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What does an armed guard do?

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read
What does an armed guard do
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Armed guard responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real armed guard resumes:

  • Check for safety violations such as proper PPE and H2S monitors.
  • Certify cpr and a first aid, enforce rest area rules, conduct incident reports and crime.
  • Allow customers and deliveries in and out of Menards' yard.
  • Receive, inventory, and issuing of ammunition to bases and unit throughout the country.
  • Provide foot patrols, and CCTV monitoring of medical facilities, as well as lock up and access control.
  • Verify that everyone has the required PPE, such as hard hat, safety glasses, and steel toe boots.
  • Operate various scanning systems and monitor systems to include LRAS, dragon vision, back scatters, CCTV and gyro cams.
  • Check Menards customers merchandise when exiting the yard for unpaid items and also to see that they get the correct items.
  • Patrol various locations contract in a mark security vehicle.
  • Driver-Perform operator/crew maintenance on the ammunition resupply vehicle and trailer.
  • Conduct roving patrol of assign sector whether interior or exterior of perimeter.
  • Maintain a standard of punctuality and dependability of attendance and retain myself cleanliness, tidiness, neatness and appropriately attire.
  • Driver-Perform operator/crew maintenance on the ammunition resupply vehicle and trailer.

Armed guard skills and personality traits

We calculated that 22% of Armed Guards are proficient in Patrol, Medical Emergencies, and National Security. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Good judgment, and Observation skills.

We break down the percentage of Armed Guards that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patrol, 22%

    Conduct roving patrol of assigned sector whether interior or exterior of perimeter.

  • Medical Emergencies, 11%

    Report and respond to all incidents, accidents or medical emergencies by appropriately and professionally adheres to all post order manuals.

  • National Security, 8%

    Performed duties as a custodian safeguarding highly classified material involving national security.

  • Emergency Situations, 7%

    Provided force protection, detected and investigated crimes, arrested and apprehending violators and assisted base citizens in emergency situations.

  • Law Enforcement, 7%

    Worked productively with the city law enforcement agencies and maintained the standard operating procedure.

  • Traffic Control, 7%

    Will provide access control, traffic control and conduct walking and motorized armed security functions.

Common skills that an armed guard uses to do their job include "patrol," "medical emergencies," and "national security." You can find details on the most important armed guard responsibilities below.

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an armed guard to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "security guards and surveillance officers must communicate effectively with others, even in stressful situations." Armed guards often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintain effective communication with state and federal law enforcement. "

Observation skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of armed guards is observation skills. This skill is critical to many everyday armed guard duties, as "security guards and surveillance officers must be alert and aware of their surroundings, and be able to quickly recognize anything out of the ordinary." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "keep hourly observation data, and patrol premises. "

Most common armed guard skills

The three companies that hire the most armed guards are:

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Compare different armed guards

Armed guard vs. Petty officer

A petty officer is a non-commissioned navy officer who is responsible for supervising the day-to-day activities of junior sailors and making sure that they have a productive day. Petty officers with more experience are expected to provide training in basic skills to their junior petty officers. Once a petty officer is reprimanded, first-class petty officers may conduct discipline by ordering those reprimanded to do extra military instruction or extra work within the division. Petty officers are also required to meet all the requirements for surface warfare qualification.

We looked at the average armed guard salary and compared it with the wages of a petty officer. Generally speaking, petty officers are paid $3,853 lower than armed guards per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between armed guards and petty officers are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like law enforcement, cpr, and physical security.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, armed guard responsibilities require skills like "patrol," "medical emergencies," "cash management," and "national security." Meanwhile a typical petty officer has skills in areas such as "preventative maintenance," "logistics," "sailors," and "coast guard." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

On average, petty officers reach similar levels of education than armed guards. Petty officers are 3.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Armed guard vs. Security

A Security's main responsibility is to keep people or an establishment safe. This responsibility is carried out by constantly patrolling a designated area and monitoring the activity within the premises. Most of the tasks involved are inspecting buildings and equipment, monitoring entry and exit points, reporting irregularities, responding to customers in distress, and other surveillance activities. The security is basically an establishment's first line of defense, this is why one must have good communication skills, keen observation and judgment, and as well as presence of mind.

On average, securities earn a $11,353 lower salary than armed guards a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Armed guards and securities both require similar skills like "patrol," "medical emergencies," and "emergency situations" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that armed guard responsibilities requires skills like "cash management," "national security," "law enforcement," and "security services." But a security might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "ladders," "good judgment," "customer service," and "stars."

Securities may earn a lower salary than armed guards, but securities earn the most pay in the start-up industry with an average salary of $31,007. On the other hand, armed guards receive higher pay in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,152.In general, securities achieve similar levels of education than armed guards. They're 0.3% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Armed guard vs. Officer

An officer is responsible for managing the daily operations of the assigned area, ensuring its peace and security by monitoring and reporting unusual and suspicious activities. Officers are the ones enforcing strict safety protocols and procedures to maintain the order within the premises. They also coordinate with law enforcement agencies in conducting appropriate investigations for any violating cases. An officer must be highly-knowledgeable of the law policies, as well as possessing excellent leadership skills to manage the members under the officer's patrol.

On average, officers earn higher salaries than armed guards, with a $9,317 difference per year.By looking over several armed guards and officers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patrol," "medical emergencies," and "emergency situations." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from armed guard resumes include skills like "cash management," "national security," "law enforcement," and "security services," whereas an officer is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "public safety," "powerpoint," and "law enforcement agencies. "

When it comes to education, officers tend to earn higher degree levels compared to armed guards. In fact, they're 9.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Armed guard vs. Bouncer

Bouncers average a lower salary than the annual salary of armed guards. The difference is about $7,408 per year.While both armed guards and bouncers complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like security services, property damage, and safety procedures, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "patrol," "medical emergencies," "cash management," and "national security" are skills that commonly show up on armed guard resumes. On the other hand, bouncers use skills like front door, ids, bartenders, and local law enforcement on their resumes.bouncers reach similar levels of education compared to armed guards, in general. The difference is that they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of armed guard

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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