HE’S Australia’s answer to Kevin Costner. Pictures of him with his arms around Julia Gillard, protecting her from angry protesters, have made news around the world, and this morning breakfast shows played him the ultimate compliment and played Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You over the footage.
TV hosts were comparing his chiseled good looks to those of Heath Ledger and speculated that Hollywood casting agents would soon be calling.
http://liarcatchers.com/executive_protection.html
So who is he?
The Australian Federal Police haven’t revealed the bodyguard’s name but what they will say is that his actions yesterday were by the book
“Threat” is not the word the Prime Minister’s close personal protection detail often hears over their earpieces but that single word is enough to trigger the protocol that results in her immediate removal from danger.
Security sources revealed there are no colourful codewords used when the prime minister comes under attack. It’s not Hollywood.
“Our saying is to run and hide not to stand and fight,” they said.
“If there is a weapon, you would use ‘threat gun or threat knife’ and usually the direction it’s coming from; ‘threat front, threat rear’.
“That’s the signal to grab her, see what and where the threat is coming from. Our job is to bundle them up and get them to safety.”
All it took was the word “threat” for the PM’s security to spring into action. There are no Hollywood codewords.
The extraordinary scenes of the Prime Minister being dragged towards her car with the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, racing behind her were part of a well-honed procedure that kicks in whenever a potential physical danger is present. The CPP officers are literally trained to take a bullet for their boss.
Those who protect the Prime Minister and other VIPs are highly trained and motivated AFP officers.
The elite bodyguards are thoroughly vetted, very committed and physically fit.
They train for months so they can react in a heartbeat to any hazardous situation their boss might be exposed to. They are always armed and tuned into a discreet radio frequency with earpieces plugged in.
The ferocity of yesterday’s protest outside The Lobby restaurant in Canberra took everyone by surprise.
The premises would have been “reconned” prior to the visit and the guest list vetted.
The proximity of the Aboriginal tent embassy would have featured on the threat assessment but the risk would have been graded as “low”.
For the four or five armed CPP officers on duty with Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott yesterday, the decision to evacuate them would have been taken on the run – literally.
As they sheltered their charges from the mob and herded them into the Prime Minister’s armoured Holden Commodore, their priority would have been protecting the VIPs from injury and embarrassment.
The Commodore is fitted with armour plating and bulletproof glass, run-flat tyres and a very powerful engine to drive the two-tonne vehicle at high speed.
Neither Ms Gillard nor Mr Abbott, who never travel in the same vehicle, would have had any input into what happened as the protest gathered momentum.
The job of a CPP officer is unique and places them in a position of phenomenal trust.
Kevin Costner made bodyguards sexy – and now so has the AFP’s mystery hunk.
During the APEC meeting in Sydney in 2007 then prime minister John Howard was in a room with US president George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin and one other person – an armed AFP officer.
The job also involves a lot of travel, a degree of prestige and more money than the average police officer, although Commissioner Tony Negus is trying to reduce their allowances as part of a cost cutting drive.
Incidents of security threats involving prime ministers are rare in Australian politics.
John Howard – who was in New York during the 9/11 attacks and in London when bombers struck in 2007 – wore body armour at a gun rally in Victoria in 1996 and was egged by angry protesters.
Malcolm Fraser was pelted with tomatoes, Bob Hawke was covered in beer and Paul Keating even had his suit ruffled once or twice – but that is about as serious as it gets for Australian leaders.
Unlike America, where four presidents have been assassinated and a number of others have faced attempts on their lives, Australia has never lost a prime minister in an attack.
Billy Hughes was the first leader to be attacked. The Federal Police was formed to protect the national leader after Mr Hughes was egged during a visit to Queensland.
