Washington State Guards? Need some q's answered

[leitung]

Okay,
Well after spending 4 years as an armed guard in California, I just recently moved to Washington State. Now I find myself back in the security industry again after attempting to get out of it and into truck driving.

So what really annoys me is the fact that I can't get a license without an employer's blessing. In CA I could get it without a job offer.
What also annoys me is that I can't get an armed license without an employers blessing either, worse yet I have to use an employers provided firearm to take the armed class.

So for those of you that have been armed guards in WA state what else should I know. Is it possible to carry a personally owned firearm on duty or no?

I am applying for an armored car job, will these employers help me get the licenses and provide firearms to take the test. Specifically dunbar?

If I choose to go to work with another employer, can I take my licenses with me, and do I have to re-train again on their issued gun?

Any other tips or things to know are helpful. Thanks

[Condo Guard]

With the caveat that I did armored car a long time ago, I can answer one or two questions. SecTrainer knows a lot about WA regulations, you might PM him.

If you transfer companies you don't have to take everything over. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but the license will transfer or be reissued w/ the new company's name. You may be charged a fee by the DOL or the co.

I know when I did armored you had to carry / train with the company issued weapon. I don't know about other armed positions or executive protection, but I'd guess it would be the same. Good companies will pay for your training and license when you are hired. (One armed company I worked for paid for everything; the stipulation was that if you quit before a year was up you had to pay back some of it because of the expense.)

[leitung]

With the caveat that I did armored car a long time ago, I can answer one or two questions. SecTrainer knows a lot about WA regulations, you might PM him.

If you transfer companies you don't have to take everything over. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but the license will transfer or be reissued w/ the new company's name. You may be charged a fee by the DOL or the co.

I know when I did armored you had to carry / train with the company issued weapon. I don't know about other armed positions or executive protection, but I'd guess it would be the same. Good companies will pay for your training and license when you are hired. (One armed company I worked for paid for everything; the stipulation was that if you quit before a year was up you had to pay back some of it because of the expense.)

Thanks for the input.

I would prefer to pay for my own training upfront, I guess that's something to work on with my employer. I don't like having to sign contracts turning me into a company owned slave.

I also like carrying my own gun, I am real picky about the right weapon for me. But i'll see I got an interview Wednesday.

[Lawson]

I don't like way it works in WA either. If you do not have an armed license, being in possession of a firearm at work (even if you have a CPL) is a gross misdemeanor. There is a "work-around" to the requirement of carrying an employer owned weapon. What most guards do is lease their firearm to the company for $1 and the company issues the firearm to the employee. This is a commonly accepted and perfectly legal way of carrying your own firearm as a duty weapon.

[leitung]

Good to know, that how I figured it would play out.

Now if I can find a dam armed job, that would be nice.

[Condo Guard]

Check out a company called Paragon - they were bought by Securitas, but my understanding is they are going to left alone as their own division. They do federal contracts in Seattle and possibly other cities.

I don't know if it is still allowed, but one company I worked for did allow supervisors and managers to carry their own personal sidearm, with company approval.

[macguard]

Check out a company called Paragon - they were bought by Securitas, but my understanding is they are going to left alone as their own division. They do federal contracts in Seattle and possibly other cities.

I don't know if it is still allowed, but one company I worked for did allow supervisors and managers to carry their own personal sidearm, with company approval.

I know a bunch of Paragon guards making 60k a year.....

[Lawson]

Paragon and Whitestone Group have the fed contracts in Western WA. If you're in the S. King, Pierce, Thurston Co areas, check out careers.WA.gov, I think they are still recruiting for an armed guard at Camp Murray. State job, good pay, great benefits.

Paragon is difficult to get hired on with if you lack an armed guard license, but I have heard that they recently had to let a large group of officers go since they implemented an annual mandatory PT test to get/keep your job. So they may have loosened up a bit to get those spots refilled. If you're in the King Co area, check with G4S, they are always hiring armed bank guards. Armored car is a good way to go to get that first armed card, but keep an eye on that money, keep your other eye on the people around you, and grow a third eye and keep it on the officer you work with. Too many armored car guards getting whacked by their partners for my taste

[combatcoastie]

I know nothing about WA regulations, but I can speak a little bit about Dunbar regulations. I live in Ohio, and anyone with the time and cash can take the security firearms class with their own weapon, ammunition, etc. without working as an armed officer. I worked for Dunbar very very briefly several years ago and it didn't matter to them what licensing you had when you came to them. We had a retired police officer whose commission was still active and he was forced to take the private security firearms course again. Dunbar will let you work for them unarmed. You can only drive, and are not permitted to leave the vehicle. They will then schedule a firearms course for you to attend with your own weapon, or with a company weapon. In Ohio, Dunbar still uses .357 magnum revolvers, however employees are permitted to carry their own semi-auto as long as it is double-action only with no external safety and as long as it is of an acceptable caliber. Sometimes, at least where I worked, the classes take a while to schedule and you could be working for Dunbar unarmed for 3 or 4 months. Once you've gone through the course and Dunbar gets your card, you can start carrying at work and then Dunbar will put you through their "hopper" training. I put my notice in the day they sent me to the airport to pick up a shipment of $100 million in $100 bills that were being taken out of circulation and being sent to be destroyed. My "partner" was brand new and unarmed and the POS truck they gave us broke down in a very unpleasant part of town.