Best bodyguard school?

[Jody Holeton]

Hi,

There any good bodyguard/modern combatives schools out there?

[Ron Beaubien]

Hi,

There any good bodyguard/modern combatives schools out there?

This is an easy question to answer.

The best bodyguard school in the United States, and arguably the best personal protection school in the world, would have to be the US Secret Service.

http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/index.shtml

Regards,

Ron Beaubien

[JS3]

I have to agree (having worked for them)
but if you wantto specifically learn about the personal protection side
youre going to have to apply a to the agent side...
while the uniform division does most of the security for the house and
dignataries its more a police/perimeter protection.

The actual personel protection is done by the agents.

[Jitsumania]

Here is one school outside of the Government system that subcontracts to the US Government as well as others who need their services.

http://www.bodyguardtrainingusa.com/

I would have to agree regarding the Secret Service as being the first choice due to training, resources,etc.. G.ood luck

[Brian Owens]

There any good bodyguard/modern combatives schools out there?
I've worked with members of the US Secret Service (both active and retired-gone-private), the Department of State's DSS, the US Martials Service, and a number of private BGs.

I agree that the US Goverment's schools turn out top notch operators. But if that's not an option for you, there are several things you can do.

First, get some quality general firearms training. If you're wanting to work in the USA you will probably never need to use your weapon, but having the training in case you ever do is essential. Jeff Cooper's Gunsite is one such school.

For more specialized training, you might want to investigate Executive Security International. ESI has a program directed at the private-sector BG who's just starting out.

HTH.

[Zendokan]

This is an easy question to answer.

The best bodyguard school in the United States, and arguably the best personal protection school in the world, would have to be the US Secret Service.

http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/index.shtml

Regards,

Ron Beaubien

While Mr. Beaubien is rightfully proud of his nation's elite Secret Service, large government agencies such as this operate in a completly different manner than small, private service providers who do not have the human resources available to conduct operations of the same scale. It is much more likely that a bodyguard in the commercial sector will work alon or in a very small team, without the luxury of supporting staff. No black-clad men in Wayfarers running alongside the limo out in the real world...!

Can I suggest the International Bodyguard Association at www.ibabodyguards.com (across the world) or reiterate Mr. Owens suggestion of ESI (but only if you are in the US, as it is a residential course). The IBA's drills are the best I have seen for small-team private protective details. IBA also has its own combative system, DART (Defence And Restraint Tactics), which is taught as part of the basic bodyguarding skills course.

Bryson Keenan

[Brian Owens]

...the US Martials Service...
Uh, I meant "US Marshals Service." :rolleyes:

[Brian Owens]

...if you wantto specifically learn about the personal protection side [of the Secret Service] youre going to have to apply a to the agent side...
while the uniform division does most of the security for the house and
dignataries its more a police/perimeter protection.

The actual personel protection is done by the agents.
To amplify on the above, most people automatically think of the President's detail when they think of the Secret Service, due to the publicity, movies, etc.

In reality, the protection side of the job is a relatively small part of the Secret Service. Most agents are involved in counterfeiting, financial crimes, computer crimes, and other similar law enforcement work. (The Secret Service is, incidently, part of the Department of the Treasury, not the Department of Justice.)

There are agents assigned to permanent protection details, and they are supplemented by field agents pulled from other assignments on a temporary basis, based on immediate needs and on advisories from the National Threat Assessment Center.

As Zendokan says, it's a huge operation on a scale private BGs can only dream about.

-----

Jody,

Another thought...if you're still in Iraq, talk to some of the private contractors in your area to see what they advise.

If you're stateside, talk to the top cop on your base and see what he or she suggests.

HTH.

[Brian Owens]

...It is much more likely that a bodyguard in the commercial sector will work alon or in a very small team, without the luxury of supporting staff.
No black-clad men in Wayfarers running alongside the limo out in the real world...!
Yeah.

(I wore Aviators.) :laugh:

[JS3]

To amplify on the above, most people automatically think of the President's detail when they think of the Secret Service, due to the publicity, movies, etc.

In reality, the protection side of the job is a relatively small part of the Secret Service. Most agents are involved in counterfeiting, financial crimes, computer crimes, and other similar law enforcement work. (The Secret Service is, incidently, part of the Department of the Treasury, not the Department of Justice.)



Brian is correct, incidently most of the agent in the service are there becase they wanted to work in the law enforcement side and don't realy volunteer much
for the protective details.

A small correction, in 2003 the Secret Service was transfered from the Department of the Treasury to Homeland Security.

[George Kohler]

Hi Jody,

I think you were looking for companies in the US since this is where you would come back to once you ETS. BTW, thank you for your service!

There are a lot of options when it comes to EP courses. A lot of it depends on where you want to work. Some programs are better known than others, some going two or three days rather than a week or more.

Places like Oatman (www.rloatman.com) and EPI/Kobetz (www.personalprotection.com) are very well known by corporate security types. They're definitely the ones to look at if you want to end up on details like Boeing or ExxonMobil. They're also both around on the top end scale for a short term program (5 or 7 day course).

ITG (www.itg4.com) out in California is the spin-off training arm of The Steele Foundation. They put on basic (12 day) and full (21 day) EP courses out in northern California.

OSTC (www.olivestc.com/pages_folder/index.html) is out in Memphis. It was originally TEES (Tactical Explosive Entry Team) and was put together by Alan "Kiwi" Brosnan, a former New Zealand SAS guy who worked in the US in the 80's and 90's. After Iraq War started, a British security company called Olive Group -made up primarily of former British SAS- wanted a US presence, so they bought out TEES and renamed it OSTC, Olive Security Training Center, with Alan as the director of training. They put in a lot of money into it, adding a combat town, some more ranges and a driving track that supposedly rivals the ones at BSR - Bill Scott Raceway - (www.bsr-inc.com).

There are a lot more programs, but here are a few:

Trojan Securities (www.trojansecurities.com)
USIS (www.usis.com/default.aspx)
Triple Canopy (www.triplecanopy.com)
Crucible Security (www.cruciblesecurity.com)
ITC - International Training Council (www.itccamp.com)
Blackwater (www.blackwaterlodge.com)

[shinobidude]

Being from the industry i would say Guardian. I went to a few of their courses and was really impressed. https://www.gpfsecuritycorp.com/