About Us

Pacific West Academy

Pacific West Academy’s mission is to educate and graduate tactically proficient individuals, as Executive Protection Professionals, while instilling the social responsibilities required to work in the security field.

PWA was formed in 2012 with one basic goal in mind: teach individuals the fundamentals of physical security operations and close protection. PWA’s parent company, Advanced Security Concepts, Inc. (ASC), had found that the majority of applicants trying to break into the security industry, whether veterans of armed forces or not, were lacking basic knowledge required to be a security professional.

Van Nuys – Pacific West Academy Headquarters

Pacific West Academy provides the training you need to be effective in any position in the security and protection fields.

Based on ASC’s years of experience in the field of security, a curriculum was developed for a 104-hour course that would provide the knowledge and certifications required to start a promising career as a protection agent. With the program’s success, it was time to change the mission statement of PWA. It was not enough to train future protection agents; it was PWA’s moral responsibility to aid in the placement of anyone who went through its training program. The goal became finding gainful employment for all students that attended the programs provided by PWA, as well as maintaining a level of education above the industry standard.

In 2016, development of a longer, more extensive and rigorous program began, which was then recognized by the Veterans Administration and received national accreditation by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET). This program stemmed from the influx of qualified security applicants leaving the military and hoping to stay in similar career fields. With a large knowledge base already in place, the more in-depth course served to further enhance the ability of students to gain employment in security management and executive protection positions, and it also provide a gateway to higher education opportunities in the criminal justice field. Finalized in late 2016, the Certified Executive Security Specialist program began in 2017, maintaining the goal of gainful employment while also drastically improving the level of education offered.