Certified Executive Security Specialist – Executive Protection Training: CESS Class 77

Hi and welcome. My name is Benji Rosenfeld. I want to welcome everyone to the graduation of class CESS number 77.

So I had the pleasure of being one of the many instructors that these guys got to learn from while they were here at the academy. I just want to talk to you a little bit about our program. What does that entail? That entails all of the security fundamentals as it pertains to executive protection and the security industry more broadly.

10 weeks. These individuals who are here graduating today, they could have picked from a wide variety of courses. Some of them one day, four days, one week, two weeks. But these individuals decided that wasn’t enough. They wanted to make more impact. They wanted to be more impressive, stand out more, make more, be more successful, so on and so forth. So, they came to us. And for that, your instructors and all of the staff here are very, very grateful that you guys chose us to be your training academy. So, thank you very much from the staff.

I’m going to just go ahead and start talking about the individuals who are here today. Obviously they’re going to tell you a lot about their experiences share that with their family once they graduate. And obviously we have a lot of information online as well. But obviously our course entails driving, combative, shooting, academics, medical so on and so forth. But this course is really made up of the people who attend the course. So that’s who we’re going to go ahead and start to talk about. So my first student that I’m going to talk about, he came in with a very professional mindset and demeanor. He excelled at every phase. He came in with a solid combat base, and it showed all throughout the course. A lot of his fellow classmates got to experience that level of experience yesterday during the combat final. Also made excellent strides on the range. Really demonstrated an ability to absorb and apply information very quickly.

Also impressed on his FTXs. Showed up a little bit late for the final yesterday, but he impressed yesterday as he did all throughout the course. He’s one of those guys you could put in any position on a security team and he’ll excel immediately. And now with his new training, he’s ready to enter his career. And he’s definitely quiet, assertive, and in control. I’m talking about Mr. Alfredo Delgado.

Look right there. Shake my app say something. All I got to say is all you guys, I came here looking for a bond. Got the bond. Went from a bad lifestyle to here. It’s awesome. Biggest thing I learned from Benji, never stop training. Get after it all the time. Appreciate it.

All right, this next student, kind of a special student. He’s the first student to come through the academy who actually graduated from my high school. And it definitely showed I must say it definitely showed all throughout the course. He is from fine stock indeed. I decided to put here on the speech. This student put up extremely high academic and hard skill scores. Great background now with his new skills can be an immediate asset to any security team. He has that rare combination of academic and physical prowess. It’s going to take him to great heights. He’s one of those guys who you can really put him anywhere, but he’s also really a gray man. And there’s even other forms that he could succeed in. I could see him being a PI. I could see him doing contracting. I could see him doing a wide range of things that are in the security and investigations side of things because of how dynamic he is. He also made big strides in combatives.

We have to keep training in combatives so that we can be more formidable. I gave you guys lots of examples of what looks what an untrained agent looks like when something happens and that’s the exact thing that we’re looking to avoid. This student has my complete confidence that he’s going to continue his training and apply his new skills and start a great great career in the industry and I’d personally take him on any detail that came up even right now. Talking about Mr. James Andre Hutton.

Sorry, it’s Andre James. Well, keep this one short. I just want to say thank you guys for pushing me every single day to be better. I came here knowing that I could be better and seeing the individuals and the group here again just really motivated me to push it every single day. So, thank you. To the instructors and PWA.

You know, something that I sometimes like to say is that I do really like that we graduate where the mats are because it’s where we really get to know each other, isn’t it? It’s where we really get to know each other. And it’s where I get to meet the real you, right? Because the real you isn’t who you are on the first day when you come to Pacific West Academy when you’re dressed up how you’re dressed up now and everything’s nice and you’re sizing each other up and you’re thinking about the course so on and so forth. You are who you are yesterday during the combatives final, the last five minutes. That’s the real you. That’s the real you. Are you someone who keeps on coming forward or are you someone who takes lots of breaks? From what I could tell yesterday, we did not take very many breaks and that was a very, very impressive final yesterday.

We usually have people going down, people dropping out, so on and so forth, but you guys really, really stuck it out. All right, on to our next student. So, this next student was another great student to instruct. Definitely a quiet, assertive, and in control kind of guy. Very dedicated. He even got to work a few details while he was here in the course and made a great impression to everyone he worked with. It really is no small thing to go and work while you’re going through this course. You’re tired. It’s long days and to get up the energy and to go work graveyard shifts, 12-hour shifts, anything like that. Doing event security. These are difficult things to do. So those things really speak to your character. He did have a bit of a com a difficult combat final yesterday. He never stopped coming forward. I also got to run through the shoot house with him and he made very big strides and really really impressed.

They go into a shoot house environment which is by far the most difficult shooting environment that can be provided to you at least in the private sector. So going through a shoot house in the time that we have and getting you up to that level for you to safely be able to maneuver through a shoot house is really really no small feat. He’s another guy that’s going to have a lot of opportunity in this industry and I for one I hope to see him in the field someday soon since he is a local guy. I’m talking about Mr. Angel Lopez

And he’s my mijo. Just shout out my classmates. You guys were really good group. Learned a lot from everyone. Shout out the instructors especially. Taught me so much. That’s it. Thank you. All right. This next student, another very impressive student. I never asked about his background. I never did. But I didn’t need to. It showed. Very, very tough guy. Has the right look, the right demeanor, and most importantly, the correct temperament. That’s something that we really need in this industry. There’s two main things that clients care about after everything else. It’s social intelligence and can you fight if something happens. Those are two very very very big important things. Obviously we’re very preoccupied with our appearance and our soft skills and all of these things and social intelligence is a part of the soft skill dynamic but your hard skills do also play.

It’s why we don’t shy away from them and why we don’t think that hard skills is a dirty word at this academy. So, there’s not much more to say about this student. He can do what he wants in the industry. We know he’s going to stick with it and be a big success. He’s quite assertive and in control, and I know I’m going to see him in the field sometime soon. I’m talking about Mr. Brennen Walker.

He’s got those scary eyes. I don’t know where they come from. I’m just trying to keep it short because I tend to ramble a little bit. As most of you guys know, I got out in November. So, me trying to transition out by myself was pretty hard, but you know, I had a good group of guys that were able to not only teach me some things, but also help me develop into the next type of person I’m going to be. So, yeah, big shout out to the instructors. You guys were fantastic. Like, I couldn’t ask for better ones. And I’m going to miss 99% of you guys.

I’m going to miss 100% of you guys. 100%. I’m going to miss you all equally.

Stop looking at me. Okay. All right. So, this next student, this student was a real top performer. Impressed at every phase, was very involved and immersed in the course. Also worked a lot of details while in the course and made a great impression. I was one of those guys he made a great impression on. He’s another guy that has all the intangibles. Extremely focused individual. Came into the course in tremendous physical condition with lots of experience. That’s another thing that we’re really pushing is that we need to be on the physical side as well. Our physical condition matters. It matters all the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s carrying bags, pushing a car out out when it’s stuck in the mud, whatever it may be. Our physical abilities play in our industry. He came in with a very impressive background.

I actually got to talk about his previous life life a bit on our walk back from Venice to Santa Monica and I was impressed to say the least. I wish I’d had a little bit more time to kind of dive into that aspect of his past. He’s not from these parts, but I know I’m going to see him in the field one of these nights sometime soon. Talking about Mr. Brett Burdick.

Forget you. All right. Big thank you to the instructors. You guys, exceeded my expectations for sure. And to all you guys, I mean, it’s I couldn’t ask for a better team, honestly. I know you guys would agree with that. And now we got to move on and go up and be grown-ups. We can’t be kids anymore in the house.

Don’t forget about the beard issue. Yeah. Yeah. Don’t forget. Good. All right. This next student definitely has the quiet down of our core values. Came in great shape. Showed tremendous improvement. One of the most improved students of the class for sure. I called him Antonio Banderas for his nickname. But he’s no desperado. He’s calm, cool, and collected. He’s not a mariachi either. And he and demonstrated the temp that temperament all throughout. He never gets too hot. He never gets too cold. And he was pushed to his limits. That’s another thing, gentlemen. Sometimes there’s going to be things going around us that might cause us or influence you to get hot or to get cold. There’s really no reason for us to ever get that way until it’s absolutely time to get that way.

So these little things that happen on set that happen on the managerial side on for the clients and stuff like that, it’s not your problem and you have to learn when something is your problem and when something is not your problem. He was pushed to his limits yesterday and he never stopped pushing. When you are completely exhausted and you cannot breathe, okay, the only thing that you have left are your instincts. And that’s what I’m looking for. Do your instincts make you go forward? Do they make you go back? Do they make you stand where you are? Right? For me, there’s only two acceptable things. You can stay where you are, you can go forward. Maybe a little lateral movement on your way in, right? But pretty much we’re either staying where we are or we’re moving forward. And this person demonstrated that during the final. And you all demonstrated that yesterday during the final, which is rare.

There’s usually a couple that don’t rise to that level. If he applies that dedication to his new career, there’s nothing he can’t do. I’m talking about Mr. Cristian Lerena.

Middle name is I really enjoyed this course. I learned a lot. I want to say thank you to the instructors. Thank you to all the staff. Thank you to my wife for her support. And most of all, thank you to all of you. It was a pleasure to work with you. No guitar. No.

Bring your guitar. All right. This next student, he had the painful honor of being my UK all throughout the course, right? The UK is the demonstration partner. Usually, I pick one right at the beginning and that’s the guy for the rest of the course. So 99% of the time he got to have this painful experience and I definitely appreciated it. He was definitely great at it. Came in with a strong combatives background physically very very strong individual. My neck got to experience this strength just yesterday. It was really quite impressive. I would describe it as like a car compactor. It was really something quite like that. He also served as my point of contact for details that I was running and did a great job at organizing. He’s the kind of student that makes life a little bit easier for the instructors and we definitely like that.

Every class there might be one or two individuals like this who can just kind of seamlessly move around the student body and the instructor cadre so on and so forth and he was definitely that guy in this class. He did impress at every phase. I think his classmates will remember what he put them through on the mats. Y usually this kind of student catches heat from his classmates but he’s universally loved amongst his peers. He’s going to do great things in the industry and we he can always reach out for help from us since I’m pretty sure he’s going to be a busy agent. His instructors definitely wish him well. I’m talking about Mr. David Chavez.

Going to keep it short. I’m blessed to be here with all you guys. It’s been truly an amazing experience. That’s really all I got to say. Thank you guys. I appreciate it. Look, if you guys don’t cry, I won’t cry. Okay. Okay. This next student was a bit of a mysterious one. We never quite figured out the accent. Did anyone ever figure out the accent? What was going on with that? No. Any any theories? Anything? No. Okay. We never quite figured out the accent. My first thought was espionage. That was my first thought. We’ve been infiltrated. But then my paranoia calmed down. He’s just a good old quiet, assertive, and in control kind of guy. It’s probably why he fit in so well. Always had excellent questions. Definitely came in with the student mentality. I always say it. There’s two types of students that come to Pacific West Academy.

The types of students that come here to learn from the instructors and the types of students that want to show us how good they are at what they already do or what they already know how to do. So getting into the student mentality is very very difficult. I am too still a student and student mentality is not that easy is it? Especially as you get a little bit older, a little bit more experienced, you feel like you also have something to contribute so on and so forth. So submitting to the student mentality and the student experience is very very difficult. And if that’s a lesson that you guys were able to learn here, if you became better students, that’s also a very very important thing. I think I probably said it during one of your classes. Most of us in here probably did not enjoy school very much. Probably did not enjoy middle school or high school. And we probably blame our teachers, maybe our parents, maybe both of them. Okay?

But I want you to consider one thing for one moment. Perhaps you were not a good student. I only considered that a couple years ago for the first time ever and it almost knocked me down. Right? So being a good student is its whole own thing, isn’t it? So that’s something that I hope that you guys keep from here at the academy, the student mentality. When you know that somebody knows more than you about something, defer to them. Your clients when they don’t know something, they hire people to teach them about that thing. Sometimes that thing is security, which is why you’re there. Sometimes that thing is whatever it is that they may need, but they hire advisers and they’re good at following what their advisers say. And you guys came to us to be advised and you submitted to that experience. And this student especially was a very excellent student and gave to the student mentality. Very eager to improve.

He’s going to be a great agent and I have no doubt that he’s going to reach a very high level in this industry. I’m talking about Mr. Giomanni Gameng. Thank you. See what he does. Well, there’s multiple accents, but I’m just going to try to use my normal one. I just wanted to say thank you to everybody, the instructors, the staff, especially my classmates. When I started my military career, it ended abruptly short due to pacemaker. And you guys, when I told you guys this, you guys didn’t show me any liability. You guys showed me more respect and humility to actually show me that I’m more than what I am. And I thank all of you for that. And I appreciate everything that you guys have done for me and I thank you.

Okay. All right. This next student is actually a legacy student. His brother came through the course several years ago and he followed in his footsteps. My plan initially was to make his life very difficult as I did for his brother. Then I saw him hit pads and do some kicking drills and I decided against it. A very impressive individual, highly intelligent with tremendous physical capabilities. He’s ready to go out and be a protector and provide the highest level of protection that’s available in our industry, which is saying a lot. And I see he brought himself a little baby today. 18 20 years from now, I’ll probably still be here, you know. So send them on through the course. I’m talking about Mr. Greg West.

Best right there. That’s right. And probably the best suit. Look at that. Thank you. And the best pin. Well, first off, thank God for the opportunity, you know, and secondly, I’d like to thank my wife and family. They definitely supported me throughout this, helped me, give me the ability to train and be with all you guys. And my instructors, amazing. Thank you guys so much. Staff, thank you for the coaching, the mentoring, and the training. It was high class. And, to you guys, I was glad I got to been out for a couple years, get back in with some like-minded individuals. You guys are awesome. And good luck with everything. Thank you. Thank you. Never been called high class before. Felt good. Ated Nou for the first time six months ago. Six months later, I’m high class. What do you know? All right. Next student. Tremendous student as well. Definitely was here to learn and improve.

From the first day to the last day, I saw tremendous improvement in his self-confidence. He’s one of those guys who’s highly capable and he definitely doubts. That’s right. He definitely learned that. However, I think he learned in the course that he has no need to doubt himself. He performed on par with his classmates and impressed at every phase. He should doubt everything. That’s what good agents do. We doubt. But now that he’s done doubting himself, he can go and embark on this new career where I know he’s going to find a lot of success. I’m talking about Mr. Ivan Colonna.

It’s been a privilege and an honor to have lived and trained with you guys. Thank you for convincing me to go get baptized. And thank you for the carnivore diet. And thanks for kicking my ass. It’s been great working with all you and hope to see work with you guys again.

So we’re baptizing in the house now, huh? Encouragement. Is encouragement. I’m not going to ask where you baptized them. Okay. We’re baptized on a carnivore diet. Okay. All right. Impressive. Impressive indeed. All right. This next student was a bit of a personal favorite of mine. I had actually put him on a detail several months ago. I only spoke to him on the phone. I didn’t meet him till he came through the course. I remember being on the phone and be like, “Man, who’s this enthusiastic guy?” You know, like what’s this about? Like it’s just a little detail, you know, but he seemed like a very enthusiastic guy. Then he showed up and sure enough it was just as I predicted. Very nice young man. Really has a great demeanor and temperament, but he has a whole other side to him. I watched him spar everyone in the class. He’s not the biggest guy at all, but he steps to the biggest guys in the room like they were three feet tall.

I never saw fear. And that’s kind of what we’re looking for. And we’re all scared. You know, I’m one of these people that whenever I’m training and I’m sparring, I always think I’m going to lose. Like right before, like when the guy standing across from me, situations I’ve been in insecurity, I always feel like I’m going to lose. I don’t know why that is. But I’m not going to show my opponent that. But deep down, that’s what I’m feeling. And I know that he probably felt a little bit of fear, but I never saw it. And that’s what really impressed me about this individual. He has tremendous amount of potential and a great ability to lock it up when it’s time to be a pro. Definitely a funny guy. He definitely helped keep things loose on the range some of these longer days. Really, really funny guy. At least I think he is. I don’t know. I didn’t really ask around about him, but he seems very well-liked by his fellow classmates.

I know he’s going to do great things. He’s a local guy. I really hope to I hope he sticks around with us. If not, I know I’m going to see him in the field and I hope you keep me updated about your progress. I’m talking about Mr. Kobby Cruz. Kobby. Look at this guy. Yeah. Another Mijo. Yes. I want to start off by saying thank you to my fiance and our family and parents for all of their continuous support and love through every decision and for the future. Thank you guys so much. And then I want to move on to the instructors. Thank you, Matt, Matt, Z, Frank, Benji, and all of the staff for all of your efforts and your experience. I learned way more than I thought I ever could have, and there’s still so much to learn. And, just thank you guys so much for every little detail. And I hope to keep a connect with you guys, so I can learn so much more from every single one of you. And, from all of the students.

I know I didn’t get to live at the house with you guys, but every second out here, whether it was driving or at the shooting course or sparring or even in the class, I enjoyed every second and I learned so much from everybody. All of you guys are so diverse and I appreciate every moment with you guys and I hope to keep in touch with every single one of you. And thank you to the staff so much and thank you God. Yeah, you almost forgot God. How can you do that? Come on. All right. This next student had a little bit of a tough time. Unfortunately, he looks like one of my least favorite people ever, but he couldn’t be farther from that individual. This student demonstrated great academic intelligence, was probably the most improved on the mats. There was a big adjustment period for him on the mats.

I don’t think he’s ever sparred that much in his life, but by the time the combat final came around, his classmates were giving him lots and lots of respect. Huge improvement. His confidence is night and day from where it was. We security people, we want to save. We want to be in position to help people in the event that something goes bad because we truly believe in our bones that we can change outcomes. But we need those skills in order to do that so that we’re not just another person. So that we’re not just another well-intentioned person. We’re well-intentioned and we’re trained. And that’s what this person is now. He came here so that he could do these things to the best of his ability. I’d go on any detail with him and he’d have my full confidence. He has become quiet, assertive, and in control. Talking about Mr. Burke.

Wow. Yeah, man. This is been a great experience meeting all you guys, just being brothers out here, all different backgrounds, all different military careers and, you know, wherever you guys are going. Once again, like just to thank, you know, a couple people. My girlfriend, she’s been pushing me, supportive from day one since I met her. Just a amazing woman. Another one my business partner Kevin also pushing me, motivating me every day, making me a better man. Especially in the business aspect. And then the other thing I want to say is my family. You know, being behind me from day one, always just being there for me and telling me, you know, just go go achieve your dreams, you know, figure a way out. And you know, that’s that means a lot. So, thank you again to all the PWA staff, all the instructors, Benji, Frank, Matt, Z. You guys have been great.

Learned a lot from you guys and I can’t wait to see where everyone goes and love to keep in touch with you guys.

All right. This next student came into the course with a strong desire to learn. He did face some difficult challenges while he was here, especially on his first night here. Somehow found my number of all the numbers. But that’s okay. I sprang into action and saved the day for him. But he did handle these things to the best of his ability and put out a good effort. He also made himself available for several details and his help was much appreciated. I spent a lot of time in his hometown of Phoenix, so I’m sure you’ll make time to come over and see me one of these days soon. I want regular updates on your progress as well. You have what it takes. I think now that you graduated, you’re going to go find your place in the industry. Talking about Mr. Nicholas Rogers. I never mind.

All right. This next student already had everything you need to succeed in this industry. He has all these attributes. He’s got a straight flesh when it comes to that. Came in tremendous shape, good combatives base, solid firearm skills, highly intelligent, use these attributes to be a top performer in his class. I called him young George Foreman, and it’s not difficult to see why. I’m sure you guys got to feel some of that George Foreman yesterday, too. You know, when guys like this come into the course, I’m glad that I don’t spar with the students anymore. You know, I was like, cuz in my mind, I still get to say, ah, I’d take him. I’d figure it out, you know, I mean, but we’ll never know. Alhamdulillah. So, he’s the kind of guy who probably could have entered the industry straight out of the military and found success, but he didn’t want to be good.

He wanted to be the best, and that’s why he came here and really immersed himself in the course. I know I’m going to see this guy in the field one of these nights. I’m talking about Mr. Nicholas Clark.

All day. Thanks for giving me my hand back.

What’s going on, y’all? On to the next thing. Now, been a great 10 weeks with all you guys. Definitely a new family for me. Met a lot of the greatest role models I’ve met at my age and I can’t thank any I can’t thank you guys anymore for it. To the instructors and the staff, thank you very much for giving me the knowledge to be able to take into this new industry that I’m you know trying to make myself into. But thank you everybody and have a blessed day.

He’s also running for Congress, just so that you guys know, you know, so make sure you get your votes in. All right. This next student really has the senior guy kind of vibe. Has all the right attributes and now the skills to make himself a tremendous asset. He could go contractor, EP, any type of security that he wants to work in. He had solid scores all across the board. Very well-liked by his fellow classmate classmates. Great shape, temperament, demeanor. Really has exactly what you need. And sometimes these kind of guys, you just don’t need to say too much about him because we all know what’s up. I’m talking about Mr. Oscar Osuna.

A great tie. Thank you. To the staff, instructors, my classmates. It was a great 10 weeks. Don’t be good, be great. Thank you.

All right, just a couple more. All right, this next student was a real top performer across the board from academics to the mats. I did the grades yesterday and very very impressive scores all across the board. From combatives to medical, a very impressive individual with no glaring weak spots. Is not necessarily a black belt at everything, but in our industry, you really only need to be about a blue belt, purple belt at everything. If you can be a purple belt at everything, you’re going to be a very very very strong agent. I would rather take a guy who’s a blue belt at everything than a guy who’s a black belt at one thing. So, in our business, we have to be very well-rounded, and that’s really what we’re looking for, and that’s what we’re training people to do here at the academy. I did name him the Backstreet Boy, initially, but after getting to know him a bit better, I dropped it and just called him by his given name.

Formidable young man. He already has big plans in the industry, and I’m glad we were able to play a role in his upcoming great career. He’s definitely quiet, assertive, and in control. I’m talking about Mr. Ryan Duran.

All right. Thoroughly enjoyed this course with you guys. Learned something from each and every one of you guys. Thank you to the instructors. I’m going to continue to take what you guys taught us and progress and become the best person in security that I can be. Thank you.

All right, last but not least, this next student I wrote down last but not least. I don’t need to read it. Right. Truly tremendous. Solid all across the board. Watching his progression was really something to watch. He was so uptight physically when he first started on the mats. And that’s where a lot of you are. A lot of you are not coming in with a lot of that experience. But did we spar a lot? We sparred a lot. Don’t forget the value of sparring. If there’s one thing that you can do that you can keep up with once a week, few times a month, get in that sparring. Teach people to spar how you sparred in here where it’s intense, it’s tough, it’s physical, but you’re not losing too many brain cells. We gave you a way to train so that you can continue to train physically very, very hard while preserving your body. So watching that progression was very very impressive.

Yesterday for the final, he was using a Philly shell like Floyd Mayweather himself. Considering where he started from, whenever I see that type of stance from a student, it means comfort. It means he’s adjusted, that he’s no longer uncomfortable standing in front of someone and dealing with what’s coming at him. And he put up strong scores across the board in medical and driving as well. But also al also I have a combative bias obviously. So doing what we do is not easy. The clients and the people around us expects us expect us to step up and handle any and all threatening situations. He came here so he could do that to the highest level. Great demeanor, the exact right temperament, the correct social intelligence, and immediate asset to any security team in the world. His instructors know he’ll do great things. Talking about Zach Smith, second to last. Zach

First off, thank you to the instructors, PWA. What you guys taught us is very practical. I like that you made it make sense, which was the best part. Appreciate the clowns, man. It was awesome being around you guys again, man. Sincerely. Thank you for pushing me. Helped me step outside my comfort zone and I definitely hope to work with you guys in the future, man.

And I got to tell you, I didn’t want to tell you this earlier because I didn’t want to make it weird, but I loved you in The Sopranos, man. Like, you were you really kept my attention the whole time, you know? Eight seasons, guys. Eight seasons. Phenomenal. I knew it was you the whole time. All right, last but not least. So this next student, another top performer, tremendous physical condition with a good combat his fa base, solid firearm skills. We got to get some work in together in the shoot house and made big strides. Was already felt like a very experienced guy moving through the shoot house. We worked in the house with a Glock 19, but I caught him working with a 1911 the other day. What What What’s going on? Nah, they’re gangster, but we still got to go Glock, you know. I didn’t say anything then, but I’m hoping he does make the switch. He’s going to be a big success wherever he goes.

But we know he’s going to stay in the industry and do what he was meant to do, which is to be a protector. I’m talking about Mr. Robert Serna.

All right, gentlemen. I do have some notes. First and foremost, thank you to the instructors, all the supporting staff, everybody. You guys far exceeded my expectations. Throughout this training, I was reminded that the skills that we develop here are tools. Tools that must be guided by character, humility, and purpose. You guys know me in my Bible, right? So Jeremiah 51:20, “You are my battle axe and sword, says the Lord. With you I will shatter nations and destroy many kingdoms.” For me, this verse is a reminder that strength and capability are not given lightly. They come with responsibility, the responsibility to act with wisdom, restraint, and integrity. As protectors, we train to be capable of great force. But more importantly, we train to exercise control, judgment, and professionalism in the moments that matter most.

I’m grateful to have trained alongside each and every single one of you, especially who take responsibility, who take that responsibility seriously, and I look forward to seeing the impact that each one of you is going to make out there. Stay aligned, stay blessed, stay savage.

Very good. Old Testament. We call it the original Testament, but it’s fine. Thank you guys very much. You’re a tremendous class. You’re going to all go out there and do tremendous things. It was a real pleasure, honor, all that good stuff. But a couple last things. No more side quests. Okay? You’re going to get out of here. Your buddy is going to be selling cars. This one’s going to be doing this. Maybe I should go back to be an electrician. Blah blah. Whatever. Okay, you don’t need it. Okay, you’re trained security people. You came here for a reason. You spent 10 weeks away from your friends, from your family, from your lives. Only you can make it mean something. Pacific West Academy cannot make it mean something to be a graduate of this academy. Only our students can do that. Only our students can do that by you going out and you performing. That’s what we do. You have to demonstrate the difference.

We cannot demonstrate it in the field. You are in the field. You are who is taking the training, the philosophy, the experience. You’re the ones who are taking it out there. And you are the ones who is going to make this place a valuable place for the people coming after you. You’re going to be out there. People going to be leaning on you. God forbid something happens, something big. Okay. What are you going to do? What are you prepared to do? We prepared you. Now go do. Thank you. Gentlemen, morning guys. How we doing? All right. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Matt Cheun. I am one of the instructors here at Pacific West Academy. Big thing from you guys. So ultimately you guys have completed tons of different training, gone through tons of different skills and the development of those skills. In turn, we’ve also created this academy. So it’s still academically related.

So I have the privilege of presenting those awards today for you guys. So, outside of just the skill set that we’ve been developing, we also have been looking at performance from beginning to end for the past 10 weeks. And every single task that you’ve created, every or completed, every single grade that you’ve received has all gone into a system that overall gives you a percentage at the top of the class. So, we have a couple different awards that we present for the CESS program. Number one is going to be our Top Gun award. That is the person that has performed at the highest percentage-wise in the books overall in the class. From there we have our second overall that is going to be the person that has got the second highest percentage overall in the class. And from here we have our Greyman award. Now our Greyman award doesn’t always turn out to be the third overall.

It actually is one of those awards that we look at and we go through the assessment of their personality as well. How do they perform overall? Did they perform well, but also can they blend into the environment? We’ve talked a lot about blending in covert operations and things like that, at least with me. And the Grey Man Award is the person that we feel can perform in a wide array of different types of environments and blend in without sticking out. All right. And I think that’s an important concept overall. So, for starters, we’re going to go ahead and start with the Greyman Award. The student was a very high performer, and it just so happened that they turned out to be the third overall. Very high performer, constantly asked questions, was constantly willing to learn, and constantly willing to apply the information almost immediately. I feel like this student can absolutely step into any environment and perform at a very high level.

So, our Greyman Award is going to go to Mr. Andre Hutton.

All right, our next our second overall award. When I mean the percentages were so close, I mean mere like 0.0 something.1 percentages. Like this is how close it was. All of you guys performed at a very very high level. Now, our second overall award is going to go to Mr. Brett Burdick.

All right, our Top Gun award. So, again, this is the student that performed the highest academically inside the grade books. This student was already a very high performer and showcased a lot of the skill sets that we were trying to get you guys to learn and develop amongst your time here. This student is going to obtain a Suunto Core watch. I’ve done a lot with this watch. I’ I got it in the military. I’ve, you know, dove in the ocean with it. I’ve jumped. I’ve done all kinds of things with this specific watch and it’s still kicking, rocking and rolling for me. So, they’re going to receive a Suunto Core watch. They are also going to receive That’s the right way. Okay, cool. Just had to make sure. They’re also going to receive a Top Gun award, a plaque that they can hang up inside of their house and take a picture every year and send it to you guys and be like, “Haha, I won.” Right? All those things.

So the Top Gun for CESS Class 77 is going to be Mr. Ryan Duran.

Thank you. Honored, very privileged to be here with you guys. This was an amazing course, amazing group of guys. You guys pushed me, you know, seeing you guys and seeing how hard you guys pushed only, you know, pushed me even harder. So blessed to be with you guys. Blessed to have the instructors that we have here. Thank you. Of course. I’ll keep it if you want. All right, guys. It’s been a long 10 weeks. A lot of you guys have been away from your families. A lot of you guys have have dealt with each other inside the house and we know how that goes. U but overall it’s been a fun 10 weeks. It has been a fun 10 weeks. Big thing for me, and I said it to you guys before. I don’t care about your backgrounds. I don’t care about what you did in the military. I don’t care about what you did in the past. I care about who you are today because who you are today is going to shape who you are tomorrow.

And thinking about the people that you guys were when you first showed up to how you are now is a world of a difference, not only in skill set, but also personality-wise. Everybody has matured even more in one way, shape or another. All of you guys have learned tons of new things, not just skill sets, but about each other. And the biggest thing is about yourselves. Don’t leave this course and sit on your throne of experience. I said it before. It’s very easy to leave from here and, you know, just go, “Yeah, I graduated from Pacific West Academy. I learned all these things.” And then you do nothing with it. You don’t progress. You don’t continuously train your skill set. I want to sit and just look at the name of the program certified executive security. Let’s highlight the word specialist just for a moment to view yourself as a specialist. And when I view myself as a specialist, it’s not I’m a specialist so I don’t have to learn anymore.

I know everything. I challenge you to look at it in this this aspect to view yourself as a specialist. How much more do you have to learn to continue viewing yourself as a specialist? How much more information do you have to learn? How much more skill sets do you have to develop to maintain your label as a specialist? So, continue to train, continue to grow. Do not sit on your throne of experience when you go back home. Continue to progress as a person in your skill set and overall as a protector. Gentlemen, congratulations again. I hope you guys continue to be an asset and not a liability. Congratulations. All right, last thing, guys. I want to give a big thank you to all the families that are back home. They have been a huge support system for you guys. We all, most of us come from the military, so we all understand what it feels like to be away from home, and it’s it’s hard on us, but it’s also hard on our families.

So, I do want to give a round of applause to all the families that have supported you guys along the way. Next, for myself, I’d also like to thank some of the staff because they deserve the recognition just as much as you’ve given recognition to the instructors. First off, Christina has been kind of like mama bear for you guys the moment you guys show up. Any problems you guys needed, you reached out to her. Whether it be during school hours, after school hours, she’s always gotten you guys taken care of. So, I do want to give a round of applause.

Next, Andrea. She’s done a lot of the work behind the scenes for you guys, making sure that everything is in compliance for all your licenses and things like that. She ultimately takes care of a lot of your guys’ paperwork behind the scenes to make sure that you guys have the things that you need once you guys leave from here. So, round of applause for Andrea. And the big one, I feel like ultimately these guys are the backbone of the academy outside of myself is your instructors. All of the instructors that you’ve learned from. So Benji, Z, Frank, thank you guys for putting in the effort every single day to make sure that these guys have the best information as possible. Without you guys and without the instructors being willing to come in every single day earlier than most and later than most and putting in the work to make sure that you guys get the best type of instruction, there wouldn’t be a program.

So, thank you to all the instructors as well. And finally, thank you to you guys because you guys are the people that allow us as the instructors to show up every single day and do what it is that we love to teach the skills that we have to be a sponge. You guys being a sponge, coming in and being willing to learn and pick our brains as much as possible. At the end of the day, it shows that you guys are constantly willing to progress as human beings and as protectors. And I said it from the beginning, we’re creating better protectors here. It’s not just an EP Academy, but it’s also us being protectors for ourselves and those around us because we’re protectors first. So ultimately, thank you to you guys for showing up every single day, putting in the effort, and being willing to learn as much as you possibly can. Without you guys, we wouldn’t have a program. Congratulations again, guys.