I'm still waiting for the 2010 schedule to be posted. I suspect that it will not be made available until September or possibly later. They didn't "create" (post) the 2009 schedule until October of 2008. This is actually very good news for me... provided the classes do not start filling up before they post them online. I know already that the newly added 2009 course began being filled by word-of-mouth before they were posted.
I still have the occasional doubts as to my abilities... and even the likelihood... of being accepted & graduating from this course. On the one hand, many of the featured graduates have a military background. I cannot think of too many individuals with a more unlikely history making this sort of decision. On the other hand, I do have some experience in security & more specifically, working in an estate environment. I made it to the supervisor level during that job.
Not only did my tenure in that position expose me to the some of the operation side of executive protection, I was able to take advantage of additional training such as the first aid, AED & CPR course to gain certifications. So I have taken that training before.
Something else I'm focusing on; in their documentation, the Center makes it a point to encourage individuals who from different walks of life, those who do NOT have what would seem the "necessary" background to apply. It would appear that they truly are looking for individuals with the passion & drive for the vocation... & to someone who assumes that they can do the work. I fully believe that this describes me very accurately. This is something that I intend on mentioning in the letter that will accompany my application. Not to appear desperate, but to relay my overpowering desire to enter & succeed in this field.
My interest in this career move began as a dream. At that point, nearly a decade ago, it was more of an escape & a curiosity that anything else. I had seen a program on bodyguard training & became intrigued by the possibility. This was my first exposure to the vocation. It was during this time that I first stumbled upon the Centers web site. (I was working at Network Commerce at the time. As unfulfilling and frustrating job as there ever was…)
However, it was the beginning of my interest in the field & the opportunity. I lost that job & at that point, made a critical error. I’d received a substantial severance payment. Had I truly been focused on attending the course (which at that time was ONLY offered in Ecuador) I would have IMMEDIATELY placed that money into savings, taken a stupid security job to cover expenses & made attendance of the course my goal. As I said, I made my first mistake.
Over the next year I struggled to find employment… & ended up taking a job with a security company regardless. The dot-com crash had ruined my chances for higher paying employment. In addition to lacking the earnings to afford the course, I had managed to ruin my credit by living off of the cards. This was mistake number two. Now we begin to see the development of a pattern. Not only that “people” often make idiotic financial decisions… but that people also do not comprehend the cavernous distinction between a ‘dream’ and a GOAL. I have written about this before. A goal being separate from a dream because of the steps the individual takes to make what is in ones mind a reality. The person who sets and achieves goals is one who comprehends that they must make the effort to obtain what they desire. Simple desire is not enough.
You would not plan a trip in this fashion; endlessly contemplating what it might be like to go to a city, state or country. If you have a strong desire to go and you honestly desire to do so… then you do your research & indentify the steps necessary to bring this to fruition. Once you’ve done your homework… YOU STOP THINKING ABOUT IT & YOU GO! You take the steps to get there in a methodical fashion & then you accomplish it. Now that I think about it… some persons may “plan” a trip in such a haphazard fashion. We’ve heard about them on the news. They’re the ones who end up needing to be rescued or are never heard from again. But I digress…
During tenure in estate security, I learned many things. One important issue is that I honestly need to work on my persona. I’m often perceived as rough & unapproachable. This is not necessarily a weakness in executive protection. In fact I can see it as a significant advantage. However, in certain corporate & family circumstances it has been viewed as a flaw. Part of this is due to my having high expectations of myself… & of others. Perceptions of this type often come to me from people who are themselves threatened by my demeanor & bearing.
I also have issues with being set up to fail. Again, this goes to my expectations. I’m all too familiar with institutions, managers & employers who ask the near-impossible and expect miracles to be performed by surfs that have not been given the training, tools or support to accomplish the work. This seems to be de rigueur with companies in certain fields… including that of technology.
Something else I learned during those years was that not all executive protection professionals are equal. Also, not all those who would appear to be at the utmost levels have any business working on an EP team. The first individuals whom I encountered were excellent in the field of family relations. Though there were only two of them, I believe that they did their best to provide adequate care for the principle & his extended family. They were simply spread far too thin and were unable to provide the level of protection that was realistically required. There may have also been a lack of training standards here. I cannot speak in detail as to the level of training of these gentlemen. I CAN speak as to their relationship with the post security team. WE WERE A TEAM! On no occasion was there any issue with ego on the part of either EP officer. In that respect I considered them to be consummate professionals. There was a mutual evel of communication between the two components.
These two officers were replaced at one point and the protection responsibilities were turned over to a manager who had originally been working as a backup for events and travel. He & the cadre` that he was building we made up of re-tired law-enforcement officers. Once again, there were few if any issues with these officers. Most of them had already worked closely with the post security team & the operators were well known to each other. One single event ended their contract. Sadly, the security manager had not even been given a realistic opportunity to develop the team. Such was the nature of that environment.
Now we see the arrival of those whom I euphemistically referred to as The Pros from Dover. While rumors abounded as to the background of these individuals… how many ex-Navy Seals are there in the world?... it was assumed that all were at least ex-military & they the majority of them had recently been working as private security contractors in locations such as Iraq.
The firm for which these officers worked had allegedly conducted a threat assessment and for reasons which appeared to be purely mercenary, had convinced them that the true threat to the principle was not the local schizophrenics, embittered ex-employees or family members (which is ALWAYS the primary threat) but was rather… Al-Qaida. Sold a bill-of-goods, our intrepid clients engaged these con men in full-time employment; at an estimated cost of $50 per hour, per operative. They employed close to a dozen of these officers.
This alone wasn’t enough to dissuade yours truly from working closely with the new arrivals. On the contrary, I was actually looking forward to it as an opportunity. Then I started getting to know them. Granted, I am NOT a qualified, trained & experienced executive protection professional. However, I will venture to say that I know enough regarding professional conduct EP the responsibilities of such details to know what NOT to do.
Had I been the Team Lead, I would have used the days before the initial duty to have all operatives work on performing advance work, including, but not limited to purchasing maps & driving the various routes the principles were likely to utilize, as well as familiarizing the team with the vehicles, previous threats and most importantly, the post security detail.
None of this occurred. Instead, the Pros from Dover went to a local brew fest hosted in the Fremont district of Seattle. By that Monday, few if any of the post security officers knew who these clowns were. Things deteriorated from there. Aside from the fact that few if any of our post security officers knew the identities of the new EP team, they seemed content to remain in their secluded bungalow, just off of the estate. They only contacted us when they wanted something. We were no longer a team.
This issue became acutely obvious on one occasion when the elderly mother of the principle had an event she was to attend. This was a very common occurrence & it was actually part of the reason that the estate had security to begin with. The EP team would be responsible for inspecting, preparing & driving the vehicle. The event had been on the Outlook schedule for nearly two weeks. The morning of the event, the driver was nowhere to be found. This was less than thirty minutes before the trip was to begin.
As was my responsibility, I notified the head of corporate security. I did not notify the “Pros” because I was unaware of their whereabouts, nor did I know who the acting Team Lead was. They did not feel any necessity to notify post security of their comings & goings. We were after all, only “rent-a-cops”. An ass-chewing ensued. Not mine. I was congratulated on handling the issue correctly. (Understand that not notifying the security manager would have gotten me fired. That was the nature of that place. So, yes I was covering my own arse… but also that of my team members… and the client! It wasn't my responsibility to make sure that their Team Lead... who was likely making $100k per year was doing his job. I had my own tasks to perform.)
These idiots dropped the ball & I was later requested by the acting Team Lead (now on site!) to notify one of them rather than the security manager. Who are you again? So, we are now a “team”… because you need us? I don’t think so. Where the hell have you been for the last five years while we’ve been working here? NO we don't have any maps. No I cannot print them out off of the Internet for you. We don't have Internet access... but... YOU DO!?
So they send the brand new guy, the cherry, to drive the Mrs. To her appointment. This guy doesn’t know the vehicles, has never driven any of the routes… remember my comment about running an advance?... and has not even verified the gas, tire pressure & breaks on the vehicle that he plans to transport the mother of a multi-billionaire in. Amateurs!
Sorry, but if THAT is an indication of someone who has “made it” in the field… yours truly has got NOTHING to worry about. Blindfolded… I could do better than that blindfolded. The arrogance of those guys would have been amusing if it hadn't been so tragic. I'm certain that they were loooking at that contract as pure gravy... & yet they apparently could barely manage it. It would have been just as easy for them to do things right as wrong.
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