Dignitary & Executive Protection Specialist Program

Dignitary & Executive Protection Specialist Program
US Presidential Service Badge Foundation 
(Part of the ISA Defending Democracy Initiative)

 This Executive Protection training course is part of one of the most thoroughly vetted, and accredited private sector EP training programs available.

In 2025 working as part of the US Presidential Service Badge Foundation’s Public Safety Training Division, we will provide accredited training to students who conduct or support dignitary/executive protective service operations for both the public safety and the private security sector.

The ISA Dignitary and Executive Protection Training Program was originally intended for law enforcement personnel assigned to provide close/executive protection to public officials after the 2011 attempted assassination attempt of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Gilford’s. But as threats change so did the syllabus with updates after the June 2017 assassination attempt of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt of Donald Trump in Butler PA, and again after the December 2024 assassination of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson.

State Licensing:

** Graduates meet the Virginia DCJS PPS Credentials and North Carolina EP license requirements, and may also receive 12 CEUs.  

The ISA Dignitary and Executive Protection Program has been submitted for third-party audit and validation to law enforcement agencies, private sector EP programs, and educational institutions for state accreditation.
This course is endorsed by the International Foundation of Protection Officers 

This Dignitary & Executive Protection Specialist Program is fully accredited and approved for in-service credits for law enforcement by the following agencies:

Maryland Police & Corrections Training Commission 
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice
South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy
Georgia POST
North Carolina (accepted as part of an officer’s permanent record by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety)

(7 Days & up to 84 hrs.)
Total 27 Course Categories

Who Should Attend:  The curriculum is tailored for those officers, deputies, state troopers and those in the private security sector  providing close protection to public officials, candidates for office, corporate executives and others designated as “at risk”.

The Syllabus: In 2011 our course instructors used the instructional systems development (ISD) process to develop our executive and close protection training program and curriculum. Originally developed for the U.S. Army by the Florida State University’s Center for Educational Technology, this process took almost a full year to complete.

 To build the foundation for this course we interviewed military, law enforcement, private sector and corporate close protection subject matter experts, and we determined the training objectives, and course topics by reviewing state licensing requirements, current law enforcement and accredited EP training programs and the General Accounting Office report GAO/GGD/OSI-00-139 titled Security Protection: Standardization Issues Regarding Protection of Executive Branch Officials dated 07/11/2000.

 This report noted that protective agents received different amounts of protection training and from different sources and the agencies with protection as a primary mission noted their training consisted of instruction in firearms; threat assessments; emergency medical training; practical protection exercises; security advance, motorcade, airport, and foreign travel procedures; defensive driving skills, defensive tactics, and legal authorities. 

Private Sector

 ** Note** the course designers also took the advice of hiring managers and corporate executive protection teams to ensure our private sector students receive the education, training and the skills in demand by the private and corporate sector. This is why many corporate and private EP details seek ISA graduates.

Mandatory Medical Training Certification

**This course also includes CPR, Stop Bleed, and Basic First Aid.   

 ISA instructors will provide this training not just to registered students of this EP course, but also to those who just need to re-certify their basic medical certification. For executive protection agents, this basic level of medical training is critical as well as required by the North Carolina PPSB & Virginia DCJS PPS 32E program. 

Course Objective Summary: ISA course designers placed a strong emphasis on exceeding state requirements and addressing the training needs of various agencies as noted in the GAO report.  So students are introduced to the threat assessment and risk mitigation process, the basic methodology of “protection in-depth” and learn the best practices for the conduct of daily protective operations now in use by federal and state law enforcement.

 Students will also be introduced to the different methods of the military, and the unique techniques and procedures of successful private and corporate executive protection programs with special focus on the use of technology, resource management and the legal considerations involved with providing close protection services.

 During live exercises students will be faced with real-world scenarios based on events such as the June 26th, 2018 breach of security of Senator McConnell and Transportation Secretary Chao and the shooting of House GOP Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

 Graduates will be able to prepare a threat assessment, complete the pre-mission risk mitigation planning process of advance and site surveys, and successfully demonstrate the proper procedures and skills needed to transport, escort and provide a safe and secure environment for a public official, or private client.

Program Training Sections: Operations (EPO); Medical (MED); Management (MGT); Communications (IPC); History (HIST); Sociology (SOC); Philosophy (PHI)  

104 Course Learning Objectives; 123 Terminal Learning Objectives; 20 Practical Exercises; 5 Facilitated Discussions; Live Capstone

Attendance: 

Although this program is open enrollment restrictions do apply and seating is limited, Law Enforcement, those assigned close protection responsibilities  and Veterans have first priority for seats.

Please review the syllabus on the requirements to attend https://www.eptraining.us/courses-master-list/dignitary-and-executive-protection-specialist-course/ and contact us with any questions at 315-486-7854, Mom-Fri 9 am -7 pm, Sat 10 am-3 pm

Tuition: Seven-day Program

Special veteran and law enforcement tuition rate $1,150.00

IFPO members receive a $1000.00 tuition reduction for attending this course. The $1,300.00 tuition rate is available to all members of the IFPO in good standing and further tuition rates are available for groups and veterans.

All others cost $2,300.00 *Does not include lodging

Non-LE/Military Group rate savings:

Group of 4: $1,300.00 per student a $1000.00 savings 

Group of 3: $1,500.00 per student an $800.00 savings 

A team of 2: $1,800.00 per student a $500.00 savings

Standards & Regulatory Requirements

 Note: This course prepares the student to provide close protective services in accordance with all applicable international, federal, state, and local laws and regulations and meets or exceeds the training and course hours required by the federal law enforcement training center and individual state approved programs.

FLETA: This course voluntarily adheres to the regulatory requirements of the 2020 Edition FLETA  Procedures and Standards manual.

Other regulatory agencies and requirements include: Virginia Register of Regulations; North Carolina Private Protective Services Board and North Carolina Dept. of Protective Services; Georgia POST; South Carolina Department of Criminal Justice; Maryland Police Training Commission.

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