Army Rumour Service

Register a free account today to join our community
Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site, connect with other members through your own private inbox and will receive smaller adverts!

Close protection training

hank

War hero
A colleague at work is looking for a recommendation for a good CP course in UK. He is recently arrived in UK having just left the Romanian army where he was an MP for eight years and has worked in Afghanistan with the British and Americans. He is 33. I have used the search function but could find nothing under a year old. Does anyone have any suggestions?
 
^ Yep,

There are a few Romanians on there with his background who are regular contributors and are in CP Roles.
 
My Experiences at Israel Security Academy (ISA) BEWARE before enrollment
I came across the International Security Academy, Israel through the web in 2010. I wanted intensive training in VIP Close Protection, Maritime and Close Protection High Risk zones and felt that at first sight this Academy could provide this. What convinced me was:

1. They were Israeli, and the numerous instructors listed had extensive military and police backgrounds.

2. They gave the impression that they had a complete Academy: Premises, training grounds, shooting ranges and permanent on-site instructors.

3. Their slick and hyped up marketing via documentation, U tube videos, giving weapons demonstrations and giving interviews to different TV networks. They gave the impression that weapons training, with the use of existing and available training grounds, ships, cars etc, were all part of their assets land access and daily schedule. This was later discovered as not the case and the individuals doing the drills were not students.

I called up some former students to ask them about the programme; I couldn’t get hold of most. Though with one and who gave me the most information, he said the course was OK, however he seemed hesitant to endorse it fully. He had done it a few years back.

One of his reservations was with the use of vehicles; ISA hired out vehicles and made him put it on his credit card. ISA themselves had none of their own. The use of vehicles was compulsory and used for a varied of risky drills that could lead to accidents; in his case they had an accident and he wasn’t driving – but was forced to pay for the damages, and was never compensated for it. He told me to avoid putting my card forward – which I did, because an accident did happen and the person whose name it was insured under had to pay for the damages. The Director Mirza also made sure he collected photocopies of all the students, so it was extremely difficult to avoid this trap. You should ask yourself why he doesn’t put his name down, make a deal with a friend of his for usable vehicles (which he probably did anyway to his advantage) or HAVE his own vehicles as part of his Academy.

Experiences:

1. Finding the venue (an old sports venue and indoor shooting range) was a nightmare, coming from the airport. No-one had heard of the Old Olympic Shooting Range. No ISA Academy exists as on site premises, despite the impression given in the photos! Deceptive. They own nothing - no assets, buildings, cars, teaching rooms, shooting ranges, practice zones; the second hand dodgy weapons and jackets are also not owned but hired out for the exercises. All they have is an ISA logo on the shooting range wall.

2. The shooting range digs (old Olympic shooting range building) where I spent most of my 8 weeks, was dirty, dingy, dilapidated and badly run. We shared 12 to a room in bunks. Most of the building had been shut down due to age and underused. It was used for other uses by the public. The Director had hired out a couple of rooms for the daily classes. We paid for our accommodation and food. He hired out the shooting range space (one shooting area) for the few occasions we used them.

3. Krav Maga was taught by another teacher and was roughly for 3 - 5 days. They had no proper gym area or any equipment; it was done in the parks.

4. Out of the month, live pistol shooting was done for 2 days. Two days were spent on ‘dry practices’ outside the complex on the tarmac. Another teacher took this class and the only (outside) competent trainer (not part of ISA, but also paid for his services).

5. The majority of instructional material was taken by Director himself. We had daily classes after P.E. and this constituted the majority of the course; the classes were tedious, long winded and a testament to Mirza’s need for attention and to be listened to. Various assignments and nightly activities were given, run by the Director, that were dull, poorly organized and of little benefit. The Director behavior, character and presence which he fully imposed on us, throughout the programme, was aggressive, erratic, whimsical, and entitled. Due to his moods, there was a lot of personal blame, confrontation and putting the group on the spot.

6. He was a businessman above all, with little regard or concern for the needs and aspirations of the students. Despite protests to the contrary, he showed neglect and lack of regard for our welfare; he could cancel an activity at a moment’s notice, due to his mood swings, although he sold it as intentional and being for our own good, to not get used to routine. I didn’t buy it.

7. I resented the fact that we had to pay for our own food and digs, but they themselves had no infrastructure to speak of, simply hiring rooms and cars, paying for ‘individual teachers’ on an ad hock basis – but yet the fees we paid were astronomical. What justified the expense? Days spent on weapons training were minimal, the weapons hired were few. The rental of space was of the lowest kind (almost industrial). The teachers hired were few (4 others in total).

8. And top of this they gave this attitude ‘take it or leave it, we’ve got you by the balls, because you’ve paid up front’ type thing, and if you complain, then they would not give you your certificate. They did this to keep people in line and took advantage. They didn’t give a damn about what happened to us, but they made us spend money by the extras they compelled us to do - as part of the course.

9. There was a lot of back biting among st the students also and silent resentment towards him; they said nothing because they knew they would be punished with no certificate. Others were upset because they had put all of their savings into this expensive course, found it rubbish and had no option but to continue. Because everything relies on the certificate, they wouldn’t later complain because it would make them look bad and not get employed; so the lie is perpetuated. Hence no negative comments on the site.

10. After 2 weeks, We called a meeting with the Director to pull out of the course since he had created a false impression about his business. He gave the impression he had a properly established Academy with premises and an infrastructure, which he didn’t; he had no permanent staff, the list given on the site were not seen at any moment (save 2 or 3), he gave false promises about the use of weapons and ammunition, and that we would use them regularly, which he hardly used; instead most of the time it was P.E. and listening to Director waffle on and on, with the occasional poorly organized activities.

11. He made us pay for the hire of the vehicles and one the student had to pay for vehicle repairs on an accident, done on a drill, as part of the course.

12. I had also had enough of unnecessary payments, which we were forced to pay, his Narcissistic personality, were he would mistreat and arbitrarily take us from one unplanned activity to another, without thought or regard.

13. The High Risk and Maritime Course: This course was absolute rubbish and had zero content. The only value was 2-3 days weapons training near the West Bank. The training was taken by an independent trainer who was the only professional worthy of mentioning. After the car crashed as part of the drill, the exercise was called off by the Director, because he was angry he had to pay for the damages. He did it on the cheap. The Buildings we slept in were completely gutted with cement, bricks and rubble on the floors. The weapons hired out were old and in poor condition. Most belonged to the Independent Instructor. This was the only positive period of the course.

14. The next step we were impulsively forced to go on a ferry cruise along the Mediterranean Coast as part of our ‘Maritime Training.’ In reality, the Director brought his family, being funded to go on a cruise; they never got off the ship whilst we were given pointless exercises along the 5 or 6 stops on shore; Mirza enjoyed the facilities and large meals in the meantime and subjected us to his endless lectures and pearls of wisdom. This produced a lot of animosity with us. There was no training on the ships, let alone tactical training.

15. On a whim, the Director decided to cancel the third programme, because there were ‘not enough people’ ie the few he thought very little of; and despite being paid up front. Despite repeated contact he has refused to refund us the money and became incommunicado after the second course. His Son , did absolutely nothing to facilitate as they themselves had fallen out. He showed absolute disrespect, and an entitlements for someone so young.

This is a rubbish and mediocre course that has nothing to do with the media hype and online marketing, document publishing. It is sold under false pretenses. It is a con, run by an overly entitled narcissist, and family, who believe they have the right to take your money without any sense of obligation and provision of service. He has nothing to offer but grief.

They have no assets, no office, no infrastructure, no permanent training staff, and no course content of any significance. You will be subjected to the personal mistreatment of a moody, overweight man, who will stir up discord and take you on a roller coaster of chaotic behavior and activities of little value, accompanied by an unreasonable angry and hostile attitude. Your queries and protestations will fall on deaf ears once you have parted with your money.

You will incur additional costs. If you have any trouble they will not assist you. Beyond the little daily effort they make, they will neglect you. The rates they charge go instead to their personal benefit. Once you have paid you are in it until it is over, regardless; you will never get your hard earned money back. They will use the non-issue of certificates as a weapon against you. WE GO THERE FOR PROPER TRAINING AND NOT THE CERTIFICATION, CP SHOULD BE MORE ON SKILLS

If you want the truth, contact the students personally, rather than on social media; where he blocks anyone who ask pertinent question and critics the course ISA has been known to troll and self promote through sites, feigning comments as students to promote itself. They have been told off for doing this.

The promotional literature on the site was devised long ago and handed out automatically. The movies are of professionally trained people, not students.
 
My Experiences at Israel Security Academy (ISA) BEWARE before enrollment
I came across the International Security Academy, Israel through the web in 2010. I wanted intensive training in VIP Close Protection, Maritime and Close Protection High Risk zones and felt that at first sight this Academy could provide this. What convinced me was:

1. They were Israeli, and the numerous instructors listed had extensive military and police backgrounds.

2. They gave the impression that they had a complete Academy: Premises, training grounds, shooting ranges and permanent on-site instructors.

3. Their slick and hyped up marketing via documentation, U tube videos, giving weapons demonstrations and giving interviews to different TV networks. They gave the impression that weapons training, with the use of existing and available training grounds, ships, cars etc, were all part of their assets land access and daily schedule. This was later discovered as not the case and the individuals doing the drills were not students.

I called up some former students to ask them about the programme; I couldn’t get hold of most. Though with one and who gave me the most information, he said the course was OK, however he seemed hesitant to endorse it fully. He had done it a few years back.

One of his reservations was with the use of vehicles; ISA hired out vehicles and made him put it on his credit card. ISA themselves had none of their own. The use of vehicles was compulsory and used for a varied of risky drills that could lead to accidents; in his case they had an accident and he wasn’t driving – but was forced to pay for the damages, and was never compensated for it. He told me to avoid putting my card forward – which I did, because an accident did happen and the person whose name it was insured under had to pay for the damages. The Director Mirza also made sure he collected photocopies of all the students, so it was extremely difficult to avoid this trap. You should ask yourself why he doesn’t put his name down, make a deal with a friend of his for usable vehicles (which he probably did anyway to his advantage) or HAVE his own vehicles as part of his Academy.

Experiences:

1. Finding the venue (an old sports venue and indoor shooting range) was a nightmare, coming from the airport. No-one had heard of the Old Olympic Shooting Range. No ISA Academy exists as on site premises, despite the impression given in the photos! Deceptive. They own nothing - no assets, buildings, cars, teaching rooms, shooting ranges, practice zones; the second hand dodgy weapons and jackets are also not owned but hired out for the exercises. All they have is an ISA logo on the shooting range wall.

2. The shooting range digs (old Olympic shooting range building) where I spent most of my 8 weeks, was dirty, dingy, dilapidated and badly run. We shared 12 to a room in bunks. Most of the building had been shut down due to age and underused. It was used for other uses by the public. The Director had hired out a couple of rooms for the daily classes. We paid for our accommodation and food. He hired out the shooting range space (one shooting area) for the few occasions we used them.

3. Krav Maga was taught by another teacher and was roughly for 3 - 5 days. They had no proper gym area or any equipment; it was done in the parks.

4. Out of the month, live pistol shooting was done for 2 days. Two days were spent on ‘dry practices’ outside the complex on the tarmac. Another teacher took this class and the only (outside) competent trainer (not part of ISA, but also paid for his services).

5. The majority of instructional material was taken by Director himself. We had daily classes after P.E. and this constituted the majority of the course; the classes were tedious, long winded and a testament to Mirza’s need for attention and to be listened to. Various assignments and nightly activities were given, run by the Director, that were dull, poorly organized and of little benefit. The Director behavior, character and presence which he fully imposed on us, throughout the programme, was aggressive, erratic, whimsical, and entitled. Due to his moods, there was a lot of personal blame, confrontation and putting the group on the spot.

6. He was a businessman above all, with little regard or concern for the needs and aspirations of the students. Despite protests to the contrary, he showed neglect and lack of regard for our welfare; he could cancel an activity at a moment’s notice, due to his mood swings, although he sold it as intentional and being for our own good, to not get used to routine. I didn’t buy it.

7. I resented the fact that we had to pay for our own food and digs, but they themselves had no infrastructure to speak of, simply hiring rooms and cars, paying for ‘individual teachers’ on an ad hock basis – but yet the fees we paid were astronomical. What justified the expense? Days spent on weapons training were minimal, the weapons hired were few. The rental of space was of the lowest kind (almost industrial). The teachers hired were few (4 others in total).

8. And top of this they gave this attitude ‘take it or leave it, we’ve got you by the balls, because you’ve paid up front’ type thing, and if you complain, then they would not give you your certificate. They did this to keep people in line and took advantage. They didn’t give a damn about what happened to us, but they made us spend money by the extras they compelled us to do - as part of the course.

9. There was a lot of back biting among st the students also and silent resentment towards him; they said nothing because they knew they would be punished with no certificate. Others were upset because they had put all of their savings into this expensive course, found it rubbish and had no option but to continue. Because everything relies on the certificate, they wouldn’t later complain because it would make them look bad and not get employed; so the lie is perpetuated. Hence no negative comments on the site.

10. After 2 weeks, We called a meeting with the Director to pull out of the course since he had created a false impression about his business. He gave the impression he had a properly established Academy with premises and an infrastructure, which he didn’t; he had no permanent staff, the list given on the site were not seen at any moment (save 2 or 3), he gave false promises about the use of weapons and ammunition, and that we would use them regularly, which he hardly used; instead most of the time it was P.E. and listening to Director waffle on and on, with the occasional poorly organized activities.

11. He made us pay for the hire of the vehicles and one the student had to pay for vehicle repairs on an accident, done on a drill, as part of the course.

12. I had also had enough of unnecessary payments, which we were forced to pay, his Narcissistic personality, were he would mistreat and arbitrarily take us from one unplanned activity to another, without thought or regard.

13. The High Risk and Maritime Course: This course was absolute rubbish and had zero content. The only value was 2-3 days weapons training near the West Bank. The training was taken by an independent trainer who was the only professional worthy of mentioning. After the car crashed as part of the drill, the exercise was called off by the Director, because he was angry he had to pay for the damages. He did it on the cheap. The Buildings we slept in were completely gutted with cement, bricks and rubble on the floors. The weapons hired out were old and in poor condition. Most belonged to the Independent Instructor. This was the only positive period of the course.

14. The next step we were impulsively forced to go on a ferry cruise along the Mediterranean Coast as part of our ‘Maritime Training.’ In reality, the Director brought his family, being funded to go on a cruise; they never got off the ship whilst we were given pointless exercises along the 5 or 6 stops on shore; Mirza enjoyed the facilities and large meals in the meantime and subjected us to his endless lectures and pearls of wisdom. This produced a lot of animosity with us. There was no training on the ships, let alone tactical training.

15. On a whim, the Director decided to cancel the third programme, because there were ‘not enough people’ ie the few he thought very little of; and despite being paid up front. Despite repeated contact he has refused to refund us the money and became incommunicado after the second course. His Son , did absolutely nothing to facilitate as they themselves had fallen out. He showed absolute disrespect, and an entitlements for someone so young.

This is a rubbish and mediocre course that has nothing to do with the media hype and online marketing, document publishing. It is sold under false pretenses. It is a con, run by an overly entitled narcissist, and family, who believe they have the right to take your money without any sense of obligation and provision of service. He has nothing to offer but grief.

They have no assets, no office, no infrastructure, no permanent training staff, and no course content of any significance. You will be subjected to the personal mistreatment of a moody, overweight man, who will stir up discord and take you on a roller coaster of chaotic behavior and activities of little value, accompanied by an unreasonable angry and hostile attitude. Your queries and protestations will fall on deaf ears once you have parted with your money.

You will incur additional costs. If you have any trouble they will not assist you. Beyond the little daily effort they make, they will neglect you. The rates they charge go instead to their personal benefit. Once you have paid you are in it until it is over, regardless; you will never get your hard earned money back. They will use the non-issue of certificates as a weapon against you. WE GO THERE FOR PROPER TRAINING AND NOT THE CERTIFICATION, CP SHOULD BE MORE ON SKILLS

If you want the truth, contact the students personally, rather than on social media; where he blocks anyone who ask pertinent question and critics the course ISA has been known to troll and self promote through sites, feigning comments as students to promote itself. They have been told off for doing this.

The promotional literature on the site was devised long ago and handed out automatically. The movies are of professionally trained people, not students.

Did you enjoy the course?
 
Top