question: Are bodyguards really expected to take a bullet for their client?
comment: Sort of but not quite. The job description of a body guard is to protect their client. This may include putting yourself into a dangerous position where you might get killed although it is preferable if nobody gets killed. Nobody would ever expect that a bodyguard is required to get himself shot if the client is shot at. But that is something which might happen while he is trying to protect his client instead of running away.
passages: Section::::In fiction.:Comics and graphic novels.
  
  The "Human Target" is an American comic book and television series about a bodyguard who also works as a private detective who impersonates his principal to draw his would be murderer's attention. The 2015 graphic novel trilogy "" features a team of suffragette bodyguards inspired by the real-life close-protection team who protected the leaders of the radical women's suffrage movement from arrest and assault.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- List of notable bodyguards
  
  BULLET::::- List of protective service agencies
  
  BULLET::::- Private investigator
  
  BULLET::::- Private military company
  
  BULLET::::- Secret Service
  
  BULLET::::- Security detail
   Bodyguards are also depicted in television shows, comics, and other media. "Bodyguard" is a Japanese television series starring Reiko Takashima. In the UK, "Bodyguards" was a late 1990s British television series about a specialized Close Protection Group that protected members of the UK government. More recently, "Bodyguard" follows the story of a war veteran suffering from PTSD who becomes a specialist protection officer in the Metropolitan Police Service, and assigned to protect an ambitious Cabinet minister.
   BULLET::::- Sean Pertwee — Ian Worrell
  
  BULLET::::- Louise Lombard — Liz Shaw
  
  BULLET::::- John Shrapnel — Commander Alan MacIntyre
  
  BULLET::::- Pip Torrens — Robert Ferguson
  
  BULLET::::- Geoffrey Beevers — DAC James Henty
  
  BULLET::::- Robert Horwell — DC Fitton
  
  Section::::Critical reception.
   Bodyguards often have backgrounds in the armed forces, police or security services, although this is not required. The exception to this is in the case of bodyguards protecting heads of state; in some countries, these bodyguards must be trained in military bodyguard training programs. Military experience in foot patrol and convoy escort through urban areas in conflict or war as in Afghanistan, Iraq, West Bank, Northern Ireland, Beirut and Basque country is considered highly dangerous, and difficult to match with any reasonable training time.
   Bodyguards often have training in firearms tactics, unarmed combat, tactical driving, and first aid. In multi-agent units (like those protecting a head of state) one or more bodyguards may have training in specific tasks, such as providing a protective escort, crowd screening and control, or searching for explosives or electronic surveillance devices ("bugs"). Bodyguards also learn how to work with other security personnel to conduct threat or risk assessment and analyze potential security weaknesses.
   Section::::In fiction.:Films and television.
  
  Bodyguards are also depicted in a number of films and television programs. In an episode of "" entitled “Mirror, Mirror”, Captain Kirk and his landing party are exchanged with their counterparts from a savage parallel universe. Aboard the Imperial "Enterprise", junior officers conspire to assassinate senior officers as a means of advancing in rank. Therefore, the Imperial Kirk is shadowed by a number of (presumably very well paid) security officers loyal only to him. He refers to these men as his “personal guard”.
   Bodyguards must be physically fit, with good eyesight and hearing, and they need to have a presentable appearance, especially for close protection work for dignitaries and heads of state. A driver's license is usually required, so that the bodyguard can double as a driver. In the United Kingdom and some other countries, bodyguards have to have a license or certification with the SIA, which involves identity and criminal record checks. To be a bodyguard in an agency protecting a head of state, a bodyguard will have to undergo extensive background and loyalty checks.
   In addition to these weapons, a bodyguard team may also have more specialist weapons to aid them in maintaining the safety of their principal, such as sniper rifles and anti-materiel rifles (for anti-sniper protection) or shotguns.
  
  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."
   Most important public figures, such as heads of state, heads of government, and governors are protected by several bodyguards or by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or police forces (e.g., in the U.S., the United States Secret Service or the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service). 
   BULLET::::- Vlad's description of the inaction of Mellar's bodyguards as a "strange action" is a reference to a similar observation by Sherlock Holmes in the 1892 short story "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
   In most countries where the head of state is also their military leader, the leader's bodyguards have traditionally been royal guards, republican guards and other elite military units. Less-important public figures, or those with lower risk profiles, may be accompanied by a single bodyguard who doubles as a driver. 
  
  A number of high-profile celebrities and CEOs also use bodyguards. In some countries or regions (e.g., in Latin America), wealthy people may have a bodyguard when they travel. In some cases, the security personnel use an armoured vehicle, which protects them and the VIP.
  
  Section::::Roles.
  
  Section::::Roles.:Popular misconceptions.
   Section::::Job requirements.:Close protection training.
  
  Bodyguards often have training in firearms tactics, unarmed combat, tactical driving, and first aid. In multi-agent units (like those protecting a head of state) one or more bodyguards may have training in specific tasks, such as providing a protective escort, crowd screening and control, or searching for explosives or electronic surveillance devices ("bugs"). Bodyguards also learn how to work with other security personnel to conduct threat or risk assessment and analyze potential security weaknesses.
   The role of bodyguards is often misunderstood by the public, because the typical layperson's only exposure to body-guarding is usually in highly dramatized action film depictions of the profession, such as the 2018 British TV series Bodyguard, in which bodyguards are depicted in firefights with attackers. In contrast to the exciting lifestyle depicted on the film screen, the role of a real-life bodyguard is much more mundane, it 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.
   Bodyguards that protect high-risk principals may wear body armor such as kevlar or ceramic vests. The bodyguards may also have other ballistic shields, such as kevlar-reinforced briefcases or clipboards which, while appearing innocuous, can be used to protect the principal. The principal may also wear body armor in high-risk situations.
  
  Section::::Roles.:Weapons and weapon tactics.:Counter-sniper weapons and tactics.
   If the client is moving about in a fairly controlled environment such as a private golf course, which has limited entrances and exits, the security detail may drop down to one or two bodyguards, with the other bodyguards monitoring the entrances to the facility, the cars, and remaining in contact with the bodyguards escorting the client. Throughout the day, as the client goes about their activities, the number of bodyguards escorting the client will increase or decrease according to the level of risk.
  
  Section::::Daily tasks.:Return to secure location.
   Joseph Mugonda, an African black man, is Imran's personal bodyguard. He is tall, well-built and an ex-heavyweight boxing champion. He prefers to dress in a military uniform with holsters on each side, carrying two identical loaded revolvers. 
   Section::::Job requirements.
  
  Bodyguards often work long shifts in order to provide 24-hour protection, and shifts often include evenings, weekends, and holidays. Since bodyguards follow their clients throughout their daily activities, the work locations may range from indoor office meetings or social events to outdoor rallies or concerts. Bodyguards often have to travel by car, motorcycle, train, and airplane to escort their client. In some cases, international travel is required, which means that a bodyguard must have appropriate travel documentation.
   One of the earliest forms of defense against assassins was employing bodyguards. Bodyguards act as a shield for the potential target, keeping lookout for potential attackers (sometimes in advance, for example on a parade route), and putting themselves in harm's way—both by simple presence, showing that physical force is available to protect the target, and by shielding the target during any attack. To neutralize an attacker, bodyguards are typically armed as much as legal and practical concerns permit.
   For a close protection officer, the primary tactic against sniper attacks is defensive: avoid exposing the principal to the risk of being fired upon. This means that the principal should ideally be within an armored vehicle or a secure structure. As well, when the principal moves between a vehicle and a building, the principal must be moved quickly to minimize the time window in which a sniper could take a shot and use a flanking escort of close protection officers to block the view of the sniper and any potential shot that the sniper may take. The use of offensive tactics against snipers will occur very rarely in a bodyguard context, because it is very difficult for bodyguards to attempt to locate and fire back at a distant, concealed, or camouflaged sniper, even if the security detail has a carbine rifle or scoped sniper rifle in the trunk of the car.
   The brave and fiercely protective bodyguard who is willing to die to protect his master has long been depicted in fiction. The character of the Scottish hero Quentin Durward appears in stories as the bodyguard of the King of France. The character Charles d'Artagnan appears in stories as the bodyguard of the French Crown. The character Atticus Kodiak is a professional bodyguard who acts as narrator and protagonist in a series of novels by Greg Rucka. Bodyguards also appear in "Usagi Yojimbo", Stan Sakai's anthropomorphic-rabbit samurai based upon Miyamoto Musashi and in the "Artemis Fowl series" of children's books.
   The role of a bodyguard depends on several factors. First, it depends on the role of a given bodyguard in a close protection team. A bodyguard can be a driver-bodyguard, a close-protection officer (who escorts the client), or part of an ancillary unit that provides support such as IED detection, electronic "bug" detection, counter-sniper monitoring, pre-searching facilities, and background-checking people who will have contact with the client. Second, the role of a bodyguard depends on the level of risk that the client faces. A bodyguard protecting a client at high risk of assassination will be focusing on very different roles (e.g., checking cars for IED devices, bombs, watching for potential shooters, etc.) than a bodyguard escorting a celebrity who is being stalked by aggressive tabloid photographers (e.g., the role will be to ask the photographers to maintain their distance and block the path of aggressive cameramen). Some bodyguards specialize in the close quarter protection of children of VIPs, to protect them from kidnapping or assassination.
   Section::::Daily tasks.
  
  A bodyguard team protecting a high-profile politician who is at risk of attack would be based around escorting the client from a secure residence (e.g., an embassy) to the different meetings and other activities they have to attend during the day (whether professional or social), and then to escort the client back to their residence.
  
  Section::::Daily tasks.:Planning and assigning responsibilities.
   BULLET::::- "Bodyguard" ("Pugad Baboy"), a story arc of the Philippine comic strip "Pugad Baboy"
  
  Section::::Weapons.
  
  BULLET::::- Smith & Wesson Bodyguard, a family of small revolvers manufactured by Smith & Wesson
  
  BULLET::::- Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380, a compact semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Smith & Wesson
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Bodyguard Kiba (disambiguation)
  
  BULLET::::- "Kaavalan" (literal English translation: "The Bodyguard"), a 2011 Tamil-language remake of the 2010 Malayalam film
  
  BULLET::::- "Yojimbo" (film) (literal English translation: "The Bodyguard"), a 1961 Japanese film by Akira Kurosawa
  
  BULLET::::- "The Hitman's Bodyguard" (2017 film) action-comedy film starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson
   BULLET::::- James Wallace Beaton – Former Royalty Protection Group officer
  
  BULLET::::- Barry Mannakee – Former Royalty Protection Group officer
  
  BULLET::::- Walter H. Thompson (1890–1978) – bodyguard of Winston Churchill (1921–1945)
  
  Section::::Former police and security agencies.:United States.
  
  BULLET::::- Clint Hill – former bodyguard for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy during the Kennedy assassination in Dallas, 1963.
  
  BULLET::::- Timothy J. McCarthy – former bodyguard for Ronald Reagan
  
  Section::::Civilians.
  
  Section::::Civilians.:Ireland.
  
  BULLET::::- Fran Cosgrave – former bodyguard for Westlife
  
  Section::::Civilians.:United States.
  
  BULLET::::- Chris Boykin – bodyguard on the TV show "Rob and Big"
  
  BULLET::::- Michael Clarke Duncan – actor
  
  BULLET::::- Mr. T – actor
   Over the day, the client will be exposed to a range of risk levels, ranging from higher risk (meeting and greeting members of the public at an outdoor rally) to low risk (dining at an exclusive, gated country club with high security).
  