Are you in need of short-term or long-term personal protection/executive protection services? Do you prefer protectors who are refined and can blend into any environment — from a shopping excursion to a black tie event? Our elite, highly trained, carefully selected executive protection team has you covered. We tailor each protective detail to your threat level and your needs. We provide high profile, low profile, and covert protection.
Executive Protection
Unlike many companies, we don’t have bodyguards; we conduct only executive protection — which some people refer to as personal protection, or close protection. If all you desire is the physical presence of “big guys”, we are not the right fit for your needs, and we recommend finding a cheaper (and invariably lesser quality) company.
Blue Glacier’s elite executive protection team understands security and risks inside out and we focus on the things that actually keep you safe. Our attention to detail is unmatched, bolstered by the some of the special training and experience some team members gained while in the government.
Blue Glacier’s executive protection team can help with:
News media crews -- local and national media entities
Corporate executives
Corporate executives visiting the Washington, D.C. area
Public officials
Entertainers and celebrities visiting the Washington, D.C. area
High net worth and ultra high net worth families
Workplace violence threats, including hostile terminations
Special events (weddings and other family events, corporate events, etc.)
Witness protection
Foreign dignitaries
Concert tours
High net worth and ultra high net worth clients
Often, high net worth (HNW) and ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals and families have special requirements for their safety and security. In addition to the risks that everyone faces daily, HNWs and UHNWs are sometimes targeted by various types of criminals. For example, cyber criminals might pose as high or even a higher risk than physical attacks. A successful cyber attack can result in reputation risk to you and your family. Often, we can mitigate these risks.
If you have any type of security concern, you can trust Blue Glacier to protect you and your family. We take an “all-hazards” approach to security; we don’t focus on just “bad guys with guns”. And we provide protection while we serve as your facilitator as you go about your business day or personal time. We save you time, and time is money.
Our Executive Protection Agents
You don’t want to hire people responsible for your safety and security if they know little to nothing about the intricacies of providing personal protection. Unfortunately this occurs frequently in the executive protection industry, as there are currently no standards for executive protection agents. However, our executive protection team is one of the best in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and the nation. We accept less than three percent of the candidates who apply to become a Blue Glacier executive protection agent, as very few candidates meet our very strict requirements and qualifications.
Unlike most security companies, we don’t accept candidates just because they have law enforcement or military experience. Only graduates of the best government and private sector executive protection schools progress past our initial screening. Additionally, our agents undergo personality and cognitive tests, a rarity in the executive protection industry. We also conduct our own in-house training for our agents, which complements the intensive training they received to even qualify for our screening. All this means that you can trust us to protect your safety, security, and brand.
Executive Protection FAQs
Think of "brawn" vs "brain" for the difference between the two.
Basically, a bodyguard's job is mostly show and intimidation. These are the guys (they're almost always men) you usually see in sitcoms, movies, and often with celebrities. The emphasis is on the size of the protector, which is why most of these men are very "big". Bodyguards are popular with many VIPs -- especially celebrities -- because Hollywood (sitcoms, movies, paparazzi pictures and videos of celebrities) has conditioned the general public to think size is important to provide protection to clients. Usually bodyguards' size is their main -- if not only -- attribute, and they usually have little to no formal training from a reputable executive protection school. In fact, they are sometimes the friends and acquaintances of their protectees, selected because of their familiarity with said protectee, despite their complete lack of protection training (sometimes they are referred to as "buddyguards" in the industry). They also rely primarily on deterrence -- their size -- to protect the client.
Executive protection (EP) agents perform the U.S. Secret Service type of protection. A vast majority of an EP agent's work occurs prior to any incident. Well trained EP agents are very proactive in their protective operations, which should be intelligence-driven. This means that when time allows, a considerable amount of effort is spent on assessing threats, vulnerabilities, and risks to the client and protective team. Bodyguards seldom prepare in this manner. EP agents are also trained to recognize and mitigate against reputation risks to the client. Often, bodyguards themselves pose a reputation (and also financial) risk to their clients due to illegally and unnecessarily confronting and attacking members of the public (e.g., fans, paparazzi, innocent bystanders). The marked difference in the level of professionalism between bodyguards and EP agents is why the latter are often reluctant to refer to themselves as "bodyguards".
Blue Glacier doesn't provide bodyguards. We provide executive protection agents.
In its simplest terms:
A high-profile protection detail is what everyone is familiar with. Anyone can recognize a high-profile detail by the number of obvious bodyguards or executive protection agents and their obviously protective body language. Bodyguards are almost always high profile.
A low-profile detail is more challenging to identify. More discreet than high-profile protection, low profile operations are usually recognized by only trained executive protection personnel. The idea is to blend in with the protectee and the environment. Our agents might look like assistants, guests, or friends of the protectee, or even random passersby. Yet, our ability to provide protection is not hampered. Low-profile protection involves considerable training, planning, and ingenuity, and generally is more difficult to conduct than high-profile operations. In some situations we might recommend low-profile protection. And some clients prefer low-profile protection for various reasons.
In covert protection, even well-trained executive protection agents can't identify the people protecting the VIP. There are several reasons why a client might choose this option.
Blue Glacier performs all three types of protection. The type of protection is based on the threat and our client's preferences. We charge the same rate for all three types of protection.
Not by race and usually not by size. We don't discriminate against our agents. Additionally, size has no bearing on an agent's ability to provide protection to a client. The rare exception occurs when the protectee is unusually tall (e.g., a professional basketball player); in those extremely rare cases we will do our best to provide an agent who is taller than average.
Occasionally, a female client prefers a female agent for legitimate reasons (e.g., cultural reasons for foreign clients). In those situations we will do our best to accommodate a legitimate gender preference.
No. We reserve the right to refuse service to potential clients who would pose undue and unnecessary safety, security, regulatory, or reputation risks to themselves, our employees, or our company (e.g., reckless or self-destructive behavior). Our due diligence includes ensuring potential clients are not on U.S., other country-specific, or international sanctions/watch lists.
We require a 50% deposit of the overall executive protection fee (US dollar amount) immediately upon signing the executive protection contract. This deposit is deemed the initial payment. Within 30 days upon completion of the executive protection assignment, the balance (US dollar amount) will be due.
We also have a daily four-hour minimum charge (i.e., for a one-hour, two-hour, or three-hour executive protection detail we charge four hours -- the industry standard).
In some situations we automatically charge between four and 8 hours for advance work, depending on the client's itinerary and threat profile. We reserve the right to refuse service to potential clients who refuse to pay for advance work.
Advance work involves all the security coordination, planning, and arrangements for your visit to a specific area, event, hotel, airport, site, city, etc. and identifies areas of concern (threats and hazards). It's the most effective method to identify and eliminate potential problems. Advances are the foundation for successful and effective protective operations, and separates professional personal protection teams from their "bodyguard" counterparts.
In some cases advance work is not necessary or even possible. However, sometimes it's required for the aforementioned reasons. For advance work in our local area, four to 8 hours is all we need. Travel to other cities and countries might require longer advances.
Some security companies do not conduct advances, thereby creating risk to your safety, security, reputation, or convenience. Other companies hide the cost of this advance work, "padding" their hourly fee. Our policy is to be upfront with you on whether we need to conduct advance work prior the start of our protective coverage.
No. House Resolution 218 (HR-218), also known as the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) of 2004, exempts qualified current and former law enforcement officers from state laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed handguns. However, this exemption applies to only off-duty concealed carry. HR-218 does not supersede state laws that govern licensing for official duty or employment.
While requests for agents with LEOSA/HR-218 is common in the executive protection industry, it is an unfortunate development. Companies, clients, and agents who use LEOSA/HR-218 as their authority to carry firearms in conjunction with paid services expose themselves to significant legal (civil and criminal), regulatory, and reputation risk.
For a free executive protection consultation please call us at 202-389-6200 or complete our contact form.
Blue Glacier personnel have over 40 years of combined intelligence and security experience, in both the public and private sectors. Our personnel and company are also active members of ASIS International, the leading organization for security professionals worldwide; InfraGard, a partnership between the FBI and the private sector; the Association of International Risk Intelligence Professionals; the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, and the International CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) Association. Blue Glacier is also a constituent in the U.S. State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council, established to promote security cooperation between American private sector interests worldwide and the U.S. Department of State.
