| Bodyguard | |
| Official Names: | Close protection officer, executive protection agent, personal protection specialist |
| Type: | Government employment or private employment |
| Activity Sector: | Law enforcement, Government, Military, Security |
| Related Occupation: | Security guard, law enforcement officer, anti-terrorism specialist, intelligence officer |
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public officials, wealthy businesspeople, and celebrities, from harm. The personnel team that protects a VIP is often referred to as the VIP's security detail.
Most important public figures, such as heads of state, heads of government, and governors are protected by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or police forces. Less-important public figures, or those with lower risk profiles, may be accompanied by a single bodyguard who doubles as a driver.
Unlike depictions in popular culture, such as the 2018 British television series Bodyguard (2018), bodyguards are rarely involved in dramatic firefights.[1] Instead, a bodyguard's work consists mainly of planning routes, pre-searching rooms and buildings where the client will be visiting, researching the background of people that will have contact with the client, searching vehicles, and attentively escorting the client on their day-to-day activities.[2] In the event of an emergency, a bodyguard's priority will always be to evacuate their client, not engage with threats.
Osama bin Laden's personal security detail consisted of "bodyguards...personally selected by him." Their "arsenal included SAM-7 and Stinger missiles, AK-47s, RPGs, and PK machine guns."[3]