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10/31/2001 – Updated 10:51 AM ET

Security at any price

By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY

In unnerving times, when the only certainty is uncertainty, Janet Wise, an even-tempered 58-year-old grandmother from Houston, has decided she would feel better being armed and dangerous.

So for the past few Sundays, she has ventured out to American Shooting Centers in George Bush Park to try out a sleek SigSaur 9mm pistol. Her two sons have joined her there in pursuit of a license to carry a concealed weapon. But what shocks Wise is that her husband, Harold, a sharpshooter who was injured in Vietnam “and has wanted nothing to do with guns ever since,” is thinking of heading to the range.

“I know having a gun wouldn’t change what happened on Sept. 11,” she says. “But I want to feel that if something catastrophic happens right here in Houston, I can protect myself and my family.”

The Wise clan hardly is alone in being proactive about its fears.

The threat ? both perceived and real ? to personal security has reached uncharted heights as our historically insulated home front is now the battleground for the new war on terrorism.

Americans everywhere are stocking up on everything from anthrax-neutralizing Cipro to Israeli-issue gas masks, from cold steel to personal bodyguards ? anything that will help them regain some measure of confidence.

Few individuals are willing to detail their new defense strategy. Most echo the same concern: We don’t want to increase our chances of being targeted. But a look at various security-related industries paints a picture of how the nation is rushing to fortify its urban and suburban landscapes.

Gun sales are on the rise, particularly to first-time gun owners. Home alarm companies are hearing from both new customers as well as established clients who want more protection. Self-defense schools that have oriented themselves toward anti-terrorism techniques are booked solid.

The charter aviation industry is having a tough time keeping up with the demand for planes and pilots. And security companies whose employees guard the rich and famous find that the $200,000 that once went to a Ferrari could instead go toward the services of an elite-level security chief.

It seems that any business promising safety can’t answer its phones fast enough. But many experts detect a hint of hysteria in the air and urge the nation to remain calm.

“There’s a lot of overreaction out there,” says Jerry Glazebrook, former bodyguard for Henry Kissinger and Salman Rushdie and now in charge of U.S. operations for Hong Kong-based security experts Hill & Associates.

“Don’t feed off rumors. Use your God-given intellect to deduce what’s practical and what’s probable.”

After church and a family dinner, rifle and pistol shooters descend on American Shooting Centers in Houston. A typical Sunday crowd is 600; that number recently has exceeded 800.

“We’re absolutely packing them in. New sales, new guns, new people,” says range manager James Burchfield.

Hunting season is here, and usually the range is dominated by rifle owners checking the accuracy of their sights. But Burchfield has had to order more handguns (average price: $500) since the range shop sold 30 in the past month ? more than in the past six combined.

Same scene up at Schrank’s Smoke ‘N Gun in Waukegan, Ill., where handgun sales are up 50%.

“They may hope to never use it, but I think people see it as an insurance policy,” says owner Dave Schrank.

Particularly in three parts of the country: A recent survey of 200 gun retailers by the National Shooting Sports Foundation found that the largest sales boosts since the terrorist attacks ? 25% ? were recorded in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C.

But firearms aren’t for everyone. A more typical response to Sept. 11 includes improving home security and learning self-defense.

In business since 1951, Pacific Alarm Systems in Culver City, Calif., relies on word of mouth for its advertising. But since Sept. 11, installations have jumped 18%.

“Used to be that people would ask questions about our services but then slacked off because of the cost. Not now,” says customer service manager Bob Harris.

“We’re an event-driven business,” says Laura Stepanek, editor of the trade journal Security Distributing & Marketing. She says an Internet survey of her industry reveals a 28% jump in new security alarm projects since Sept. 11.

“People know a home alarm can’t protect against suicide bombers,” she says. “But they’re still drawn to do whatever they can with what’s out there.”

That attitude is what finds mothers, businessmen and airline pilots gathered on Thursday nights for a counterterrorism class ($60 for 3 hours) at The 911 Store in Hollywood, Fla. Students learn to defend against a knife attack (block the attacker’s raised arm just above the elbow), stay clear of a shooting sky marshal (don’t pop your head up until the marshal sounds the all clear) and take position for a live grenade (on your back, heels to the explosive, arms over your vital organs).

“I say the war is in our backyard, not in Afghanistan,” says store owner Walter Philbrick.

Christine Reinking, a Miami Beach bartender, took Philbrick’s course to “heighten my senses.” Suspicious and no-nonsense by nature, now she is thinking beyond protecting herself.

“I’d like to get a job with the Immigration and Naturalization Service,” Reinking says. “I want to track these (terrorists) down. I want to do my part.”

JFK to LAX: 20 grand

Money might not buy you love, but it can bring peace of mind. Or so say those catering to the nervous elite.

“We’re having trouble getting enough pilots and aircraft to meet demand,” says Drew Cheshire of the charter aircraft consulting firm Aviation Research Group/U.S. Inc. “Some of it is fear of flying; some of it is the time flying now takes.”

Cheshire does offers one ominous insight: “Right now, with a credit card, you’re on” a charter flight.

He says the Federal Aviation Administration may soon toughen such easy access to the air.

But convenience is the very reason the rich are opting for private planes, says Nigel England, director of operations at Presidential Aviation in Fort Lauderdale.

“You have absolute control over who gets on that aircraft,” he says. “We don’t subject you or your bags to humiliating checks.”

While chartering less lavish aircraft for short distances can rival commercial prices, the price of airborne exclusivity can be high: about $20,000 for a coast-to-coast flight aboard Presidential’s eight-seat Lear 55; double that for a 14-seat Gulfstream III.

“You can’t justify the cost on a numbers basis,” he says. “It’s about convenience and security.”

Cost also isn’t a factor if you’re calling Ron Kimball, president of Texas Armoring Corp. in San Antonio. Better known for taking a Chevrolet Suburban and making it bomb- and AK-47-proof for a cool $65,000 (you provide the SUV), Kimball recently has fielded calls from people interested in armoring their homes.

“We’ve had a lot of people ask about building a family safe room where people can gather in case of an emergency,” he says. Figure about $15,000 for a modest, windowless room; about triple for windows.

“The cars aren’t as big now,” he says. “But on the home-armor topic, we’re getting a dozen calls a day, up from none.”

Personal James Bonds

Trained in surveillance, self-defense and weapons, a personal guardian is increasingly de rigueur for the business and entertainment elite.

“In our industry, typically a company’s security chief calls on behalf of the CEO, whereas now the CEO will call with pointed questions and requests,” says Kenn Kurtz, managing director of corporate affairs at the Steele Foundation, a global security agency based in San Francisco.

In New York, calls have been pouring in from existing personal service clients of the Pavillion Agency, concerned about being targets, says co-owner Clifford Greenhouse. “We’ve been advising them about perhaps implementing anti-terrorism plans,” he says.

Greenhouse says hiring one of his best ? agents with experience in the U.S. or Israeli special forces ? runs $150,000 a year and up.

Not surprisingly, the bodyguard business is booming. Steve Bigelow, a former state crime prevention director in North Carolina, has doubled the size of his next security agent training seminar to 800.

“This is a growth industry,” says Bigelow, whose Aspen, Colo.-based Executive Security International offers a 600-hour course for $6,500. Entry-level security personnel make $50,000, he says.

Having a personal James Bond looking over your shoulder would be nice. But there is a troublesome wrinkle to the current threat.

“All our plans are based on the perpetrator being interested in living through his mission,” says Jon McDowall, investigation director at Per Mar Security Services in Davenport, Iowa, which has 15 offices around the Midwest.

“But,” he says, “as long as the perp is willing to give up his life, well, we’re really up against it.”

All of which, security experts say, moves the discussion away from what the trappings of security can do for the individual. Bigelow says that the most responsible thing citizens can do is view the nation as one giant community watch project.

“I’m afraid this is a war that’s going to last forever,” he says. “So we need to start taking responsibility for the safety of our family, our neighborhood and our country. Look out for each other. That, I think, is what’s called patriotism.”