The "Identity Crisis" in Executive Protection Training

Since leaving the federal government nearly five years ago to work in the private sector, I’ve chosen to seek out and attend training at some of the best publicly available EP schools in the United States.? Most of my experiences have been very good, because I researched the training before attending.? During my career journey however, I have also attended some of the worst training I have ever seen, and that’s saying something.? What I’ve discovered is that because most training in the U.S. is unregulated, there are many snake oil salesmen advertising this “Master Class” or that “Hard Skills” course to a largely unknowing market that can’t differentiate between quality and social media trickery.? To be very honest, most information sold on the subject is available Free if you know where to look.?

In one terrible course I attended which wasted several hundreds of dollars of my training budget and nearly 8 hours of my life I can’t get back, I was sitting in a theater watching what I can only describe as an “in person infomercial.” “But wait, there’s more.”? At this event, there was no real training, no shared inside institutional knowledge or even any transferable skills offered. It was basically a bunch of hyped-up social media fanboys selling their brands.? You’d have to pay hundreds more to play Cowboys and Indians with the presenters later and the sign-up sheets were readily available to be in their club.? But like the so-called training that is provided by these social media wannabe’s (much of which is incorrect), it relies on smoke and mirrors and an unknowing and uneducated audience. ?The cartoon character “experts” that ply their trade usually get it wrong because they don’t understand the basic principles, they are teaching, and are simply repeating what they’ve heard or seen elsewhere. Unfortunately, I stayed at the training I mentioned earlier because I kept waiting for the shoe to drop and it never did.? ?Hard lesson learned, the skinny jeans and schmedium black shirts should have been a dead giveaway I was wasting my time and money.? ??

The other issue with training in the US, besides the social media heroes, is the EP Training v. Combat Training problem.? It is a real problem and there is clearly a difference between the two, but sexy sells and it attracts aspiring protectors like moths to a flame.? There are hundreds of schools across America that teach quasi combat theater QRF and small team tactics and “sell” their programs as Executive Protection training. It isn’t EP training, but if you’re a fresh-faced veteran with available GI Bill benefits or a trust fund basement dweller, these trainers will quickly separate you from your money for training and skills you won’t ever use and clearly don’t need.? Now arguably, it’s always a good idea to know how to handle a weapon and even use it under stress, but shooting your extended mag Staccato from moving vehicles isn’t something you will do while protecting anyone in America.? ?True executive protection training isn’t combat theater training and requires a lot of boring skills that proactively prevent dangerous interactions rather than reacting to them.? ?It’s hard work on the front end to prevent tragedies on the back end and if you aren’t convinced, just watch any EP train wreck video on LinkedIn that has more than three comments. Executive Protection excellence requires a solid foundational educational base with extensive real world work experience and a continued desire to fine tune your Skillset.? ????

The EP training issue eventually boils down to standards. ?Many are working towards the goal of an industry standard now (and this article isn’t an advertisement), but between that time and now, dollars and “sense” are being thrown out to industry vampires trying to cash in before it’s too late.? You’re going to see several course offerings and books being sold on EP in the coming months because the clock is ticking. It’s not surprising that many in the training sector and other EP organizations don’t support the creation of standards because it will eventually impact their business model of promoting the steady distribution of horse manure.? These same groups will also be the first to denigrate any standard when it is completed because it won’t benefit them financially and it identifies the deficiencies in their own products.? ?

If you’re genuinely interested in taking a training course online or in person, please take five minutes and Google the name of the course instructors or providers.? Don’t believe the hype and flashy advertising.? It’s always good to know exactly who is offering their “expert” advice and taking your hard-earned money.? Also understand that generally when people in this industry refer to themselves as “experts,” they usually aren’t.? As a former instructor and retired supervisory Special Agent, I don’t know a single peer that uses the word “expert” in anything they do, even though most have forgotten more about protection than these so-called experts will ever know. ?For those that would like to expand their career knowledge for FREE, you can use the following resource BEPP - Executive Security Resource Library - ? If you don’t want to use this resource for free, just wait a few days and the same information will be “borrowed” and sold as a Master Class by someone.

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