of course it goes without saying that all our thoughts go to those that have fallen and their respective families, in this case it was a conscious choice and or decided calling go to such a place with such unpredicatble risks and serve and unfortunately pay the ultimate price.

Your article is a great but brief wakeup call to those people who think what we do is glamourous, of which there are certain parts that are less than of course, like the potential for giving not only our heart and souls, our precious time and energy and spirit,but sometimes also the potential to give our lives.

it is sometimes hard for people to break inot this industry for such reasons outlined in many of the articles, people who dont know you or have worked with you wont give you the chance to show them what you can do, due to the fact that there are still far too many unskilled and reckless operators out there giving us all a bad name, for various reasons – not being prepared, not doing advances properly, not being properly trained, not having the right attitude or apptitude and most importantly not bein able to be descreet about the job they are doing and for whom.

keep up the good fight!!!! stay safe!!!!

Hucky, We had a simular incident in Tennessee and Canada when I was with Michael Jackson and the Jacksons. We had to ride in armoured cars to and from the venue and do a security weep within the venue because of these type of threats. Regardless, whether working for celebrites or Diplomates this is a dangerous job.

When I interview people who want to get into this business I ask them would they take a bullet for their client when they have a family. They say yes, we get those gunhole type of indivduals who really don’t understand the risk involved. They think that it’s all glamour until something happens and they are caught with their hands down (not knowing what to do).

I was on tour in Florida with Bobby Brown and the group “Ready for The World” and an incident took place on the way back from a show. A car pulled up next to “Ready for The World’s” tour bus and begin firing shoots on the bus. Someone got shoot on the bus, but instead of the driver driving straight to the hospital he was instructed to drive back to the hotel by the security staff.

The security staff panic, plus they did not do dry runs (advance work) to locate the different safety fasilities like the hospital, the police station, the fire station who could provide medical attention in case of emergencies. Nor calculate the time it times to reach any of these fasilities in traffic or no traffic, nor did they seek out an alternate route to reach them.

But that goes with the lack of experience for men and women working in the entertainment business. My advice to the men and women who want to inter into this business learn the traded and don’t become a statisitic.

Charles

PS: There are more stories – Take care