Why Bodyguard?
“Hey, Hucky,” people ask, “why do you still use the term bodyguard?” Some visitors to the website have been giving me a bit of a hard time about the fact that I still use the word bodyguard, but there is a method to my madness! Let me explain.
The majority of the public does not know the up-to-date terminology for what we do. I know, the preferred job title is EPS (Executive Protection Specialist) or CPO (Close Protection Operative). The fact is, most people who are NOT in the business know the term “bodyguard” and that is what they will type in when they want to go online to find out more information. Google search engines recognize the word and this recognition means my website is ranked higher and thereby gets more traffic. More traffic means more job listings, more stories, more information and in general, more connectivity for all of us in this business.
For example, did you know that people in the film industry who work as crew (gaffers, lighting people, best boy, grips, production assistants) are said to work “below-the-line”? That’s an insider’s term for those positions. You can see how someone who isn’t an insider, who is trying to locate a film production assistant, let’s say, would search by “production assistant” rather than “below-the-line talent.”
Shakespeare said “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” and I’d like to state. “An EPS by any other name would still save your life.” It’s just a word. I know it’s archaic and brings to mind knuckle-headed over-sized lunks in black suits and sunglasses, but sadly, the rest of the world just hasn’t caught on to the new terminology. Until they do, I will continue to use it in my stories and articles, interchanging it as often as possible with the preferred nomenclature. With any luck at all, the word “bodyguard” will go the way of the dinosaur.
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President of Bodyguards Careers Harlan Austin has acquired over 25 years of field experience as an Executive Protection Specialist, seven years of which he served as Director of Security Services for Paisley Park Productions.
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March 5th, 2011 at 9:56 am
As you say Hucky – for the most part it’s just a word and people shouldn’t get bent out of shape over it.
From my background “Bodyguard” (BG) is used to identify the CPO that provides one-on-one protection for the principal, members of other security details associated with the task/contract (“P.E.S. – Personal Escort Section, S.A.P. – Security Advance Party, C.A.T. – Counter Attack Team, R.S.T. – Residential Security Team) consist of CPOs, where some teams (e.g. RST) are sometimes augmented by less experienced/qualified security personnel.
The BG often has all the training the other CPOs have and has often got all of their experience as he has often “come up through the ranks”.
Of course there are always exceptions in the civilian marketplace and levels of training/experience/ability can vary a great deal.