Mercenary Mum: My Journey from Young Mother to Baghdad Bodyguard by Neryl Joyce

Author:Neryl Joyce [Joyce, Neryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd
Published: 2014-09-24T04:00:00+00:00

At one o’clock we drove over to the commissioners’ workplace. Stu and I walked into the building, with an extra suit of body armour for Number Three. As we strode through the corridors, office workers began to chatter to each other and look at us. They knew something was going on. We knocked on Number Three’s door and told her it was time to leave.

In an effort to be warm and welcoming, Stu attempted to shake hands with her. Immediately, Number Three shrieked and hid behind me. In Islam, touching a member of the opposite sex to whom you are not related is prohibited. I was surprised that this had not been part of the briefing. Stu apologised profusely and handed me the body armour before quickly leaving the room.

I explained to Number Three that I had some body armour, which would protect her while she was out in the Red Zone. I asked if she’d put it on. I might as well have asked her to dance for me. It didn’t matter how much I told her about the risk, she was adamant that she was not going to wear it. I radioed through to Stu to tell him what was going on. He came in and also tried to persuade Number Three to wear the body armour, but again she refused.

As security personnel, we have a duty of care to encourage the client in the strongest possible terms to wear the protection for their own safety. If a client refuses, there isn’t much to be done about it: they are the ones paying the bills. I warned Number Three that her level of protection would be lower than if she wore the armour. I don’t know if it interfered too much with the placement of her head scarf, or if she just felt too embarrassed to wear it public when other Iraqis had no protection? Either way, she would not be swayed.

Stu and I escorted Number Three down to the waiting vehicle. Stu said I’d have to share the back seat with her, thanks to there being ‘two bodyguards’. This wasn’t normal, and went against everything I knew to be the best way to keep our client safe. Smokey would sit in the front, ready to react if ‘something happened’.

I was still unclear on what my role was supposed to be in that situation. If the shit hit the fan, my first reaction would be to cover Number Three. There was no way I would just hide and wait for Smokey to take over. I talked it over with Stu and he understood. As far as he was concerned, Smokey was just along for the ride.

At the university, we got out of the vehicle and I started to escort Number Three to the Red Room. Usually a bodyguard will walk slightly behind the client, remaining as unobtrusive as possible. Number Three didn’t want me walking behind her; she wanted me right next to her. That was fine with me: it meant I could provide far better protection for her.

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