Robert Pena is not fat, he doesn’t eat lots of donuts and his last job was as a soldier protecting a general in the war in Iraq. Pena is now training to be a security guard and the bright, upright, young man is the antithesis of what many of us think about when we see a so called “rent-a-cop.”

“I come from a long line of men who worked as security guards protecting people and possessions. I believe that the kind of image you put forth is very important and if you do your job right you can change the image people have of security guards, or not.”

Ken Lewis is a trainer with National Protective Services. He says security guards deserve respect.

“They are really there as a deterrent. Many business people hire a guard to be a presence. But many are well trained and also come from military backgrounds. If they need to shoot, they can."

His company also trains bodyguards which are used more in San Antonio than one might think.

“For example, Tony Parker and Eva Longoria are headed for a Spurs game. Any one of those guys you see around them is probably a body guard.” He says they are camouflaged so they're hard to spot, that being the idea.

“ If they then go out to dinner, we’ll be sitting nearby. If someone approaches them, we just gently sidle up and say “Mr. Parker is busy.”

He says thanks to crime, the need for security guards will remain. He says most positions pay only about $10.00 an hour but that the jobs are plentiful.