Certified Executive Security Specialist – Executive Protection Training: CESS Class 79 Graduation

Hi, I’m Benji Rosenfeld. I’m one of the instructors here at Pacific West Academy. I’ll be hosting your graduation over here today, class 79.

I always get a little bit nervous when I do this. To me, it tells me that I still care about the job, about the students, and about the quality of the graduation that you have here. So, I’ve written out some things about each one of you that me and my colleagues have noticed since you guys have been here. I also want to talk about our course a little bit. Obviously we have people that come with a very wide range of experience levels, everything from civilians to military. This class is a mostly military class with one or two civilians in it. And that’s what we do. We prepare people for high level careers in the security industry.

So, I’m going to kind of just get into it. I’ll let my colleagues talk a little bit more about the course. I’m going to go ahead and talk about the people that make Pacific West Academy Pacific West Academy, which are our students who take 10 weeks out of their lives to come here to up their game and to achieve a higher level of professionalism that is commonly available in the field today. So, with everything going on in the world right now, we’re going to go ahead and talk about some of our agents that we’ll be sending out into the world representing Pacific West Academy and of course themselves.

So, I’m just going to go ahead and get started with our first student. So, this student came in with a lot of physical capabilities, came in with excellent combative skills, and has showed all throughout the course. He gave his classmates lots of problems on the mats. I’m sure most of them are happy that they won’t have to spar him every morning. He also showed up and showed out on the range. Had high medical scores as well. He’s pretty much what clients are looking for in agents. Well-liked by his classmates. Definitely helped keep things light on those long hot range days, which is always especially appreciated by the instructors. We can always use that comic relief out there. It gets hot. They’re long days, lots of mistakes, safety violations perhaps on occasions, right? Which can be quite frustrating. But this student was a real pleasure to coach all the way through. Definitely a very very capable individual, but it’s really his general social intelligence that’s going to allow him to thrive in the field. Social intelligence is probably the most important attribute of any agent. You can be the best shooter, you can be the best fighter, you can even be an academically smart person, but if you don’t have the social intelligence, you’re going to have a short career. And I think the student really demonstrated high levels of physical capability and social intelligence which I think is going to take him a very long way in this career. And there’s a tremendous demand for agents just like him. I’m talking about Mr. Alex Steinberg.

Shake my hand. Smile for the camera. Here you go. Say something if you want.

Social intelligence right there. Don’t say too much. Okay. Speak unless spoken to. Can you guys tell I’m nervous? Is it obvious? You know, multiple day detail, Mexico City. Heart never got above 100. Right now about 150. Don’t know why. Okay. That’s right. Yeah. They’re not letting me curse.

All right, this next student was definitely the mijo of the class. Tremendous young man with great potential. I think myself and his fellow classmates helped get him out of his shell a bit. I’ve heard different things about this shell. Some people telling me that he’s in a shell. Other people telling me he’s not so much. You get a couple drinks in him. He’s the life of the party. Maybe we’ll find out later. I think calling him Oscar De La Hoya for the last 10 weeks definitely helped his confidence quite a bit from what I can tell. However, he’s been a solid performer across the board. He made great strides on the mats and on the range. He did try to get a little fancy yesterday during the combatives final. Lots of stance switches, stuff like that. You’re not ready for all that, okay? But we’re going to get you there. So, watching his progression was great as one of his instructors. So I’m confident that his physical and social skills he learned here at the academy are going to help him tremendously. He’s got a long career ahead of him and I hope to see him in the field one of these nights. I’m talking about Mr. Boni Gonzalez.

Thank you all you guys and thank you to my papa. Hi Mijo. So proud.

All right. This next student, solid performer across the board. Really demonstrated a dynamic skill set throughout the course that he allowed us to refine. He already had a great career as a lumberjack before he came to see us. Right. This is going very very well for him. But I’m glad he put down his axe and joined the ranks of highly skilled professional security personnel. He’s one of those guys that doesn’t have a lot of holes in his game. He has the type of social intelligence that we look for in our security agents. If he goes and hits the ground running, he’s going to have zero problems finding the type of security work that’ll keep a guy like him interested for the long term. He has our complete confidence and he’ll be an asset to any security team in the world that he finds himself on. Talking about Mr. Cody Schleicher.

And a great handshake. Oh, nothing. Good. Loving the social intelligence. It’s really good. I could learn a thing or two from this one.

All right. This next student was a top performer across the board. Received one of the highest overall scores in the course. He came to us with a similar skill set to what I entered the industry with, which was a heavy martial arts background. He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under one of the most respected instructors in the world. And it showed every morning on the mats. He’s worked in a variety of industries, but when you’re a protector, you’re a protector. And when you work jobs that are not consistent with your martial values, it can be difficult to sit still. I think he has found his calling in the security industry. And now with the additional skills that he learned here at the academy, he’ll be a tremendous asset in the field. He’s exactly where he’s supposed to be now. And since he’s a local guy, I look forward to seeing him in the field. Hopefully get in some mat time with him. And I know he’s going to do big things in the industry. And he definitely taught me that sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, Mr. Daniel.

Look over there. Yeah, that’s right. That’s right. Yeah, they don’t let you talk at the Brazilian jiu-jitsu graduations either, so that was good. All right, less coffee next time.

All right, this next student, another solid performer. We almost got off on the wrong foot. I had to loudly explain range safety to him the first time we went to the range. But we moved forward and what impressed me is that from that moment on, he demonstrated excellent skills and maturity. In other words, he experienced growth, which is what we wake up in the morning to see as instructors. That really is the big thing, like seeing you guys really progress from day one to the last day. Very, very satisfying. As an instructor, I also like to point out that we graduate where the mats are. So, we pretty much graduate on the mats, which is where we really get to know each other as people. And where I like to say that I get to meet the real you, because the real you is not the first day when you show up here dressed like penguins as you’re dressed today and you’re speaking your best English and I’m a very nice man, you know, type thing. I get to meet the real you when you’re out here on the mats. The real you comes out during the combatives final, during various sparring sessions that we have where you’re tired, the guy is starting to get a little bit ahead of you. Maybe he’s starting to get the better of you, and how you behave in that moment is the real you, and all of you really really rose to the occasion, which is what our combatives program is designed to do. So also he has a great personality. He is a bit of an acquired taste, but a great guy nonetheless. If he keeps up his training and implements the culture that he was handed here at the academy, I’m confident that he’ll do great things in the industry, and I look forward to seeing and hearing about his progress. I’m talking about Mr. Joe Monzingo.

There we go. All right. Wow, you guys are, no one’s going to complain about me going too slow this time. You know, you guys not giving any speeches. That’s good.

All right. This next student, another tremendous student, a real pleasure to have in the class. I of course had to name him Irish. When he comes up to get his plaque, you’ll understand why. I learned his real name eventually, but he’ll always just be Irish to me. He made some of the biggest strides on the mats. He’s a real fighter, but he has a sound mind that allows him to step back and actually learn and acquire new skills. Also excellent on the range and medical. And I heard he had some fun at the track as well. It’s what I heard. I don’t know. You know, is he here? Oh, yeah. You’re right here. Yeah. Came to the academy already in tremendous shape with an open mind, with his mindset. If he maintains these skills, implements the culture, sky is going to be the limit for this individual. I’m talking about Mr. Kody Lynch.

Is this some kind of protest or something, like you know what I mean? It’s okay. I stand with you. All right. Whatever it is.

All right. This next student, very interesting backstory. He was already working EP and wanted to be better. So, he joined the military. And even after taking such a drastic step, and even though he could have entered the industry and gotten himself a solid job right out of the military, he still decided to come to us for more specialized training. This demonstrates a high level of commitment to the craft and to our security culture. He’s going to get his opportunities. He has the attributes that clients look for. And now after all of his sacrifices, he can confidently go and pursue the career that he’s had in mind for years now. He’s one of those guys that can do what he wants. I’m glad that he has picked our industry for a career and that the culture that we’ve imparted to him can help guide him throughout the rest of his career. I’m talking about Mr. Michael Arnwine.

Thank you. Thank you. You’re welcome. You’re welcome. Thank you.

All right. Next student. Another solid performer. Came in with a lot of related experience and it really showed, especially on the range and the FTXs. He asked the best, most challenging questions. This type of student really helps to keep the instructors on their toes. He already had a good enough resume to enter the industry. And I want to emphasize what it takes to know that you can enter an industry and start your career and start making money and be able to step back and humbly say, “No, I’m not ready.” That really requires a lot of character. Most of you already had enough experience and background to enter the industry. That’s why I have nothing but respect for people that come to Pacific West Academy, let alone the 10 weeks that you spend away from your families and your various responsibilities. It really is a huge commitment. And to be able to have the types of backgrounds that you guys have and to still be able to step back and say, you know what, I need a little bit more specialized training, that shows respect for our industry, which as we talked yesterday, it doesn’t always get the respect that it deserves. But you guys are sort of that new generation, which I really think that people are going to start looking at security people a lot differently in this country, especially given everything that’s going on. So this student demonstrated tremendous character and it really showed in his performance. I know he’s going to be a tremendous asset wherever he ends up. I’m talking about Mr. Neil Shea.

Go birds. Is that an Eagles? Yeah, they say back. Oh, come on. Of all the football teams.

All right, this next student really demonstrated tremendous character and dedication throughout the course. I believe he had perfect attendance across the board, which is not an easy thing to do. Came in pretty good shape, but it is his dedication that really stood out. Also asked a lot of excellent and sometimes even challenging questions, which showed his instructors that he was not just here to go through the motions and get his plaque. Also deceptively good at combatives. I don’t know if he knows that he’s deceptively good at combatives, but you’re actually pretty good. You look like you’re suffering in there, but you’re making the other guy suffer, too. I promise. You know, I’m really watching him. And he really had a lot of improvement. He did have a bit of a tough start, but his progression from beginning to end was impressive, and we could see that he was really working with the various systems and philosophies that we do our best to impart. Definitely a grey man type. What is a grey man? A grey man is someone that can fit into any situation, any detail, and sort of perform at a very very high level without necessarily being noticed by the public or even the client sometimes. That’s a grey man. He’s not a master at any one particular thing, but he’s a brown belt at everything, which when you look at the best fighters, the best shooters, the best agents, they’re not necessarily a grandmaster at every single tool in the toolbox, but they’re very high level at everything. There’s not a lot of holes in their game, and this is someone who could definitely move in that direction. He’s going to be an asset wherever he ends up in the industry. And it was a real pleasure to coach this person. I’m talking about Mr. Sean English.

Sir, appreciate.

All right, this next student, another grey man type. What I really appreciate about this person, I can’t tell you how impressive it is for a New Yorker and an Angeleno to be in the same room and not get into a single Knicks versus Lakers argument. That was really impressive. It never even occurred to me to go in that direction with them. A lot of people don’t realize, people who are actually from these places, New York and LA, we don’t typically care about the things that you think we care about. I was a big Lakers fan. I’m no longer a Lakers fan. Are you a Knicks fan? No. I knew I liked you. I knew it. So, don’t care about things that people think you care about. And that’s how I know he’s a real New Yorker. So, it’s awesome to have a guy in the class who’s old school while also being new school. He’s what they call an elder millennial like myself. If you heard that term, doesn’t make me feel good either. Don’t worry about it. He remembers the world before the internet and it shows. You guys could learn a lot from these elder millennials over here. We do. It was a better place, wasn’t it? It really was. It really was. Rest in peace, world before the internet. So, after all the skills that he’s acquired here at the academy and in his previous life, he’s going to keep keeping it real for years to come. And I hope to see him in the field, whether it’s on a New York City EP run or in Texas where he thankfully resides today. He’s going to have a great career and I definitely hope to see him in the field. He’s also one of those guys that we could all learn a thing or two about, how to carry ourselves on the job and in life. I’m talking about Mr. Tim Delgado.

Thank you. He’s a real one.

First off, I’d like to thank myself for pushing myself to get to this point. Benji, thank you for the mats. Matt, thank you for classroom, really instructional. I also like to thank class 79 for all the memories. Thank you guys. It’s been a pleasure working with you guys, rolling around in the mats and also going out shooting with you guys as well. So, thank you 79.

Still got that slight New York accent. We’re going to work on it.

All right. This next student is a real hard charger. He came to us from the bounty hunting world, which is a very very tough industry, and his toughness is what drove him. He made big strides on the mats. He had himself a very tough combatives final yesterday and he gave as good as he got. We do have to work on the wardrobe a little bit. We do have to work on that just a little bit. A little bit different clothing, you know, for Hollywood, this type of place. But it’s okay. I forgive them even though I agree with what was, you know, you know what I mean? So yeah, and I do expect Tim and Won to help you out with that wardrobe issue that you have. But other than that, other than the wardrobe, the sky really is the limit for this individual. He is what a lot of clients are looking for. And if he makes the right moves when he gets back home, the sky’s going to be the limit for this individual. I’m talking about Mr. Tyler Johnson.

Don’t run away. Thank you, man. Appreciate it.

Yeah, you know who’s next. All right, next student. One of my personal favorites. I really did a lot of line stepping with this student, but that’s what I am. I’m a habitual line stepper. There’s not a lot I can do about it. So, however, I wanted to see how much can he take. Turns out he can take a lot of line stepping. He just always kind of stays cool. He never gets too hot or too cold. He kind of just stays cool. Even when things weren’t going his way in morning sparring and during the combatives final, he always stays cool. I never saw panic. I never saw panic. And that’s the key right there. A lot of us do well when we’re doing well, right? But when we’re not doing well, how do we behave? And there’s going to be tough times no matter what. There’s going to be a bad job application. There’s going to be a bad relationship. There’s going to be a bad company. How do you react to that? That’s something that I think I’m going to learn from you, but I got to stay a little bit more cool. You know what I mean? Maybe not get quite so hot. Maybe gives a slight smile when things aren’t going so bad, but he goes straight back to work. Very impressive psychological control, sometimes referred to as mental toughness, which is something you can never have too much of in this industry. And I’m not even sure you can teach it. I think maybe you can get someone a little bit tougher, but I don’t know if you can truly teach mental toughness. That is something that is deep inside of you that we always go back and forth. Can you teach someone? Can you not teach someone? I don’t know. It’s a mystery, but you know, I guess that conversation is going to continue. Definitely a strong athletic guy, but it’s really his mental game that stood out. He could kick a door down with Tyler or stand guard for hours on end. He simply adapts. And I saw him stand there for hours on end. Okay. Almost forgot about him. I showed up. He was dehydrated. I gave him a little bottle of water this big, drank it, went right back to work. It’s because of these attributes that he demonstrated that he has our full confidence. And we know that he’s going to be a tremendous asset to the industry. I’m talking about Mr. Wayvon Lockhart.

Hey, yeah, I want to thank everybody here, all the instructors. I mean, I learned a lot of good stuff. EP and even outside of EP, especially my classmates. I learned a lot from you guys. I mean, there’s guys that are bigger, stronger, there’s guys that are smaller, but do all type of crazy stuff. And most of all, I want to thank my fiance for her support. Thank you.

All right, guys. Well, this is going to be the last time I’m addressing you as a class. It was a real pleasure. You were my 74th class that I’ve done. I’ve been doing it that long, and you guys really were an exceptional class. Very professional. You guys really had no issues in the house which was also very impressive, but student by student on the performance level was extremely high and a very eclectic group, very dynamic diverse group, which I really really enjoyed. You guys were the first class that got a Taco to teach you guys a seminar. You got to see what someone at the top of their combatives game looks like and what they’re capable of. I hope that he serves as an example to you guys in terms of maybe not quite that level, right? But we can get pretty darn close. And luckily, most of the people we deal with are not Taco.

But I want to tell you two things that Taco really taught me. When I met Taco eight or nine years ago, he was a blue belt in jiu-jitsu. He turned professional as a 16-year-old. My coach used to drive him down to Mexico to have fights. And he was always talented. He was always good. But something would always happen along the way. He’d get to the big fight and then he would get mentally frazzled. You know, maybe he could have used some of your psychology back then, you know, but he didn’t really quite have it. And, you know, when I saw him again and he came to teach, I talked to him and I also saw some of his interviews and he said a couple very interesting things. He said one of the things that was keeping him back were the side quests, right? He was always getting on a side quest. Like he knew he wanted to be a fighter and he knew that he was training all the time, but he always had a side project, right? He said that when he decided no more side quests, that things got better.

The second thing that he also taught me and that he learned about himself was demand excellence. Demand excellence from yourself. Demand excellence from your training partners. If you’re late, that’s not excellence. Excellence and tardiness cannot exist in the same person in the same place. You cannot have excellence if there’s no accountability. So he said demand excellence. Someone’s not showing up on time. Someone’s not giving 100%. Get them away from you because it’s contagious. So no more side quests. Demand excellence of yourself. Your family depends on you to be excellent so that you can provide the things that you want to provide.

It’s getting a little hairy out there if you haven’t noticed. Okay, it’s getting a little hairy out there. Your skills are going to be at a premium. But there’s going to be people around you who do not meet your standard. They don’t have the training. They don’t have the mentality. Demand excellence from them.

No more side quests. You’re exactly where you need to be. Okay? You’re all protectors. You spent 10 weeks away from your families so that you could come here and augment your skills. Take those skills into the marketplace. Good things are going to happen for you.

Keep that head on a swivel when you show up to your detail. You need to, in the back of your mind, think that it’s going to happen, that you know it’s going to happen. When you know it’s going to happen, you can’t be surprised. Stay in that mind frame. This is not a game. Okay? So make sure that you’re applying these skills, that you’re demanding excellence of yourself, that you’re demanding excellence of your team, and no more side quests, and everything is going to work out for you. We’re here for you. You can contact me, any of your instructors at any time, or this institution. We’re a resource for you. So, please do not hesitate whatever you need. And if you’re in LA, make sure you hit me up. Especially you, Mijo. All right, guys. Thank you very much.

What’s up, fellas? How we doing? For a class that talks a whole lot, you guys didn’t talk a whole lot. And for the one person that doesn’t talk, was the only person that spoke. Riddle me that.

All right, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. For those that are watching and who don’t know me, my name is Matt Cheun. I’m one of the instructors here. So the beauty that I get to do is I get to introduce our awards for your guys’ class. So, we have three different awards. Number one, we have our Grey Man Award. That is not necessarily the third overall, but it tends to work out that way. What the Grey Man Award for us is, is somebody who can perform at a high level, but doesn’t step above or below that baseline that we’ve been talking about. So, we have our Grey Man Award, we have our second overall, and when we’re looking at the actual awards, most of the time they come down to the percentage. So, as you guys know, you guys have had homework. Everything comes down to a grade. This doesn’t take away from any of your guys’ performance, but it does show who performed the highest overall when it comes to their percentage overall.

Okay, so we have our second overall and we have our Top Gun award. The Top Gun for your guys’ class is going to receive a plaque with their name on it. That way they can hang it up on their wall and every year they can take a picture of it, throw it in the group chat, be like, “I beat you guys.” Right? But they’re also going to receive a Suunto Core watch. So, I spent a lot of time in the military with these. I’m sure some of you guys have seen these. I’ve jumped with these. I’ve dove with these. A lot of different things. And mine’s still rocking and rolling today. So, they’re going to receive that as well. Our Grey Man and our second overall are going to receive some goodie bags that we’ve put together. There’s a bunch of different products in there. You guys are more than welcome to go through it on your own.

Okay. So for our Grey Man award, this person was a phenomenal student, performed very well and definitely did not stand above the baseline or below the baseline, but performed at a very high level. It just so happened to also be the third overall. So our Grey Man Award is going to go to Mr. Kody Lynch.

All right, our second overall. This student is a very well-rounded student. Definitely put in the work and looks the part when we look at the performance aspect, right, of being an EP agent, a protector. Definitely looks the part, but also performs at the level that we need him to. So the second overall is going to go to Mr. Cody Schleicher.

And our Top Gun award. This student was a very high level performer, came in with a lot of background and was very willing to ask a lot of different questions. Every time he received that answer, he immediately applied the knowledge that he learned. The student performs at a very high level and is going to be the Top Gun for CESS 79. Mr. Alexander Steinberg.

Did not talk much last time, but literally thank you guys. Everybody here, not only just for like the skills that we got to learn here, but being around you guys. Good for up here. Good for in here. I’m sure all of you guys feel that. So, made some lifelong friends. Thank you to the instructors, Benji, Frank, Matt. Way better shooter, way better overall, everything. Because of you guys, this course has really been awesome. And just love all you guys. Thank you very much.

Well, it’s been a long time. It’s been a long time. It’s been a long 10 weeks. It’s filled with a lot of good memories and probably some not so good ones. I don’t know what happened in the house and I don’t want to know. But ultimately, message to you guys. Want to thank you guys for showing up every single day and putting in the work. That’s the biggest thing because it makes my job as well as all of your instructors’ jobs that much easier, because when you guys show up wanting to put the work in, we can focus on ensuring you get the best type of information that we can absolutely provide. Right. So, thank you for showing up every single day, putting in the work, and being willing to just listen to what we have to say when it comes down to protection. There’s a lot of different techniques, a lot of different skill sets, a lot of different information when it comes to protecting somebody. So the fact that you guys showed up and were just willing to hear what we had to say means more to us than you know.

All right. So I want to give a thank you to a couple different people that we have. One, we have Andrea who’s in charge of a lot of different things, but making sure that we’re in compliance. She handles a lot of your guys’ paperwork. So, if we can just give it up for Andrea.

Number two, Christina. She becomes more of like mama bear for you guys while you’re here. She has to deal with all of your stuff, right? Any problems you guys have, she gets you guys taken care of. She takes care of a lot of your guys’ paperwork and really ends up looking out for you guys while you’re here. So, Christina, thank you.

Now, a big thank you that I want to give is to the families that are watching and that are here, because ultimately it’s been 10 weeks. It’s a long time. It’s a long time, and without your guys’ support, these guys would not have been able to be focused. One of the things we used to say in the military a lot for me was make sure you have things taken care of at home, otherwise it ain’t going to be taken care of when you’re gone. And so the fact that you guys provided the support for these guys allowed them to perform at the level that they did. So thank you to all the families.

And the biggest one for me is going to be your instructors. Outside of myself, all of your instructors show up every single day to put in the work to give you guys the best amount of information and the best types of information that they can. Ultimately, instructors, you guys are the backbone, I believe. So, Benji, Frank, Steve, Z, Raz, Mark, Joe, all of these guys come together to ensure that you guys get the training that you guys need to progress and set you up for success in this industry. So, instructors, thank you guys so much.

Gentlemen, it is an interesting road ahead. Something I just want to leave you guys with. Take nothing absolutely from me. Continue to be an asset, not a liability. All right? Don’t sit on your throne of experience of, oh, I graduated Pacific West Academy, so I kind of know everything already. There’s a reason our program is called what it’s called. So, certified executive security specialist. Some people look at that and they’re like, “Oh yeah, cool. I’m a security specialist.” It means so much more to me, that word specialist. Let’s kind of highlight that just for a moment. So a lot of times when people view themselves as a specialist, they’re like, “Oh yeah, I’m a specialist. I don’t have to learn anymore.” Well, for me, when I view myself as a specialist, the question is not that. The question actually becomes, how much more do I have to learn to maintain viewing myself as a specialist? Because information changes, training changes, world events change, and we have to evolve with it. So continue to learn, continue to train, because ultimately this is not the end, but it is actually only the beginning of you performing, training, and executing your specific protective details.

I told you guys in the beginning that I am teaching you, yes, some EP things, but for me, I view my job as teaching you to be a better protector for yourself and those around you. If it rolls over to EP, then so be it. Because at the end of the day, we are all protectors first. Keep that mindset. Continue to train. Continue to grow your skill set of being a protector. A complacent person is a dangerous person. So, continue to train. Continue to develop your skill set of being a protector.

Gentlemen, it’s been a great time. Thank you guys for all the laughs. Thank you guys for showing up and putting in the work. I can say this officially, that CESS 79, you have officially graduated Pacific West.