Should You Start At The Bottom And Work Your Way Up In The CP Industry

To follow on from close protection training, should operators have to start at the lower end of operational jobs like on a RST in order to learn the trade before moving into the team out on the ground?

Depends what you mean by 'up'? Why cant someone who has never picked up a pistol but has huge experience in ops planning go straight in as 'management'? A police officer goes straight to the street on day one - no RST for them. The difference is (as is continuously mentioned!) that the police (army, air force, navy etc etc) all have formally recognised, national training so you can reasonably expect a basic level of knowledge and ability to do the job. With no regulation and no formal, national standards it is impossible to accurately gauge an operator's abilities without taking risk somewhere. Risk at RST is (arguably) less than risk on the ground.

I don't know of any job in my line of work which is lower end. The guys on the RST are as capable as the guys on the CP team. We are professionals regardless of the specific role and thats the way it should be. Lives depend on it, it's not the type of job where mistakes can be made. 

Are operators not better to learn the job as RST, so they get used to working around the teams, looking at the dynamics, working out how to liaise with clients correctly and establish their reputation to them move into one of the more high profile positions. Then move onto work as a driver so you're closer to the team, you see the op on the ground first hand then when it's time to step up again you already have some great experience to bring to the role.

Is that not why RST generally get paid less than the operators out on the ground?