as there are always exceptions, civilians should not be completely ruled out of hostile environment assignments. There will always be a few non-military personnel that have proven firearms competence gained on civilian courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, any reputable company will insist on pre-deployment training (PDT) of all operatives. During PDT, operatives are trained and assessed on their competence with firearms and suitability for working within a hostile environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Executive and Celebrity Close Protection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For non-hostile countries and assignments such as executive protection (EP) and celebrity protection, a military background is not essential, but often helps as competition for jobs is strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, many ex-military operatives believe they are suitable to be a close protection operative in any environment. This is most certainly not the case. Many skills that are required within a non-armed executive or celebrity protection assignment are not gained in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very few military regiments train for and undertake close protection duties. Military close protection is very different from civilian close protection. So, simply being ex-military is not enough to make a candidate suitable for the private close protection industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It boils down to a bodyguard’s attitude, appearance, reliability, trustworthiness, drive, determination and the training that they receive. Training must be with a reputable company, and an operative should continue their training throughout their career with continuing professional development (CPD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potential operatives must also have key attributes such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • self-confidence;<\/li>
  • attention to detail;<\/li>
  • flexible approach;<\/li>
  • ability to communicate at all levels;<\/li>
  • strong observational skills;<\/li>
  • being highly responsible;<\/li>
  • and organisational skills. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    If an operative has all of these personal attributes along with training by a proven and reputable training provider, they will stand a much stronger chance of a long and successful career as a close protection operative.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Many people presume that you need to come from a military background to become a bodyguard \/ close protection operative. In reality, it depends on which sector of close protection an individual wants to work in. Hostile Environment Close Protection If the close protection assignment is within a hostile environment such as Iraq, Afghanistan, or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2278,"parent":1502,"menu_order":120,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/no_sidebar.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Do close protection operatives need a military background?","_seopress_titles_desc":"An ex-military close protection expert explains why some close protection operatives need a military background and other bodyguards do not.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2212","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/soldier-camouflaged-face.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/soldier-camouflaged-face.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2212\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westminstersecurity.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}