Minimum Standard to attend a Close Protection Course

With the profession of a "Bodyguard" being thrust in to the public domain with the new BBC drama attracting millions of viewers each week, I thought I would pen a few thoughts that I have on the quality, or lack thereof, of those being attracted to the myriad of CP training courses being offered the length and breadth of the UK and overseas today.

Having been actively and continuously involved operationally and as an instructor for the past 14 years in the Close Protection sector since I completed 18 years military service in 2004, I have seen both the best and the worst the industry has to offer in both disciplines. Literally from the superb, to the abysmal! It can often appear that many of the hiring companies and training providers are actively competing in what has become a "race to the bottom" in terms of standards across the board; Standards in recruiting; standards in terms & conditions offered; standards of instruction (often the bare minimum at best to just about "achieve" the learning outcomes to qualify the candidate to apply for a frontline SIA badge); and now, the "standard" of the type of person who are attracted to attend these courses in the first place.

I set up and ran the Perseus Risk Management academy for five years, from 2011-15. It took me my final two of my seven years in Iraq to design and write the course content and set up the academy to be ready to go in September 2011. I decided to write the course after tiring of witnessing, hearing of and/or reviewing many failures in Close Protection, resulting in loss of life and/or expensive equipment. I wanted to train service leavers for the environment and role they would be undertaking, which meant going above and beyond that of the basic standard Level 3 Close Protection course. This was clearly needed after absorbing the findings of the many After-Action-Reviews (AAR) I was involved with as a member of the senior management team on what was the largest security contract in Iraq. Notice I said I wanted to train "service leavers" as it is only those with a solid operational background who I strongly feel should even contemplate a career as a Hostile Environment CPO, for reasons that are obvious.

The risks and situations a CPO has to be prepared for in more permissive environments in the role of an Executive CPO, does differ from those faced in places like Mogadishu, Baghdad, Tripoli or Kabul. I would also like to put on the record that some of the best and most professional CPO's I have worked with in the UK, are civilians with no prior military or police backgrounds, but have the right personal qualities and aptitude to be a successful CPO.

What I noticed from the findings of the AAR's was that many of the deaths could have potentially been avoided if those HECPOs involved had been given relevant, fit-for-purpose training prior to deployment. I wrote a customised Hostile Environment CP Course aimed at delivering the necessary awareness and basic skills that were/are, I strongly believed, essential for the success of any Hostile Environment CP mission in Iraq or equivalent environments at that time. It certainly wasn’t just a ‘bombs n bullets’ course. As those of us who are experienced in working in these very complex environments fully comprehend, it takes a wide range of skills and knowledge to be successful in the role of a HECPO such as; being culturally aware; understanding hearts and minds of the local populous; driving very heavy, armoured SUV's; being Client focussed when it comes to image, accountability and their mission; the difficulties experienced at checkpoints and how to safely and effectively communicate and negotiate with the incumbent security forces. In short, going above and beyond your perceived ‘job-spec’.

The course I wrote and designed was awarded a Level 4 qualification by an awarding body and ran over the final two of five weeks after the candidates had completed the Level 3 (SIA) CP phase. Is five weeks long enough? The honest answer, in my opinion, is that the whole course would have benefited more if it was eight weeks long, but being in the real world of commercial training, I and my team had no choice but to compromise with some of the less 'essential' skills, simply because candidates could not afford eight weeks on a residential course, both financially and time-wise, which is perfectly understandable. My aim was to give the attendees the basic, but essential skills required of them to deploy with an experienced team to then further enhance upon and improve their skills and experience, which many have done and achieved great success on both the executive and hostile Circuit. A CP apprenticeship, if you will, which all career CPOs undertake, learning the ropes from more experienced colleagues on the Circuit to improve upon our basic skills, as we strived to get ourselves established.

One pattern that the AARs showed me, was that 35% (second only to IEDs and IDF) of all deaths on both the project I was on and others in Iraq, were caused by RTIs in armoured SUVs, showing that the drivers in many cases, did not have the necessary skills to properly drive and handle what is essentially a top-heavy 4x4 that had a habit of rolling over uncontrollably if they sustained a puncture at speed! The tragic thing is, it only took some basic relevant training and minor (but critical) adjustments to achieve this. Very few HECPOs were killed or injured by small arms fire attacks alone, so the priority of the training I designed and delivered had to replicate and be appropriate to the main threat to life and limb being experienced in theatre. Of course, these patterns were identified on the contract I was on in Iraq and the training wing continuously updated and amended the induction and continuation training accordingly in theatre, which acted to reduce the number of incidents significantly (thankfully). But this was only on that contract, with the majority of newly trained CPOs being deployed with other Private Security Companies who had no capability (or interest in some cases) in delivering adequate HECP or relevant induction training once the 'newbies' arrived on the job. Standards were spoken about at various 'high-brow' meetings of private security company executives in London (I was invited to one or two), but very little was done to improve the situation in reality. It was wrongly (and negligently) 'presumed' that the newly hired CPO’s' previous military experience was all that was required to operate in what is a very complex environment as a HECPO.

So, from what I have written above, I'm sure you can get an insight into my mindset when it comes to properly preparing HECPOs prior to deploying in theatre and also the type and content of the training delivered at the Perseus academy over the five years it ran for. PS: I only stopped running the courses when the price of oil dropped to below $40 a barrel causing the loss of thousands of HECPO jobs in Iraq. I was proud to have found 93% of all service leaver graduates from the Perseus academy jobs after completing the course and attending the interviews we arranged for them. With the sudden and vast drop in opportunities, I felt morally and ethically, that I could no longer take money from fellow service leavers when I couldn’t help them in to "meaningful" work afterwards.

This brings me on to my original headline. A few months ago, I and my team were approached to deliver CP training on behalf of another organisation. We agreed after being given assurances that the recruits would be screened to our recommendations, to ensure the minimum standards (being robustly fit, for one) to attend the CP course were fully understood by the applicants, awarding body and the organisation themselves who would be conducting the recruitment process. Being deployed in Libya at the time, I arrived after the other qualification outcomes had been delivered, ready to begin the Level 3 CP training phase of the course. As soon as I walked in the classroom for the first time, I knew instantly that little (if any) consideration had been given to the minimum standard screening recommendations. From obese, extremely unfit 19-year olds who struggled to walk up a couple of flights of stairs to those who openly admitted they only attended as it was being funded, I knew instantly that the majority of those sat before me were, in essence, untrainable and unemployable as CPOs.

We are all very experienced trainers and fully understand the process and practice of making 'reasonable adjustments' to training as is required, but it very soon became apparent that a few of those present, simply did not possess the minimum standards or personal qualities required to have any chance of being a CPO and no amount of reasonable adjustments could change the inevitable outcome. Those graduates of the Perseus academy will know that those who did not come up to standard or did not possess the essential personal qualities to become a CPO were removed from the course after being given guidance and the chance to improve.

I often see graduation course photographs of various CP Training providers “proudly” posted on LinkedIn and hear stories from fellow professionals indicating the low quality of course attendees in many cases. By recruiting candidates who clearly are not suitable to even be trained effectively as CPOs, never mind perform in the role, some training providers/recruiters are; failing them; failing other candidates on the course; failing the professional CPOs on the "Circuit" and ultimately (and most worryingly); failing the Principal(s) to be protected. How many of you reading this have experience of working alongside or being 'protected' by those with a perfectly legal front-line CP badge who are clearly not up to the job in any way, shape or form? Quite a few I would venture and stand by for many more on the back of the BBC drama currently on show, with hungry training providers willing to accept the money to train them.

What is the solution? There are many areas of the Level 3 CP course and industry that needs enhancement. Defensive driving for one! I also firmly believe that the learning outcomes of the basic Level 3 CP course must include an explosive fitness program during which the candidate is assessed throughout the course, with an initial fitness standard to be achieved prior to arrival on the course. The program should take in to account how a CPO will be required to react when they or their Principal comes under attack. Whether that be in Knightsbridge or Kabul, the requirements are the same; defend life and remove the Principal from the threat immediately. If your Principal is incapacitated through injury, or paralysed with shock, then you MUST be robustly fit and strong enough to be able to physically pick them up and get them to safety at speed. The worst-case scenario must be presumed and practiced for. All CPOs should undertake a strict and regulated Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program to include an annual refresher of the basic skills required, law and legislation updates and also should include evidence that they are physically fit enough to do the job by undertaking a specific to role fitness assessment, much as we had to do as Soldiers. Attend an advanced driving course; advanced medical course; surveillance, etc. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail as the saying goes! Only in the role of a CPO, when you fail, you may well fail spectacularly, resulting in the serious injury or loss of life of those under your control and protection.