Icon – Behind the Bodyguard Business holds a spotlight where we feature someone in the Executive Protection, Security or Investigation industry. Our hope is to provide some insight into our profession and also show newcomers & the media that people from all walks of life and all parts of the globe do this type of work with honor and pride. No it’s not like the movies, but it can be rewarding, thrilling, and yes, sometimes fun.
Agent Name: Bill Peeler
Company Name: The Peeler Group, Inc. DBA Peeler Group International
Website: www.peelergroup.com
Home city: Albany, New York
What is your background Protection industry?
I got my start while working as a Deputy Sheriff, I was asked to spend some time working with our Superior Court to provide Personal Protection for our Justices while on and off the bench. In addition to this, then V.P. Bush, lived in our jurisdiction so my duties both in the public and private sector allowed me assignments to perimeter post in support of the Secret Service mission, which of course I found very intriguing. Not uncommon then and now, I found as a police officer that I needed to subsidize my income through moonlighting in security, this brought me to my very first client which was a wealthy family from the New England area. I provided travel security for the family and managed security to twenty plus events/cities each summer for the family business. After leaving law enforcement I worked for a fortune company in investigations, assessments, training and protection for VIP’s and special events. Since my start I find that the core of my clients are from corporate or government backgrounds, although I have worked with Principles from fashion, sports and entertainment industries. Aside from protection and investigation operations, over the years I have provided presentations regarding Risk Assessment, Emergency Preparedness, Mitigation and Recovery to federal government agencies and the private sector.
You also run a training course, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Sure, since the early to mid 90s I have been providing state required certification to security guards through the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, and since its creation, the Enhanced Security Program offered by the New York State Office of Homeland Security. In addition to this we offer both law enforcement and security firearms training, as well as NRA firearm programs to the general public. As an introduction to Executive Protection, for those individuals with interest in entering the field, we offer a one day introductory class to EP. This allows us to not only offer a glimpse of the field to those interested, but it also allows us to view perspective employees for our more lengthy in-house program. A number of times throughout the year I work with a vocational school in providing instruction and certification to high school students who wish to enter the security or law enforcement fields. We will soon be expanding on our courses offered and the states we will be serving.
Can you share a bit of one of your best experiences in the industry so far?
Wow, where to begin? During the rebuilding of Iraq I worked as a team leader for the protection of an organization traveling within the country. I had the very distinguished honor of being asked to speak to about a hundred Iraqi Chiefs of Police as a result of my training to the Iraqi police officers and Ministry of Defense Protection teams. These memories, for me, are the ones that you know are historic, working with the “Internal Affairs” Chief in Iraq on day one of its existence, the division was so new the sign was hand-written on the door at headquarters. But truthfully, the best experience is watching the individuals who have worked for me make a mark on their own. I find it very rewarding to have a young person come to work for me and watch them move on to more responsibilities with our organization or others. The one person that has given me my most proud experience is my son. He came to work for our uniformed security division when he was 18, he then entered the US Air Force where he was assigned to protect ranking officers while in Iraq and later POTUS missions. I had an opportunity to have him come back to work a Detail with me in the Midwest, where I assigned him to drive a 60 Minutes TV crew, one of the crew members complimented him in his professionalism, to which he simply replied, my dad would not have me be any other way”.
If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?
If the answer to this could one word, it would be “Entitlement”. We observe Entitlement throughout the industry from the agent who is working with a client and who allows it to become more about him or herself, to the instructors who have forgotten how to humble themselves and spend far too much time building their own ego while tearing others down. You can have the “A” type personality without the rest. Agents need to do the “job” and forget the rest, and instructors need to build people for our future and not themselves by short stopping others.
To someone coming up after you in the industry, what advice would you give?
Take the time to learn the trade. Truly study the fundamentals of our business before setting out to tackle the world, and then train! To fall back on what I have been taught, hard work and diligence will be recognized and rewarded after time… You need to have the “can do attitude”. Align yourself with individuals who are positive thinkers and who are going to support you in reaching your goals. In this business common sense can be your best friend, the problem is it is not that common. Learn about the world around you, as an EP agent you are expected to know anything and everything at times. The manner in which you conduct your personal life will be shown in the way you are able to perform in your job. If I am picking you up at the airport and you do not know if you are at departures or arrivals, or terminal A or B, how will you get to the next job, more importantly how will you know where you need to get your client, as I said, know the world around you. Finally, stay away from the many pitfalls you will encounter, i.e. Substance use, women, men, and of course the offer to undercut employers. Above all else enjoy, what you do and be the best you can be at what you do.
Personal Protection Specialist Bill Peeler can be reached at (518) 853-8837 Or Email: info@peeler-group.com