Executive Protection Course marks 3rd year in South Carolina, USA on the 9 November 2014

The week of the 9th November 2014 marked the 3rd year when the York County (South Carolina) Sheriff's Office has hosted IBSSA Master Teacher, Mr. Karl DelaGuerra and the International Executive Protection Course.

Mr. DelaGuerra is IBSSA Master Teacher of VIP Protection and he is the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of the “Karl de la Guerra, Inc.”, which is an international security consulting and protective services training company, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

“Co-sponsored by the IBSSA, the program this year was very much in line with current international threats that protective services personnel are facing around the world.” - said Mr. DelaGuerra. “Our program is completely scenario based, so the students (who come from multiple jurisdictions and countries) are immersed in a very unique environment for the entire seven days of the course.”

This year sheriff's deputies from various units of the York County Sheriff's Office and officers from the City of Rock Hill Police Department were attending the training. In addition, a European bodyguard from the Netherlands made the trip to participate the program as well. The instructor cadre were a select team that came from as far away as Florida, USA.

This was the first time when the international executive protection course featured studies on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) conducted by the team from Special Operations Aid & Rescue, headed by agency owner Mr. Andrew Rowley. Students also received specialized training and certification as a rescue swimmer, instructed by KDI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Mr. Attila T. Kutas – International Coordinator of IBSSA for Florida / USA, from Force-E in Florida.

The training course culminated on Saturday with a 12-hour field training exercise that took the students from the rural areas of South Carolina to the metropolitan area of Charlotte, North Carolina, all while practising their new skills in protection.

Special thanks from the training staff goes out to the York County Sheriff's Office for hosting this training at the York County Law Enforcement Training Centre, Winthrop University for the use of their indoor swimming facility, Nishie G's Restaurant for the early morning team meals, the staff of the Rock Hill-York County Airport and CN2 for the great TV news coverage of the course. In addition, the team of experienced guest speakers that presented on various topics, all helped to make this year's course an outstanding program.

After 86-hours of intense practical instruction in protective services, these students return to their agencies with a skill set that few in law enforcement receive.

5th January 2014