The Modern Samurai
The Modern Samurai
A few hundred years ago in the western world there were those who chose
to
serve in the protection of their employers and they were called
“Musketeers”.
In the Far East, they were known as “Samurai”. No matter what they were
called,
all knew the definition of their profession and their duties: to keep
their
patrons safe and secure wherever they went.
Many romantic stories and legends were told about these unique
individuals and
in most of these stories they were described as the bravest of
warriors, heroes
or supermen. This profession created an aura around those who chose to
specialize in and live by the rules of the field. It is one of the
oldest
professions in the world.
This sector gave society a few norms of behavior that gained high
respect and
honor from its communities.
In the 21st century, those who deal with the protection of their
employers are
called Bodyguards, Close Protection Operatives, and VIP/Executive
Protection
Specialists. More recently, they have been called PSD Operators and
Personal
Security Details/Detachments because of their deployment in Iraq or
Afghanistan
which have become known as the most dangerous areas for VIPs (not
necessarily
heads of state). These specially trained and highly skilled personnel
are hired
to protect individuals or assets of organizations that operate in
High-Risk
environments like Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and South America.
The massive changes that globalization has brought to all areas of life
has
also created grave concerns for both personal safety and the protection
of
investments located in critical areas around the globe.
Security therefore, has taken the forefront in international,
governmental and
corporate strategies. A significant lack of sufficiently secure and
safe
conditions prevents and even jeopardizes economic developments, and
nowadays
even sports events carry the label “Mission Impossible”.
The need for qualified Protection Operatives capable of providing
services
related to the protection of assets (sensitive installations) and VIPs
such as
experts, engineers, journalists, UN employees and even cargo ship’s
crews has
increased tremendously.
The Protection specialists who were sent to do these special jobs were
sent by
organizations that saw the need for such Protection specialists as a
force
multiplier for the protection of their assets in hostile environments.
Governments send them for their convenience and cost effectiveness. But
we
don't want to officially acknowledge our desperate need for them. They
fight
alongside and in most cases even protect military personnel in these
hostile
zones.
So why do we not support them, respect their efforts, their great
contribution
to our society by providing a service to our countries that no one else
will
take responsibility to do? Instead of supporting them we call them
“Soldiers of
Fortune or Mercenaries” and any other name that we can think of without
stopping to realize that they did not create or start the conflict.
Instead,
they are only there to help. Our elected officials are the people who
started
the conflict.
Do we dislike them now because they are paid for their services,
perform
everyday in environments that we only see in our worst nightmares, by
showing
us how cowardly we really are by not helping our own countries, or
because we
do not want to cope with very real knowledge that they get the job done
even
when the military can't?
We place them in a category that will calm our own fears without
realizing that
they have helped with that calming effect, yet they still have
nightmares and
fears well after they return from the violent abyss that we sent them
to.
This analysis was carried out by Mirza David,
Founder and CEO of the
International Security Academy - Israel, which operates practical
training centers
for improving and enhancing the mental and physical functions of
Protection
Management and Personnel worldwide.
www.SecurityAcademy.com
This article
is posted with the permission of the publisher.
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