Pacific West Academy Graduation Class 61 March-May 2024

All right. Okay, go ahead and start. I want to welcome the graduating class of Pacific West Academy’s Certified Executive Security Specialist program number 61. So give yourself a round of applause. So I just kind of like to start off on what we do here, why you came here, what you learned here, and then we’ll get into each person. Everybody sitting here past this particular program, some closer than others when it comes to final scores, but I love to see, especially on the last day in combatives, all bodies here taking part in that and finishing strong when it comes to that. So Pacific West Academy, what do we do? All right. We try to teach you the skills you need to be technically and tactically proficient in the security industry.

Now we have executive protection as kind of a section that we talk about a little bit more than others, but the security industry is what you’re going to move into as a whole, whether that be in a GSOC or working in a corporate sense, working in a contracting sense, or simply working for now what they would consider to be a boutique executive protection firm. So we try to cover all the bases of that. Not all plans are the same for every single person, so hopefully we’ve given you a good foundation while you’re here to jump into these spots and to do well, do better than others. Why you’re here, hopefully you came here so that you could learn some of these skills, jump up on some of the other skills that you know you were lacking and take those to the next jobs that you have, because you’re not only going to perform in those jobs, but you’re probably going to have to teach people in those jobs to be good teammates.

It’s not good enough anymore to get on executive protection teams or other teams and simply do your job and let everybody else fall off. That’s how you understand most of you that are military or have worked in and around military and things like that, that’s how missions kind of end up getting messed up. So what you did while you’re here, really when you look back at it, it’s 50% in the classroom and 50% out doing something. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like that. Sometimes it feels like a lot of time spent inside of the classroom, especially those first two weeks that you guys go through a lot of the law and regulation that you’re going through here. Your class did the firearms section earlier than 99% of the classes that we’ve taught here. And I’ll tell you, usually I leave it to a latter end as a buildup, but we kind of wanted to see what happens when we put it up front and see how the class molds as they go along.

So you guys had your firearms up front, long days out at the range, sometimes doing things differently than you were taught before. I appreciate everybody assimilating the information. You take what you learn and you either apply it or you drop the things that you don’t when it comes to that. Spent a couple of days talking about general non-lethals when it comes to it, taser, arrest and control measures, using especially the combatives time, you’ve done more combatives time in this program than any program that we are in contention with. There isn’t police academies that do as much time on the mats that you guys have done here in the 10 weeks that you’ve been here. So additionally, the TECC portion, right? The medical, you get thrown a lot really fast and you have to pick that up.

Understand that even teaching the medical portion, when you actually have to go into medical situations, that’s how fast it moves and you can forget things really quickly in general assessments. All right? So make sure you remember if anything, you guys took the final, remember that P Marsh P when it comes to those, okay? You did one day inside the classroom, one day outside the classroom doing driving. I know. Hopefully you guys got to bend around cars a little bit more than your own cars. I know that more days would be good on the track, all right? I understand that. We’re working on providing a little bit more here in the future, but hopefully you were able to get something out of that course and it wasn’t just, “Hey, I’m going to hit the gas, hit the brakes, turn the car around every single way I can, every chance I get throwing a client in the back of it.”

You finished off with your combatives final, and Benji and Matt are some of the best hand-to-hand instructors that I’ve been around in a long time. Benji knows fighting in and out when it comes to it. And so hopefully you learn something about yourself while you’re on the mats and something a little bit more about how to do something to someone else. The last thing I want you to take when it comes to what you did here is we touched on certain executive protection things and certain key terminologies that are used out in the field. So hopefully you learned one of my biggest things is it’s not about the fighting and the shooting, it’s about the planning and the execution when it comes to that. I tell you on the first day of class, the fighting, the shooting, the driving, those kinds of things, on paper, that’s what gets you employed.

The planning and execution on the days of and keeping your organization tight, that’s what keeps you employed on a daily basis. So I’m going to get into each person here. Now, I put a couple of notes down. Benji put some notes down in there about each of you when it comes to it. It’s a very small little tidbit because we appreciate every person taking part and putting the effort forth while they are here. So this is in alphabetical order. This has nothing to do with your rankings when it comes to it. I’ll do that at the very end when it comes to the top three that we have. So to start this off, and like I said, I’ll call you up. I’ll give you your plaque. I’ll also give you your certificates. Now, inside of this, you’ll have all of the classes will be on the left-hand side that you’ve taken, the certificates that you’ve passed while you were here, and then the left-hand side is going to be your certificate that’s for the course itself.

If for some reason you have an employer that gives you a call and says, “Hey, I’d like to see the course hours for this,” and something like that, simply send us an email. We’ll send them the curriculum, make sure they understand what you were taught and what you were a part of. Okay? I though it was funny, and actually before I started this, now more than ever, I’ve seen the employers and people that run into people understand the value of what you’ve done here. Okay? And there are employers out right now in Texas and Montana, I’ve seen some now and things that they’re requiring an executive protection school such as this one, right? So understand that what you did, it’s worth something. And the 10 weeks that you spent here, you know it, you felt it. It was a long time. 10 weeks is a long time. You guys put the effort forth and I appreciate that.

So first up, this young man, younger person that usually comes to the program younger than most, can be intense when they train, all right? Ask good questions. I though every time I had an interaction with him, he was asking questions that were applicable to the job and applicable to figuring out how to do this job in a high level. He ended up tied with the top overall written score over all things, including the top final written exam from Colorado, Mr. Ziggy Adkins. And then we have to do our little photo thing this way. All right. And then if you’d like to say something, the floor is yours.

God bless America. Thank You, God. Okay. So this next student, it was kind of hard to find something to really say about this next student. I though he did a great job of kind of hiding in plain sight, right? So outside of his appearance, that can be caught generally when you’re just walking by him, this person can hide in plain sight and complete the task at the same time. I think he’d be great at being a third or a fourth person in the outer rings of a team because he understands what he needs to do and I think he can see it from the outside in and he’ll do it great finding his way on a team from Ohio, Mr. Matthew Beuke. Thank you. Keith Jardin. He’s way smaller than Keith Jardin. Thank you. Learned a lot. All right.

All right. Next up, this person has the skills to be successful. He ended up with a top shooting score. He’s formidable on the mats and on the range, so he has the hard skills when it comes to it. I think he has the, what people would consider soft skills, and I know Benji hates these particular words, but to excel wherever he goes. I know he already has a position that he’s going towards. Excellent wrestler, good guy that can fit in any position from Florida. Mr. Jesten Clark.

Thank you all. Great instructors. Great course. Appreciate it.

And although he’s not here, we’ll just kind of give him a round of applause. Former law officer, very capable and intelligent, excellent planner. A tough guy from Washington, Rafael Garcia. Next up, already has experience in the security industry, has good employment, little bit unconventional on the range. This is the words of Benji right here, but made huge improvements. Needs to work on not getting hit with body shots, apparently. But overall, great attitude. I’ll add into this, it’s difficult to be civilian to come into this. There are all military or police officer otherwise. So to come in and have to assimilate and become part of a group on a day-to-day basis is difficult in its own right. So I commend anybody to come in from the outside and do this and keep up with everybody. And he did and he did it well. Mr. Martell Gerald. All right. Floor is yours, man. Say something. I still feel that body shot.

The next student, very calm demeanor. Already has his own thing going, his own company. If he wasn’t, he’d be primed for a leadership role in this industry. I feel like ended up being Papa Bear to the class and kind of keeping things straight, which I really appreciate on the outside. Not much to say other than a general professional inside and out from Nebraska, Mr. Elwood Grant. Appreciate it. Go Guns.

You know me. First and foremost, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thank him for being a part of my life. I hope that something that I said or did or the way I acted or conducted myself will leave a lasting long impression on you as you move forward in this endeavor. Thank you, PWA. Thank you, Don. Thank you, Benji, Jason, all the staff. Thank you family members and those who are watching online. God bless. Absolutely.

All right, next student. Outside of having a language barrier when it comes to stuff, did everything that was asked of him. That’s difficult in its own right. I though he was a fantastic guy, lots of heart, on and off the mats. Very funny guy. I don’t know if it was on purpose or not when it came to it, but when we’re talking, regardless of the situation, he was always trying to get the right answer to do the right thing. And I really enjoy being around people like that. Made big strides on the range and hopefully he can take what he learned here and go put it to use in a good team. His bilingual or multilingual nature can land him on some great teams around here. Mr. Yuqin Luo. Let’s go.

I’ve been here for like 10 weeks. Know a lot of amazing friends with a different background. The instructor, Benji, Matt, Dong, all of them as a wonderful, amazing. I learned a lot here. Thank you guys.

All right, this next student did something that’s extremely tough to do while you’re trying to make the next strides in your life, and that’s working the entire time that you’re in the academy. All right? Has a good mind for the job, has good work ethic. The hours that he put in inside and outside, although it sometimes showed, he ended up making it work somehow, some way, and that’s how we can only end up getting where we need to go here. It’s just making it work somehow, some way. Has the right mental attitude when it comes to it. And I think if he’s on any team, once he gets his feet rolling on it, it’s nothing but going up from there. Mr. Matthew Manderson.

Thank you. I’m just thankful for everybody that I met here. Honestly, this is kind of something that I was looking for for a while and I found it in a lot of the guys that I came here and met, so appreciate you all.

Hi, this next student, I think when he gets cleaned up, which he is today, he has the look for this industry, all right? Very experienced, strong, savvy guy. I think close protection is his thing, and if he can find it there, he can do it. And I forgot with both the last ones because Benji took it off, but I apologize. Also from New York, Mr. Norman McQuade. Looking ready to work for the mob already. Yep. Done Is done.

All right. This next student, very animated, wants to do well, fires the shot sometimes before he is ready to see the target, but that’s okay. He’s going to get there. All right? Needs to focus excellent on the mats, very formidable there. And when he focuses his mind, I think that he can add value to any team. He also, coming in as a civilian, has to work his way around the military types of things and sometimes learn new ways. And I think that he learned some things here that’ll not just help him in the security industry, but also help him in his life. Mr. Kenneth Parlette.

I just Want to thank everybody for coming out. Thank all the students, all my friends, all the new things I’ve learned. It’s been an honor. Glory to God, Holy Spirit, empowering me to come here. Thank you, Benji, for working with me. I had some hard days here and just hope everybody finds their way. God bless you guys. Thank you.

The next student was an excellent presence and demeanor for the job I think is right on point. He can excel in any position, I think, whether it be corporate or in a boutique firm, loves to train and get better. And that’s one of the things that everybody should do is always like to just try and try something new, get better, look in a new direction, try and figure out where you can add value. And this person, I believe, does that. All right. Ended up with the top TECC score. All right? And not a perfect one, but dang close to it from Maine, Mr. Zackery Posey. Maybe medical is your thing. Go Ahead. I want to thank the instructors and the staff, but most of all, my fellow students for every time you guys help me out and even to just invite me out, have a good time. Thank you. Let’s Go next.

This next student also always had excellent questions showing that he was really looking into what we were saying and trying to figure out how to apply this to the security industry. Always participating, very professional, well-spoken, another guy who can excel at any position. He ended up also tied with the top written final for this overall course from Hawaii, Klint Schwartz. AB.

Hey, outstanding instructors, outstanding peers. Thank you. Learned a lot.

You guys are quick on the speeches in this class. It’s going to go real quick. Next up. All right. One of the best names to come through this academy on one of the best guys attached right with it. Was a pleasure to work with, very funny, but can lock it up when he needs to. He’ll be a real pro when he really gets his feet running in this. And I thought he was a pleasure to be around and a pleasure to be talking with about any kind of security related matters from Missouri. Mr. Kenny Sweet. Looking good, sweet. Yay.

All right guys. This isn’t going to be a nice long drawn out speech because I know we want to go home and have a good time, but I want to thank all the instructors, Benji, Don, Matt. I wish he could be here with us today. Unfortunately, he’s under the weather, but I really got to know him well. All the instructors we outsourced, Roz, Mark, those guys, and everybody who worked on the staff here. Christina has been real good to help me out with the logistical side of things as we’re just having a good time doing that. Anyway, thank you guys so much. Huge shout out to the academy. Anybody who’s wanting to get into the security field, this is a place to come.

All right, next up, our last civilian of the group. So once again, had to come in and become part of this wild bunch that we had with this particular class. The most in-depth presentation that I’ve ever seen in the presentation room when it came to it. I think this person, excellent guy, I think would do great to start out his career in a global security operations center, a GSOC, understanding how the teams move around, giving them the information, and then moving into the protection field through that avenue. Was constantly trying to get better at whatever he wants to try and do. Trained on his own on the weekends, has an excellent disposition, Mr. Casey Talesfore for us. Shout out to you, bro.

Thank you so much. Being a part of this was an honor. It was great to meet all you guys and the instructors as well. Some of the best instructors, if not the best, that I’ve ever learned from. Hopefully I can take all this, expand on it, and get a great job in the executive protection field. Thank you guys.

So to preface this about this next student, this first sentence was in fact written by Benji. “This student is somewhat of an acquired taste, LOL. However, when it’s time to go to work, he definitely does. Excellent work ethic, always gives it all, and he’s got usually lands somewhere near the top. He can do what he wants in this game if he truly sets his mind to it. We look forward to seeing him in the field someday, and I guarantee that I will. Mr. Darnell Warren.

Hey, shout out to you, Benji. Shout out to all y’all. I was having a hard time before I got here. I came here and I’ve got more love for y’all than more people back home. You know what I’m saying? Like this has been awesome. I learned so much. It’s just been dope, man. Shout out to all y’all, bro, for real. Y’all all handsome. Y’all looking good. Get to the wall. Get to the wall. You know what I’m saying? Shout out to you, Matt. Shout out to you, PJ. Shout out to you, Benji. Shout out to you, Don. Thank you. Love you guys, man. Y’all be cool, man.

Last student here. One of the more professional demeanors that I run through when it comes to this throughout the program, had injuries, fought through it, I guess rolled your ankle during the final and just asked one question, where’s the tape? And that shows the intestinal fortitude necessary to just kind of push through the walls and get to where you need to go. Very tough guy, has the intangibles. I would say has the tangibles, but there’s something going on with the facial hair on this gentleman right here. But leads with his mind from Louisiana, Graham Young.

Gentlemen, just want to thank y’all for the experience and for all the aspects that everybody brought to the table for this course. So hope you guys do great. Hope we all move on from here and yeah, we’ll see y’all in the field. Love you guys.

So everything that you’ve done over this program has been quantified and put into our little calculation thing that we have for your grades. And really over the all program, if I just did it about the physical attributes that some of you guys had, you’d have been tippy top. And then others, if I just did it about the mental aspects, you’d be tippy top, but this was an all-encompassing course, right? So you needed to do all these things. And I hope that if you did kind of slip up on anything right here, you learned a little bit about it. And then when you go to these next steps, that you’re going to be ready for those managerial positions, both administratively and enable to teach your people that are out there. Okay? So kind of working its way up, I take the scores that we have, but I also look at a couple other things. And one of the main things is, is do the scores embody our motto, quiet, assertive, and in control?

Because just like in certain aspects or in other parts of your life, you can be great at putting everything down on paper, but nobody can work with you. It makes it difficult. And what we want here is for everybody to understand that you got to put it all together and to be able to work with people. So to start this, the kind of a gray man award, but this is like a third overall at the same time. All right? So I like to kind of give out a gray man award, somebody who did everything, didn’t do it loudly, but did it all at a very, very high level, if not the highest in the class. So we put a couple of bags together. It’s just an extra bag that you got in the first thing, but inside we got light and inside the waistband holster and a couple other things that we have in there.What else we got in there, Benji? Med kit. Med kit, cleaning kit, just some small things to go back with as an appreciation.

And so for the gray man for this particular course, because I though this person did everything really, really well and did it without standing out, is going to be Mr. Graham Young. And I say that in a very positive way, standing out and stuff. I particularly early in my career tried to put myself in that realm. I didn’t want to get noticed, but I just wanted to know that the job got done. And if you asked whoever was on and around, my name was brought up. And so I love that particular demeanor. Number two overall, and this is based on scores and once again, based on the embodiment of what we have here at Pacific West Academy. So number two gets the same package when it comes to it because it ends up being, you don’t get the top prize even if you’re about a point or two off. The top four were very close when it came to it. But number two overall for CESS 61 is going to be Mr. Zackery Posey.

Now I will say for this number one, we forgot to get the watch out. So it’s all right. We’ll get it. So this number one overall had the overall score and I thought had exactly what’s necessary to be a professional, be a leader in this particular industry. We have a SUNTO core watch that you’ll be given. I usually have it up here. I apologize. Sitting right back there waiting to get it. So you will get a SUNTO core watch with that. But with an overall highest score in the course and the professionalism shown throughout the course, CES is 61 Top Gun Award goes to Mr. Elwood Grant. Good.

Thank you. Wow. Was not expecting this. But once again, God has been good. He has blessed me. He has blessed you all in whatever capacity that you’re walking in. And I continue to pray for you and I’ll do my final closing prayer before we get out of here as well, gentlemen. Thank you all.

All right. So before I call Elwood back up for a third time here, let’s talk about what’s next really quick. So what I don’t want you to do is go home and sit on a throne of experience. And that is I did something one time and it’s cool when I can sit here and throw this around because a lot of us, including myself, I’ve been out of the military for a dozen years now. I am no longer that person, right? And I don’t want to stop training in a capacity. I don’t get the training hours in that I used to, that’s for sure. And some of you have other obligations when it comes to that. I’d love to get all the training time I can in. Sometimes you cannot, so you have to fit it in where you can fit it in, right? And I’ll just say this, I haven’t gotten home in time to do any kind of training all week. So Saturday 11:30, I’ll be in the jiu-jitsu gym, middle of the day Saturday, right? So it’s where you can fit it in.

The hand-to-hand training, the gun training, the learning more information about the security industry, keep it going. When you get to the places that you’re at, look at the policies and procedures. Can you improve them where they’re at? Don’t step on anybody’s toes, but each one of you has the ability to figure out how to improve the policies and procedures, especially on the advance and the execution side. I guarantee it wherever you go. All right? So that’s my big thing is continue out there. Now for those of you that have not found positions yet, it doesn’t stop here. The people who get the best positions or the positions that they want aren’t always the ones right out of the academy. Sometimes it’s one month, sometimes it’s three months. Sometimes it’s those of you that are trying to get federal jobs and it’s six to eight months.

The thing that I see overarching when it comes to that is that each of these students never stop their feet when they get home. They’re always looking, they’re always applying. Email up here, got anybody new that is looking for anybody in X territory or whatever, right? And they’re a part of it. Can’t sit there and ask for somebody to give it to you because that’s not how the world works. And we all know that. I know it’s stupid to kind of say that, but it’s, it’s the real thing. So everybody, keep your feet running when you get home. Keep looking if you haven’t found, all right? And if anybody in this group here needs me to contact someone on their behalf, let me know and I’ll make a phone call. I’ll write a letter of recommendation. You’ve all earned it. All right? So before we finish up and graduate CESS 61, I’ll call up L. Wooden. And like I said, for those of you that want to take part, take part.

For those of you that do not, please stay seated and wait until it and then I’ll call graduation once we’re finished. All Right. Dear Lord, we thank you for this day, for this is the day that you have made and we will rejoice and be glad in you. Father God, I thank you for my brothers. I thank you for the staff. I thank you for the family, friends, and loved ones who are watching online and those who are here present with us, Father God. I thank you for your son Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. Father God, that we may have internal life with you. Father God, I ask that you’ll continue to keep protection around these gentlemen and their family members as they travel and endure into this new industry.

I thank you, Father God, for keeping us safe, keeping us away from any danger and providing us with a new avenue approach so we can protect ourselves, but also protect our families as we’re moving forward throughout our lives, Father God. We give you honor, we give you praise, and we also want you to remind us, Father, of the wisdom and the knowledge that we need to continue to impart on because of this seed that has been planted into us with CS 61. PWA, we thank you. We continue to keep you uplifted in our prayers and keep you safe on your journeys. Thank you all. May God have mercy. Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen. Amen.

So that’s it. Get to work, CSS 61, graduated. Thank you family. Thank you our instructors. Let’s give a final round of applause for everybody that helped us. All right. So if I can, that’s the end of it. We are going to get over here and we’re going to do a picture as a group with everybody nice and pressed and dressed. So if you want, you can put your plaques right up here. For the time being, let’s get the chairs over there. Christina is going to take charge.