The Ability To Physically Protect Your Principal
I put a post up on LinkedIn regarding 3rd party protection training in relation to the Sir David Amess Murder and MPs probably getting SIA qualified security personnel to protect them.
The post looked at combat training for the security industry in relation to the three different levels of licence.
Security Guard (SC) No combat training on the course and no physical intervention.
Door Staff (DS) No combat training on the course but Physical Intervention is covered.
Close Protection (CP) No combat training on the course - Physical Intervention being brought in.
My question to everyone who is employed to protect the lives of people under possible threat of attack is this:
If you've never trained in any form of combat (Call it whatever you want) system and don't regularly train in a system, how do you think you are going to stop an attack on your Principal without any discernible skill set in this field?
And please no bullshit type answers such as, "We are trained to never get into this situation in the first place" "Nothing's happened yet so why do I have to train?" "If you have to use your weapon or combat skills then you have failed".
If that's your thinking then you are lying not only to yourself but also to your Principal as 100% security is what we aim for but is impossible to achieve.
I see this mindset a lot within the general population, wait until you have been attacked before you decide to start training in protecting yourself! Door - Horse - Bolted springs to mind.
The point of this blog post is two fold:
Firstly to point out the points above.
And secondly to answer a related question I hear a lot from British bodyguards regarding our American counterparts close protection training videos and marketing material.
The question - "Why do U.S CP training courses always revolve around the use of firearms"
Firstly what the answer isn't - Firearms don't sell courses better, firearms don't make the job look sexier, firearms are the only tool in the box.
The post looked at combat training for the security industry in relation to the three different levels of licence.
Security Guard (SC) No combat training on the course and no physical intervention.
Door Staff (DS) No combat training on the course but Physical Intervention is covered.
Close Protection (CP) No combat training on the course - Physical Intervention being brought in.
My question to everyone who is employed to protect the lives of people under possible threat of attack is this:
If you've never trained in any form of combat (Call it whatever you want) system and don't regularly train in a system, how do you think you are going to stop an attack on your Principal without any discernible skill set in this field?
And please no bullshit type answers such as, "We are trained to never get into this situation in the first place" "Nothing's happened yet so why do I have to train?" "If you have to use your weapon or combat skills then you have failed".
If that's your thinking then you are lying not only to yourself but also to your Principal as 100% security is what we aim for but is impossible to achieve.
I see this mindset a lot within the general population, wait until you have been attacked before you decide to start training in protecting yourself! Door - Horse - Bolted springs to mind.
The point of this blog post is two fold:
Firstly to point out the points above.
And secondly to answer a related question I hear a lot from British bodyguards regarding our American counterparts close protection training videos and marketing material.
The question - "Why do U.S CP training courses always revolve around the use of firearms"
Firstly what the answer isn't - Firearms don't sell courses better, firearms don't make the job look sexier, firearms are the only tool in the box.
The answer is so simple as to be easily missed - Combat, as one of your close protection skill sets is the least used. I have only used what I know on two occasions in the last twenty nine years.
The reason you don't need to practice the rest of your skill sets is that you are using them every day, walking formations, embus & debus drills, driving drills, advance duties, venue and location recce, route planning, ops room management, vehicle management etc. This is the reason why these skills stay sharp.
Combat skills are degradable and this is the reason why they should be trained on the most, because they are going to be used the least. Don't kid yourself, you are not going to miraculously turn on skills and follow procedures which you have never trained in.
Look at the Threat Level:
Nuisance person - Conflict Management
Verbal Assault - Conflict Management
Missile Thrown
Hostile / Friendly Crowd
Unarmed Physical Attack
Armed Physical Attack - Edged & Blunt Trauma Weapons
Close Range Gun attack 0-5ft
Medium Range Gun Attack 5-15ft
Long Range Gun Attack 15ft - Sniper
Bomb or Grenade Attack
Vehicle Ambush
Are you prepared?
Let me ask you one last question. Another skill set that is going to be used the least but is massively trained on to a very good standard by all CPOs is first aid. But when did you last treat a major bleed on the job, when did you last treat a knife wound, gun shot or blast injury on the job, when did you last get your injured Principal out of a vehicle after an RTA, when did you last give your Principal oxygen or put in a cannula on the job???
My guess is you haven't unless you are working in a hostile environment, or like me with my combat skills, once or twice at the very most but you still train on it.
I run VIPA Close Protection Combat Systems Courses every month. The next one is January 22nd 2022, why not come along and either start to train in a new skill set or test what you already know. Go to the course dates page to book your place. Maximum of 20 people per course.
I look forward to your comments here and other social media sites.
Stay Dangerous
Rock
Combat skills are degradable and this is the reason why they should be trained on the most, because they are going to be used the least. Don't kid yourself, you are not going to miraculously turn on skills and follow procedures which you have never trained in.
Look at the Threat Level:
Nuisance person - Conflict Management
Verbal Assault - Conflict Management
Missile Thrown
Hostile / Friendly Crowd
Unarmed Physical Attack
Armed Physical Attack - Edged & Blunt Trauma Weapons
Close Range Gun attack 0-5ft
Medium Range Gun Attack 5-15ft
Long Range Gun Attack 15ft - Sniper
Bomb or Grenade Attack
Vehicle Ambush
Are you prepared?
Let me ask you one last question. Another skill set that is going to be used the least but is massively trained on to a very good standard by all CPOs is first aid. But when did you last treat a major bleed on the job, when did you last treat a knife wound, gun shot or blast injury on the job, when did you last get your injured Principal out of a vehicle after an RTA, when did you last give your Principal oxygen or put in a cannula on the job???
My guess is you haven't unless you are working in a hostile environment, or like me with my combat skills, once or twice at the very most but you still train on it.
I run VIPA Close Protection Combat Systems Courses every month. The next one is January 22nd 2022, why not come along and either start to train in a new skill set or test what you already know. Go to the course dates page to book your place. Maximum of 20 people per course.
I look forward to your comments here and other social media sites.
Stay Dangerous
Rock
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