Pacific West Academy Graduation Class 68 January - March 2025

All right, we’re going to go ahead and get started. Good morning, graduates, family, and friends. Today is the day of celebration, not just for accomplishments of the individuals before us, but for what their achievements mean for our communities, our country, and our world. As we gather to honor the graduates of class 68, I want to reflect on why the role they are stepping into is so profoundly important now more than ever. We live in a world that is increasingly complex, where security challenges arise in forms we might not have even been able to imagine a decade ago. Whether it’s protecting individuals, organizations, or communities, the need for skilled, prepared, and ethical protectors has never been greater. At Pacific West Academy, we believe that providing you with the knowledge and skills to meet these challenges, it’s not just our mission, it’s our responsibility.

The Certified Executive Security Specialist Program is built on the understanding that the work you do matters. It isn’t just about securing a client or property, it’s about creating peace of mind, upholding safety, and being a pillar of stability in uncertain times. Your hard work over the past many weeks, 348 hours, to be exact, has prepared you to serve not only as professionals in your field, but as leaders in a critical and honorable mission. At PWA, we’re proud to be the only accredited institution offering this program. That accreditation signifies more than just a standard of excellence. It represents a commitment to equipping you with the tools to face the world’s challenges head on. It is this commitment that has brought students from all across the US to join our program, united by a shared dedication to a higher purpose. Class 68, your efforts over these weeks have been nothing short of extraordinary.

You’ve pushed through rigorous training, honed your skills, and built bonds of trust and camaraderie with one another. Plus we survived all those fires. Today, we celebrate your success, but we also celebrate what those success will mean for the people and communities you will go on to protect. As we begin today’s ceremony, I ask that y’all reflect on the journey that’s brought us here and the vital role that these graduates will play in the world. Class 68, you have earned your place among the elite. Today is the start of a new chapter in your lives, and we’re very proud to celebrate this moment with you. So congratulations and let’s start the ceremony. So first up, we’re going to have Benji come over. He’s going to say something short about each one of you. You’re going to come get your clack and then just say a word to your class.

Oh, this isn’t mine. I can’t guarantee that it’s going to be short, what I have to say about you guys, unfortunately. This was a really, really excellent class, lots of personalities, but what I really liked about this class was just how much physical toughness is. And obviously I’m your combatives instructor along with Matt and Aaron, and this is where we really spend a lot of our time is out here on these mats. And I can learn things about you intellectually in the classroom, your level of intellectual curiosity, maybe that type of thing. And our job certainly does require intelligence, but ultimately, when it comes down to it, when it’s time to do our job, when something unexpected happens or even something bad happens, people are going to be leaning on our actual physical abilities and our actual physical skills, which is something that this academy really pushes. We don’t think that hard skills is a dirty word.

We spend a lot of time doing it. We do spend time on soft skills as well, but it’s really here on the mats where we can really see what you’re made of and what kind of character you have underlying, which ultimately in the end, even though the client might be very impressed with your overall resume, they do want to know these things about you. And being a graduate of this program does say that thing about you because it is physically challenging. It’s physically challenging for your instructors as well, keeping up in our own training, but also training you guys, as you can see, is also a very physical endeavor. So I’m going to go ahead. I’m going to start talking about you guys individually. It’s a very, very tough course.

Those of you at home, this is physically the most daunting course that there is available in the private sector, and these guys are pushed to the maximum, especially during the final, but even just the regular grind of coming here is very difficult. And what speaks to this class’s character is the attendance. The attendance was incredible. The attendance was fantastic. I told you guys from the beginning, in the beginning, I always get questions. When are we going to spar? When are we going to roll? When are we going to do these physical things? And we start doing these things and typically in classes, people start dropping off. This is a class of 16. Most days we had 14 to 16 people on the mats 90% of the time. I’ve been in here where five people show up, where three people show up because they can’t handle it. It’s really that simple.

But you guys, even you guys with injuries, you showed up, you sat, you watched, you observed and you participated in how you could. And it says a lot about the overall character of this class. So I’m going to get right into it. So our first student here, we’re going to go in alphabetical by first name, he came in with a very strong desire to transition from his previous career in the military to a brand new career in the security field. He also displayed a lot of mental and physical toughness throughout the course. This student, if he really maintains his motivation, can be a tremendous asset. Now, of course, we had our couple run-ins, me and this student that maybe took a little bit too long. It was maybe a little bit funny. We do try to keep things a little bit light. We address those issues and he really did end up being a tremendous student.

And in spite of some of the challenges that were presented to him by me, he continued to show up and really did show out overall in the program. If this guy really sticks to it and continues his training and really stays out there in the field, he’s going to be very, very successful. He’s already achieved some good employment while he was here in the program and we’re very excited to see about what he does next. I’m talking about Mr. Anthony Ruiz. We’re going to take a picture with Christina. Shake my hand. You want to say something?

After this, I’m just going to keep training and just never come complacent. So good training. Excellent.

All right. This next student, this next student definitely has all the intangibles the security companies and clients look for in an agent. He has great social intelligence and physical prowess. He did display great decision making at the range during all of his FTXs. He was definitely one of the more interesting personalities to come through the course. We had a great back and forth, me and this student. He swears to me that he’s from Orange County. As someone who’ lived in Southern California my entire life, I do not believe him. His accent screams of Tennessee. Maybe he’ll tell me the truth today, but this guy is going to be a tremendous asset wherever he ends up. And of course his big test yesterday where he got to fight me, he did display tremendous, tremendous toughness and real physical prowess. I really hope that he did get the combatives bug and that he continues his training because I think he can be a tremendous asset.

And I also just found out that he has some good employment coming up for when he leaves this program. I’m talking about Mr. Brennan Kissell. Appreciate it bus. Thank you guys. Excellent.

Beautiful speech. Okay, this next student is definitely a presence. He will excel as a close protection agent if it is what he wants. If he works hard, he could find himself managing his own team. For me, he really did display those types of leadership qualities and also a very understated guy. He’s not someone who’s leaning on his physicality to get people to do what he wants. He has tremendous social experience, social intelligence. And he came into this course with a lot of preexisting injuries, some very, very severe injuries that we all heard about. And he was really able to push through those things. I know he came out here some days and didn’t really want to be out here on the mats. I know his body was hurting, but he found a way to come out here. So like I said, he has tremendous social intelligence, which would be good for a management person. If he just wants to be a close protection agent, he can do that as well.

In the classroom, he was also tremendous on the range. He was also exceptional according to his instructors. His attendance was also excellent in spite of these physical injuries, which really speaks to his overall character as a person. He’s going to be a tremendous asset wherever he goes. I’m talking about Mr. Brian Thames.

Too much. Yeah, it was just fun to be here, put me back in that military mind. That was good.

Very moving. So this next student, this next guy, we had a great back and forth, me and him all throughout the course. He’s been a tremendous student. He could excel as a close protection agent. I think he’d be a great advance man or even great management. Also, I really feel like this guy could really excel at something like counter surveillance as well. So maybe even private investigations, counter surveillance. But of course he came here for security and he definitely demonstrated a very high aptitude, someone who should be in this field. He excelled at every phase of the program from the classroom to the mats to the range. He’s been a top performer and we really enjoyed having this student. I think that between his personality and his physical skills, his management, his management of the program and his overall social intelligence, he’s going to be a tremendous, tremendous asset to wherever he goes.

I’m talking about Mr. Christian Sandoval. Hang on. All right.

Well guys… Thank you guys. It was awesome. It felt like I was back in the military kind of thing. I mean, everybody was military served for two guys, but overall it was pretty awesome. Thank you guys for the experience and I hope to see you guys out there again. Hopefully if I go to New Jersey maybe, go work with you guys or up in Washington or something or Orange County if you say so. All right guys. Well, thank you for coming and it was awesome being with you guys.

All right. This next student, definitely a memorable student. We’re going to be remembering this guy for a long, long time. Has a great personality. Very, very funny guy, but don’t let that fool you about this individual. He’s highly motivated, hardworking, who could excel in any field, not just the security field, but could exceed in any field that he wanted. He does have that type of intellect. However, his instructors do think he’s exactly where he should be, that he should be right here in the security industry. This is where he seems to be comfortable and where we feel that he could really, really excel. He displayed tremendous physical and mental toughness, especially yesterday during the final. You guys get pushed. Don’t think for one second that normal people that you run into day to day could do what you guys just did yesterday is extremely difficult thing. This individual showed me what I already knew what he was made of.

He came in here with a tough wrestling background. Wrestling is a tremendously difficult sport. And one thing that I really liked about this kid yesterday is that we were over here and he was up against the wall and he started to take a pretty decent shellacking and he kept throwing very, very hard shots, was hitting me in the body, was trying to get to my head and he did not make it easy at all. And that’s what I wanted to see. When you can’t breathe, when you can’t feel your feet, when you can’t feel your hands, when you can’t feel your head, how do you behave? And this person showed me that he behaves at a very, very high level and it’s going to take a very, very difficult set of situations to break this person down to the point that they’re ineffective. I don’t see it happening. We are very much looking forward to see this guy out in the field one of these nights. I’m talking about Darius Diaz.

I had a good time being here with all of you guys. Good batch of dudes, especially at the range and in the classroom. I hope all of you guys succeed.

So this next student was also really, really exceptional student. He excelled at every phase of the program. He came in with a very strong background, very, very strong background. And even though he came in with a lot of training and previous experience, he remained coachable all throughout the course, which tells me that you have a very strong background. I can tell by how you behave when you’re in here, basically what your background was. The higher level you are, the more coachable you are. That is how you become high level is that you are coachable. Like I tell you guys, I am still a student. I’m still a student. I still go out and train. I have my own coach, my own combatives coach who I go. And yes, I do things differently than he does, but he is my coach and he teaches me a lot of things and I tailor those things to your specifications. And when I’m there, I am very coachable.

I don’t say, “Hey, I’m a combatives instructor at Pacific West Academy.” We don’t do that. That’s not the attitude. When you go to a program, you sort of submit to the learning experience, which this student was able to do in spite of his tremendous background. We feel that he really did up his skill while he was here in the program. He even read a couple books that I recommended, which of course we all know that I really, really like. Also, his physicality really showed through all throughout the program, but especially yesterday. He also really, really excelled on the range and in medical training and basically at every other phase of the training. I personally hope he caught the combatives bug. Of course, that’s very self-serving. I’m a combatives instructor, but I think he has tremendous potential in that phase as well.

Like I was saying just yesterday, if we can get the combative skills to the same level as the physical toughness, we’re talking about a very, very formidable person who is already very, very formidable. He’s going to be a tremendous asset to any client he works for, any company he ends up at, and it was a pleasure to coach this individual. I’m talking about Mr. John Forward.

It was an honor to be here with you guys. I had a great time. It was a tremendous opportunity to learn from these instructors who I believe are some of the best in the country, if not the best in the country. And I wish success for all of us and all of you guys in the future. Thank you.

All right. This next student, he’s a local Angelino, so he’s very near and dear to my heart. Whenever you’re out here, if you’re going to say you’re from LA, I do expect things from you because I am from LA and we have to maintain the brand, don’t we, right? We have to maintain the brand. So he came in here with that mentality and he came in with a true student mentality, which is what we’re looking for. He came to be coached and we coached him and he accepted the information. He displayed a tremendous ability to be given information and turn it into new skills very, very quickly. He wasn’t extremely experienced in combatives or on the range or even in some of the concepts in the classroom, but his ability to receive the information and assimilate it into his muscle memory really showed what kind of character this individual has. He had some challenges while he was in the program.

That’s one of those things that you face when you’re local. A lot of you guys are coming from all over the country and if there’s a problem in New Jersey, it’s far away. So it’s far away and you can’t really deal with it to that point. So when you’re local and you’re still dealing with your personal life, it can be very challenging. He didn’t let those challenges get in the way. He had several tremendous runs in the shoot house. I did coach him a fair amount, but my fellow instructors really coached him out. I was basically there to be his safety officer while in the shoot house. And I don’t know if it was Aaron or Matt who coached him personally or Roz, but he really, really showed a high level. And that’s very impressive to me in the shoot house because maybe you don’t realize it, but this is the most difficult, most dangerous thing you can do in the private sector when we’re talking about training with firearms.

You’re going to have to be in the military before someone trusts you that much to run through shoot houses. Even in law enforcement, most law enforcement agents do not get the amount of runs and reps that you guys got through a shoot house. And to come with relatively little experience in the shooting field and excel in something like a shoot house is a very, very big accomplishment. Also coming out here, not having the big combatives background, but really, really showing the toughness and the desire to learn speaks to this individual’s character and we know he’s going to do great things out on the field and I hope to see him out there one day. I’m talking about Mr. Taheed, Malik Taheed.

God, I’m going to keep it short. There’s not much I can say that hasn’t been said. Pretty sure I told some of you I was supposed to be in a class that’s starting now. I was lucky to get in a month earlier and I’m really glad I met a lot of you. I hope you guys go far. There’s some interesting characters that I’ve met in here that I’m going to remember for years, like Michael, like only dude I know still wears the baseball cap and it’s formal, but those individuals, everyone here, those stories we’ve shot, I’ll remember them for a lifetime. So hope to see you guys in the field.

All right. This next student came in with a lot of background in the military police field. His overall experience became more and more apparent throughout the course. When it came time to perform, he really stepped up. His experience was apparent in the shoot house as he displayed good firearm handling and decision making, and most importantly, great safety. I can tell exactly where you are, what your exact firearms level is by your level of safety. There’s no such thing as I’m a good shooter, but I’m not safe. That’s not a thing. So this individual, even though maybe he didn’t have hundreds of runs through shoot houses previously, even though I know he had some, he really did display a very high level, excellent firearm handling and decision making. He had some very challenging physical issues while he was in here and he would show up for combatives wearing braces and really trying to work his way through and doing what he can.

We can only work so hard through injuries. We don’t want injuries to last forever. Our bodies are very important. They’re very valuable now. They’re probably more valuable than they’ve ever been in terms of actual dollars. I’ve actually had to adjust my training as well. I can’t train the way that I used to. There’s too much at stake. I can’t afford to blow out a knee or a neck or whatever. I still try to get out there and do what I can, and that is what this individual did, and he did take risks with his body out here. Anytime you perform, when you are already injured, you are taking tremendous risks, and this guy did take those risks. I also really appreciated his overall demeanor. He’s a very funny guy. He has a great personality. He was very much liked by his peers, and we and I, we think that he’s going to rise to any occasion and be a great asset wherever he decides to go. I’m talking about Mr. Mychal Reposa.

Thank you. Appreciate you guys for just letting me be myself this whole time. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve been struggling with ever since I got out. Just do what you got to do and we’ll just keep on pushing forward. I hope you guys stay safe out there and can’t wait to hopefully see you all again.

All right, this next student, we’re not going to be forgetting this guy anytime soon. It’s not every day that we get a WWE wrestler in the program. That was a unique experience in and of itself. He’s been a tremendous student. He excelled at every phase in the classroom. Even though English is a second language for him, he had success at everything he’s done. He already owns a successful business and competed at the highest levels of professional wrestling, just like we were talking about background and the level that you’ve achieved. This individual has achieved the highest level in an extremely difficult endeavor, professional wrestling. It is the most difficult, most dangerous sport, and I call it a sport. I know that people call it performance, but I call professional wrestling a sport. It is not a game. We all know that people have died doing professional wrestling, severe injuries, so on and so forth.

And what those guys put their bodies through for the recognition they’re looking for is an incredible thing. And it also spoke to his elite level that he was so coachable. This is something that we see in here all the time. The more elite you are, the more coachable you are and the less you complain, and this person really, really did display that. And he already has his own business as well. And we’re very glad that in spite of his success that he’s chosen to come here and join our industry because we need good elite people in here. That’s what this program is about. It’s about increasing the overall quality that is out there in the field. The more quality agents that we have out there, the safer that we are going to be. He of course did excel on the mats. I think we all felt that yesterday. This guy’s built like a brick. He had a great combatives finally. He fought extremely hard.

He managed his business the entire time that he was here and maintained perfect attendance and was tremendous in the shoot house, especially considering how advanced shoot house work is. He did come in with very high level law enforcement training as well previously, but we feel that we were able to get him to another level while he was here in the program. This individual’s going to excel wherever he goes, but his instructors would love to see him stay in the industry and we hope to run into him one of these nights. I’m talking about Mr. Pavel Kozlov. You have to do your thing.

Yes. English is my second language, but I do have something to say. It will be a little long if I may. Check, check. Pacific West Academy, that was really tremendous time to be here for the last two and a half months, learning great stuff that’s needed to be successful in AP business. For me personally, for example, those things like firearms training, it was a hobby for me before. For example, like fighting, combatives. I was doing sort of fighting for a living for a long time before, but other than that, most of this stuff was new for me. So I was trying to be a sponge, trying to get everything inside of me as much as possible, all the knowledge. And I think I can speak on behalf of everyone here that we are all really thankful for our instructors and we’re all thankful for their time, dedication and knowledge.

And I will call some names right now and not all of them, just a couple and who I don’t mention today, it doesn’t mean that I don’t remember them or I don’t respect them or whatsoever. I just want to mention a couple who maybe were present during the whole time while we’ve been here. So Benji, Comrade or Sensei, whatever I will call you, it will not going to eliminate how amazing you can combine charisma, mixed martial arts, and executive protection street tactical training together. And you presented that knowledge with such a great professionalism, so thank you for that. Matt, I will be really simple here. Just two words, firearms genius. That’s it. Nothing to be added here. Aaron, it was really priceless to be around not just an instructor in executive protection class, but also around such a successful person who achieved a success in that business. Thank you very much for your time, encouragement, and all the support.

As I said, I didn’t mention a lot of people. We all remember and feel really grateful for everybody. Also one more person and that person is kind of behind the scenes. Christina, thank you very much. Without you, I wouldn’t be here. I’m almost done. I just want to add few words for my peers, for you guys. Most of you guys came from the military, have military background. I do not have that background. I came from another world. I came from entertainment world. Yes, I played some military guys on the screen, but you guys are a real deal. You are real warriors, so do not forget to be different when you hit those trees over there. Do not forget. Do not lose your power because now you also have another kind of power because remember that knowledge is power and PWA, they gave us that knowledge. So let’s give a round of applause for each and every one of us and our instructors. Thank you. Somebody paid that. I felt like I was in a movie.

Next person, just go sit down.

Let’s get this done before I cry. All right, moving on. That was fantastic. So this next student was also a pleasure to coach. He came in with good combative skills and showed all throughout the program, has an excellent demeanor for the job, extremely intelligent and well-spoken. The classroom might not be his favorite, but once he gets moving, he moves for real. He and I also had a great back and forth throughout the program. He’s only the second student to be given the nickname Bruce Leroy. So that is only the second. Okay? It’s a very, very honored nickname and he did earn it all the way. Showed up tremendous on the range, tremendous on the mats, tremendous guy, tremendous student. We think he’s going to succeed at a very high level in this industry. I’m talking about Mr. Phillip Davon.

Thank you. I just want to say, when it’s combatives. I really appreciate being here. I learned a lot. I try to come in as a sponge because I don’t know a lot sometimes when it comes to new things, obviously. I really enjoyed each and every one of you guys’ personalities. Super hilarious. Every one of you guys is a character. Your faces. Point At me.

See, you can’t be the only one who don’t know. You know what I’m saying? But no, I really appreciate Benji for all the combatives that I’ll learn. Anything new, he would always help me to learn. Matt, I didn’t even know what wall size triggers was. So Aaron, you’re just a big help in the community and I appreciate that. Christina, all y’all. It’s a one.

Yeah. But I’m going to sit down because I have to follow up that.

All right, this next student, he is our very first student to come from Panama. We had our very first Russian student, true Russian student. We got our very first Panamanian in this class as well. This is one of these guys who has all of the intangibles. He has everything you need to be a success in the game. He’s a tremendous presence and he’s very, very intelligent. He excelled at every phase of the course. He also had some struggles on the mat and in the shoot house. It’s new. It’s new. Even when you’re a big guy, you got a little guy like Darius coming at you who’s putting the pressure on you. It’s pressure and it’s pressure all the way. And he eventually did learn his way through those things. I hope he catches the combatives bug and the overall training bug, which you come here for 10 weeks, you’re going to catch it whether you want it or not. So his mental toughness really, really showed through. He found his way.

He learned many new skills that we think he’s going to assimilate very well into his muscle memory. And he’s already found success with employment in our industry before he even graduated. I want to welcome our first Canalero to the front, Mr. Rene Osorio.

I ain’t got much else to say, but after what Pablo did, I don’t think anybody can beat that. I appreciate everybody that was here. Appreciate the staff. Benji, Matt, Aaron, I appreciate you guys for giving us all the tools to be successful and I hope the rest of the class is as successful as they are. That’s all I got to say.

All right, this next student, another exceptional student. It was very easy to write about you guys. It was very, very easy. I didn’t have to think much. All this stuff was really just apparent. And with this student, it also really showed through an exceptional student. This student had the painful honor of being Mayuke. Those of you at home that don’t know what a nuke is, that means you’re the demonstration partner for the combatives coach. And it is an honor, but it is a painful honor, isn’t it? Yeah, it is one as well. So even though he had this unpleasant experience, as you can imagine, he took this all in stride. He showed a really high level at every phase of the training from the classroom to the range to medical, back into the classroom. Well, we’re talking about Rolando. Sorry. Rolando also came in with a lot of boxing experience. That’s something that I think that we related to a lot together.

I’m also coming from the boxing world. Boxing is a tremendous sport. It builds tremendous character and it’s one of the few martial arts where they still talk about character. This is one of the problems that we’re confronting in the martial arts world. Everybody just wants to know how to beat people up and we lose what the thing is really about. It’s about honor, it’s about respect, right? It’s about doing what you need to do, whatever it is, applying those lessons on the mats to the world at large and doing what you have to do. When you have this big guy coming at you who wants to do something to you, you have to do what you have to do. And this person is definitely ready to do those things. And he definitely learned those lessons in the ring in large part or at least in some small part. And that’s one of the reasons why I want you guys to really stick with that level of training.

It’ll also chill some of you out a little bit, you know what I’m saying? We did have to have a little conversation about butt scooting when he was here. He butt scooted at his instructor. He was given a bit of a lashing about that, but I think we understand each other now. I think we understand each other now. This guy’s going to do great things wherever he goes. I’m talking about Mr. Rolando Jacquez.

I mean, pretty much just what everybody else said. Thank you to the instructors, Benji. My favorite part about the course was probably the perspective. I’ve been boxing since I was 17 and Benji taught me some stuff that I’ve never known about. Aaron talking about Muay Thai kicks, elbows, stuff like that, the stuff with shooting with Matt. Before I got here, I was a terrible shot. Now you made me a decent shot. Still not good, but better. Now I want to thank all of you guys as well, you know what I’m saying? Like I said, when it comes to shooting, I wasn’t the best, but you were better than me. You helped me. You helped me, you helped me. When it comes to medical stuff, Chris, you helped me. There’s people, we all kind of helped each other, you know what I’m saying, when the instructors weren’t there. So it’s a good group of guys. I’m glad I got to meet you guys, man, and I hope you guys succeed. One last demonstration.

All right. This next student is a real hard charger. He did have some physical issues that prevented him from participating to the point that I know that he wanted to. That’s something that I could really feel about this individual. I’m known to be a little bit of an intense individual, but when I can feel it from another person, that’s very interesting to me. And this person has a tremendous fire inside, which I think he’s going to really use to succeed in the field. He maintained almost a perfect attendance record for combatives, even though he was dealing with some very, very bad injuries. And he also maintained a perfect attendance out at the range. Those range days, those are long, cold. Sometimes they’re cold, sometimes they’re hot, sometimes it’s muddy, sometimes it’s not. It’s a very, very long, difficult days that he subjected himself to.

I think once he fixes his body, he should have no problem finding his way in this industry. He’s going to be an asset. He has high character, high intelligence, and very, very high toughness. He has all the tools. I’m talking about Mr. Stanley Wilshire. Oh, okay.

Thank you guys to the staff. I love all you guys, to the class. Love all you guys.You guys are all my best friends. I look forward to reaching out to you guys if I need any help. And I hope you guys do the same for me. Thank you. That’s right.

All right. This next student, another guy that I had a very good back and forth with, a little bit quiet, but when he starts talking, very, very interesting guy. He’s got all the tools, great demeanor, very well spoken when he speaks. Where are you? When he speaks. Yeah, very well spoken when he speaks. Good social intelligence, brought a lot of mental and physical toughness into the more physical parts of the program. He is one of the few people who excels equally at both high and low security postures. That is a very difficult, very, very difficult thing to do where you can go low pro or high pro. Most of us can’t do that. It’s hard for me to do low profile. I do it. I’ve done it. I’m not terrible at it, but it’s not very natural to me. This one student, he’s a good sized guy, but he’s able to blend in very well. In Venice, he’s one of the few people that I was able to notice at all.

On the other FTXs, he had very, very high marks, especially during those FTXs. He showed tremendous, tremendous toughness yesterday during the final. I think that was his last round. He caught the last round with the instructor. We were both pretty tired, took some good shots, never went down, kept coming, made my life very difficult in there. This is a guy who can really, really push. And I know that he’s going to apply those skills and those tools to whatever he wants to do, whether it’s going into law enforcement, staying in private security, he’s going to excel at whatever he wants to do. I’m talking about Mr. Vincent Smith.

That’s Right. Be you, Vince. Be you. If you learned anything… Now yes, be you, right? But sometimes you isn’t good enough, right? And we need to train more and do more things so that we can get to where we want to go. That concludes what I have to say in terms of handing these over. I just have one more thing to say. I say it most of the time when we graduate and stuff like that, but I want you guys to understand that the value that this program has, it can only be displayed by you. You are the ones who have to go out there and show that this program is worthwhile and that it’s good and that other people should do it as well. We’re the only real program of our kind. So it is important that you guys give it the value because only you can give it value in the way that you comport yourself when you’re out in the field and the service that you give to your clients, whether it is the general public or an individual.

You are what gives value to the program. We cannot pay for it. We cannot buy it. We cannot do it with more marketing. We cannot do it by improving the instructors. We cannot do it any of those things. You guys give the program value, okay? So I hope that you take these lessons and that you turn it into a very good, very strong career that benefits not just you, but also benefits society at large. Obviously, we have a lot of stuff going on in the country right now, and the more well-trained security people we have out there, the safer the good people of our civilization are going to be, and that is the role that we play. We don’t get respect as security people, generally speaking. When one of us dies, there’s not much attention to it. Or when one of us gets injured, there’s not much attention to it. Nobody’s going to lower a flag to half mask for a security agent, but the people who are in the industry understand what it takes.

This is a dangerous job nationwide. It is a dangerous job. Like I said previously in 2022, the last time it was counted by Forbes Magazine, 170 security agents were killed in a year. Okay? That’s in 2022. That is the same amount of police officers who were killed in the same year. So we’re doing it about the same rate. So you guys are highly trained. The training that you’ve received excels most law enforcement academies in the country, and it’s important for you guys to represent that training while you’re out there. Don’t let it go. Don’t let the lessons go to waste. Don’t start stiffening up on your training, okay? Make sure that you’re always out there training and that you are a good example to everyone who is out there. I wish you guys very well. We are accessible to you. This is not a take your stuff and get out of here. We hope to hear from all of you, whatever you need, licensing, letters of recommendation.

However we can help you, we’re going to help you. But try to apply your training while you’re out there. Stay in the industry. You are exactly where you need to be. If you came through this program, it’s because you want to be in the security industry and you probably need to be in the security industry. All the times where I found difficulty in my life is when I tried to do things that are not me. They’re just not me. Yeah, I could probably be a car salesman. I could probably be a nurse, but these are not things that are consistent with who I am as a person. This industry is consistent with who you are as a person. You’re going to be around people who are like you, which is one of the big challenges that we face, especially when we go and try to be normal people. We’re not normal people. This is not a normal thing. Most people don’t want to be bodyguards. Most people are not interested in going into the security field.

That doesn’t change the needs that our society has right now for quality and security. So I wish you guys well. I want you guys to continue training and I want you to stay in touch with us. And when you’re out there, display value and display that you are a different level of security agent. Thank you very much.

All right. Now we’re going to bring Matt up. He’s going to announce the Top Gun.

Morning, fellas. How are we doing? All right. Well, first off, good morning. Second, congratulations. This was a phenomenal class overall. You guys made it super easy. I talked about it yesterday. You guys make it super easy to go ahead and come into work and give you guys as much information as we possibly can. All right. I know this is graduation and this is the start of a lot of our lives when it comes into jumping in this industry. Ultimately, number one thing is continuously train. Do not sit on that pedestal of experience. You are either getting better or you are getting worse. You don’t stay the same. So don’t leave here and just go, “Oh yeah, I attended Pacific West Academy so I know everything.” Continue your training. Every single one of your instructors continues their training one way or another. Okay? So you are either getting better or you are getting worse. I do not care about your past. I care about who you are today.

Everybody understand that? All right. So when it comes to our awards here, we have a couple different things. So we have our Top Gun Award and we have our second and our Gray Man Award, all right? So for the second and the Gray Man, we have a couple different things inside of this bag. We got a concealed holster. We have some other things in there, cleaning kits, all that stuff. You can take a look at it yourself and see what’s in there, but it’s some things that we think will be beneficial to you. And I built the bag, so obviously they’re firearms related, right? But there are things that I think will be beneficial to you, especially if you’re trying to just immediately jump out into the industry. Okay? So for our Gray Man Award, we’re going to start there.

Normally we have a first and second of the class and then we have kind of a Gray Man Award where it’s like they weren’t really the top, they weren’t really the bottom, but their personality fit and they performed at a level. It just so happened that our Gray Man also is our third overall in the class. And when we’re talking about the percentages for actually placement, we’re talking about 10ths of a percentage. So very, very close. The final is what got those things solidified. Okay? So we’re going to go ahead and start with our Gray Man Award who also happens to be the third overall. All right? That’s going to be Mr. Rolando Jacquez. All right. Now, there’s a lot of stuff that you guys covered. It’s been 10 weeks and it’s been a long 10 weeks. All right? It’s a lot of information, very quick to get overloaded with information. So to be able to retain information and still perform at a high level is a very, very huge thing.

It also ensures that you’re going to be able to perform at a high level when you’re tired and overloaded with information, especially when you get out into the field. So this is actually a very big deal for us, all right? Our second overall is going to be Mr. Brennan Kissell. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Feel free. All right. So for our Top Gun, this is a big thing. Not only did this person come out on top of all the scores, but also has the personality for being out into the field. We believe that this person, again, not only being a top performer, but also embodies our motto, which is quite assertive and in control. What they’re going to receive as a Top Gun is going to be a plaque that states that they’re Top Gun and it has their name on it. What they’re also going to receive is a Sunto core watch. So I spent a lot of time running Sunto core watches in the military. I’ve dove with these things, jumped with these things. I’ve done a lot of different things with this watch, and to this day, I actually still have one of these watches and it’s still running and still, still kicking with all the stuff that I’m doing today. So they’re also going to go ahead and receive that. The Top Gun for CESS 68 is going to be Mr. John P. Ford.

I don’t think I have to say… I don’t think I have anything to say that han already been said. I appreciate the opportunity, guys. You get some stiff competition. I didn’t think I was going to pull through at the end, but I guess I did. But I appreciate the, like the effort that all you guys put, and it was a real honor to be here. I appreciate it, guys.

All right. Gentlemen, again, congratulations. I hope you guys have learned a lot from us. I hope you guys continuously train, and I hope to see you guys in the field. CESS 68, you’ve graduated. Congratulations.

All right. Just a few final remarks, and then we’re out the door. All right. So as we’re coming to the close of this really momentous occasion, I want to reflect on the significance of today and the people who helped make it possible. So first and foremost to our family and friends, whether on live stream or here in person, thank you. Your support, your encouragement, and sacrifices have been invaluable. Behind every one of these graduates is a network of loved ones who provided strength, motivation through every challenge. Today, we celebrate not just the graduates, but also the unwavering support that has brought them here. To our exceptional instructors, especially Benji, Matt, and Erin, your knowledge, dedication, and leadership have transformed these students into professionals that are ready to take on the world. You’ve done more than teach skills.

You’ve instilled the principles of quiet, confidence, assertiveness, and control that define our motto and our foundation of training. To our administrative team who are tirelessly working behind the scenes, we’ve got Christina, our student services coordinator, Mari and John in admissions. We’ve got Jordan, our director of marketing, Omer, who does kind of a bit of everything. And we’ve got Andrea, our director of administrative services. Your leadership and attention to detail keep everything running very smoothly. All right. So graduates, you’re now graduates of class 68. You joined the ranks of an elite group of certified executive specialty security specialists. You represent Pacific West Academy in everything you do from this day forward. The values you’ve embraced, quiet, assertive, and in control are not just words, they’re principles that will guide you in your careers and in your life.

They are qualities that set you apart and prepare you to excel in this vital and challenging field. But let me remind you, this is not the end of your relationship with us. You’re now part of our family and we’re here to support you however we can. Please reach out if you need seeking guidance, additional training, or just to share a win that you’ve had in life. Let us know. You’re always going to have a home with us. As you leave here today, I urge you to carry the lessons you’ve learned and the principles you’ve cultivated into everything you do. The world really needs protectors, those who bring safety, stability, and integrity to every situation. So be proud of what you’ve achieved and know that we are proud of you. So go forward with confidence, knowing you’re equipped not only with skills, but also with the character to make a lasting impact. Congratulations.