• Distributed Security Advisor
    Distributed Security Advisor Certification Program
  • Distributed Security Advisor

DISTRIBUTED SECURITY ADVISOR (DSA) PROGRAM

Enterprise Security Advisor + Combative Firearms Instructor

Bridging the Gap Between Increasing Threats of Mob Violence and Law Enforcement’s Decreasing Ability to Defend Life and Property

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The DSA (Distributed Security Advisor) Program certifies and authorizes qualifying DSI CFIs to advise and promote Distributed Security service offerings to individuals, businesses, schools, and churches in their local community as a Certified DSI DSA. This is a value-added training and advisory opportunity, providing a full menu of services that can be instructed or promoted, ranging from fundamental firearms instruction to fully-integrated turnkey enterprise solutions. DSAs are compensated via training fees, revenue commissions, and membership subscriptions. Click to download our 44-page PDF - Practical Handbook 2020 Establishing Distributed Security Networks to learn more about our service offerings. 

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For Ex-military/Agency And Law Enforcement Professionals

Join our team of independent security advisors and firearms instructors and profitably serve your community in a new role helping lead the defense against violent threat. This is an opportunity for professionals with significant operational experience as a soldier, agent, or law enforcement officer. This opportunity demands both dedication and commitment and has the potential to generate significant compensation. DSAs can offer directly or in partnership with DSI:

  1. Combative firearms training instruction (Tier 4).
  2. Reality-based training programs (Tier 3).
  3. Turnkey enterprise security offerings (Tier 2).
  4. Command School seminar formats.
  5. Quick reaction teams.
  6. Community defense solutions (Enterprise).
  7. Integrated tactical medical training - TCCC, etc.
  8. Online Defense Academy memberships.

Certification Process

BBB Toledo BW CropThe certification requires DSI Certified CFIs to learn how to both promote DSI’s enterprise offerings and manage a DSI Tier 4 Training Program in order to certify their own students (keeping the money they earn for their team), as well as an opportunity to earn significant additional revenue via advanced (Tiers 3-Enterprise) course revenue sharing, manual sales, on-line membership subscriptions and commissions on referrals. The DSA Certificate will become a coveted achievement for security professionals looking to run their own business and earn additional revenue training in their community.

Instructor Shot Andrews LinkedinCertification Costs And Expectations

The cost of the DSA certification is $4,995 and includes all instruction and DSA marketing materials, etc (see below for details). Once certified the DSA pays $49 per month for access to the online DSA portal which houses their own DSI Private Training Group and all of the DSI intellectual property.

Once certified the DSA must achieve certain performance and financial objectives in order to maintain their certification including weekly online meetings and annual recertification.

Tier Appropriate Benchmarks - In order to maintain certification DSAs must meet minimum benchmarks for training:

Tier 4: 24 certified Graduate students over 12 months
Tier 3: 4 programs over 12 months
Tier 2: 3 programs over 12 months
Tier 1: 2 programs over 12 months

The DSA program offers you:

  • Advanced courses and programs to sell to and expand your student base.
  • Our world-class training and certification process of DSIs combative firearms and tactics instruction.
  • Comprehensive curriculum including training scripts, plans, course and program formats, administrative best practices guide, administrative documents, integrated training manuals, online learning management system (LMS) and training videos.
  • Additional revenue opportunities via DSI manuals, sales of DSI SWAG, Defense Academy memberships, and continued training partnership opportunities through DSI.
  • Direct access to DSI HQ, you will be afforded weekly Ops Calls with DSI HQ and all CFIs/teams, regular business development (Biz Dev) conference calls, regular training opportunities to sharpen your/teams' skillset, help shape the direction of the curricula on a regular basis and find out what other DSAs are finding is working.

Once you are certified as a DSI DSA you are authorized to train and certify students up to your current certification level of certification using DSI's curriculum and resources.

DSI does NOT run YOUR business.

You set your own price (we HIGHLY advise you to use our MSRP or higher).

You are allowed to teach any additional program/courses/curricula aside from DSI's, however; DSI curriculum must be used when training ANY DSI course.

The highlights of the DSA program include:

  • A turnkey combative firearms training program that integrates firearms fundamentals, Reality Based Training (RBT), individual, and small unit tactics in defense of self, family, businesses, churches, and schools.
  • DSIs Training Ladder provides an opportunity to grow powerful and lasting relationships with individuals, businesses, churches, schools, and communities. 
  • DSI courses and programs do not compete with existing NRA, CCW, and other entry-level courses, instead DSI courses enhance and expand the DSA's offerings above and beyond the basics.
  • DSI's can operate independently or partner up with other CFIs, gun shops, business entrepreneurs, existing DSI Authorized Training Partners (ATPs), or DSI as you so choose.

The DSI Training Ladder at a glance:

The DSI "Training Ladder" is at the core of our training resources and describes a step-by-step approach for students to progress as far and as fast as they want in order to meet their training objectives by using our Individual Training Plan when they are not under your direct supervision. The training ladder moves a firearms novice through four stages of skill development:

1. Developing individual basic firearms fundamentals on handguns, rifles, and shotguns (Tier 4).
2. Applying these skills to individual maneuver for self-defense through a quality RBT program (Tier 3).
3. Applying the above skills, teamwork, and tactics necessary to defend a business, church, or school (Tier 2).
4. Learning how to use the above for the defense of neighborhoods and communities (Enterprise).

The training ladder begins with individuals mastering basic handgun manipulations and tactics needed for personal defense scenarios on the range, with guided online dry practice, following their Individual Training Plans, and using their Training Notebook under the guidance and supervision of their CFIs and DSAs, with additional options for rifle and shotgun training that they can add to their personal defense skills inventory in order to be competent Individual Operators or "IOs"(Tier 4). This is followed by introducing individual tactics for defense in the home and on the street through DSIs unparalleled RBT (Reality Based Training) Program (Tier 3). Next, your students will learn to work with other IOs (Independent Operators) to defend a single location like a business, school, or church (Tier 2). The training ladder culminates with community coordination of these businesses, churches, and schools, where they learn how to liaise, linkup, and cooperate with local law enforcement agencies, paramedics, and other businesses, churches, and schools by training in the small unit tactics and coordination needed for the defense of a community; like a neighborhood, village, or small town (Enterprise).

All of our training resources are organized around the training ladder - the manuals, courses, programs, and curricula are proprietary "training fittings" are all designed to engage and move a student/client up the ladder increasing their skills and survivability, thereby creating both secure and resilient communities while opening new revenue opportunities for instructors, ranges, and training groups.

SALES AND MARKETING RESOURCES

As a Certified DSA you have access to sales, advertising, and marketing collaterals to help sell your services to gun shops and potential prospects and to help gun shops and ranges to sell your products and services for your current level of certification. You also have access to other resources that allow you to communicate with your students. Below is a representative sample of these resources. Some of these resources come with your certification fee, others can be purchased from us.

APD Firearms Group PromoYour Own Private Training Group - Private Training Groups (PTGs) are the DSA's private section inside of the DSI Defense Academy where you go to interact with your student cadre. (your PTG comes with your monthly DA $49.00 membership.)

You can personalize your training group with your own branding and messaging.

Your students must have a paid monthly membership to the DSI Defense Academy to be in your training group.

Inside your training group you can:

  • Make posts of upcoming events, training dates, etc.
  • Upload videos of your training.
  • Store files like your own local legal and mental health professionals, graded threat matrix, METL’s, site assessment, etc.,
  • Post photos of your facility, training exercises, etc.

Digital Identity - Digital images you can use to put together your own web pages and other online presentations and email campaigns (comes with monthly DA membership $49.00).

  • DSI Logo
  • DSI Defense Academy Logo
  • Training Ladder
  • Fits

Affiliate Information - Account set-up and web images (comes with monthly DA membership).

  • Account
  • Affiliate Tiles/Banners

Equipment and training aids - Tactical medicine supplies needed to train your students. (Available for purchase from inside the DSI Defense Academy.)

  • IFAK (Individual First Aid Kits)
  • TFAK (Team First Aid Kits)
  • Training tourniquets, compression dressings, etc.

CFI Merchandising Elements 315Marketing And Advertising Collaterals - In-store marketing and advertising collaterals for the DSA. (Available for purchase from inside the DSI Defense Academy.)

  • DSI Flyer/Postcards
  • Certification Sticker
  • Small 8.5” x 11” Counter Top Poster
  • Larger 24” x 36” Hanging Poster
  • Floor Banner with Stand


Kits/Swag - Clothing, caps, and accessories for you and your clients. (Available for purchase from inside the DSI Defense Academy.)

  • Certification Patch
  • TAG Cap
  • Polo Shirt
  • T-shirt
  • 3-way Jackets
  • etc.

CFI Kit 511 2Certification Packs (Available for purchase from inside the DSI Defense Academy.)

One of the more important aspects of training for students is a measurement or acknowledgment of their training achievements. We offer signed official DSI certifications and challenge coins that can be bought by our DSA's and then awarded to students who successfully complete their course.

ADMINISTRATIVE RESOURCES

All DSAs work out of our DSA Portal which is inside the DSI Defense Academy. Inside the DSA Portal, you will find certification process details; training scripts, schedules and notes; sales collaterals AND marketing resources, etc. 

Additionally, as a certified DSA you have access to our library of administrative forms and other content you can use to help launch and run your training business. 

  • The DSI Training Notebook: A step by step goal setting, training prioritization, scheduling, and documentation system that assures your students continued progress.
  • Monthly ATP Schedule: A Word document template that DSAs can use to post training schedules at your ATP's online calendar.
  • Combative Sighted Fire Report: A PDF to be sent to a student prior to attending specific modular courses.
  • Student Course Curricula: A PDF documents to be sent to the student prior to attending a course. Also used in pre-sales.
  • DSA Student Alpha File: A spreadsheet that DSAs can use to track students training progress.
  • Numerous Email Templates: Sent to students for sales conversions, pre, and post-course training, follow up, training opportunity/update formats that help your students take their training to the next level.
  • Stands and Barricades Blueprints: These are PowerPoint file and .pdf showing the design of the standard barricades and stands DSAs can use for training outdoors.
  • General Liability Release: This is a Word doc template release of liability that the DSA can customize for his jurisdiction.
  • Dry Practice Rules and Guide: This is release indicated that the student understands and will abide by the suggested dry practice rules while providing students a step-by-step guide to safe and effective long-term dry-practice routine.
  • Basic Course Range Equipment Inventory: This is a checklist you can modify for all the equipment you'll need to stage your training courses.
  • Range and Classroom Set-up: A checklist of tasks to make sure you set-up and take down all equipment and property.
  • Range Pack List: A master checklist of all training items DSAs commonly use for training (Tier appropriate).
  • Trauma Bag Load-Out: Checklist of all medical items.

DSA CERTIFICATION DETAILS

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Your Certification Cost Includes:

  1. The training course fee.
  2. Website listing on the DSI website including "baseball card" and full-page profile.
  3. Access to all administrative, marketing and sales, files inside the DSA Portal.

Your certification cost does not include:

  1. Merchandising elements
  2. Sales and marketing support resources such as your website, flyers, banners, etc. (see above)
  3. Co-branded Defense Group inside the DSI Defense Academy (included with monthly DA membership $49.00).
  4. Access to all administrative, marketing and sales, files inside the DSA Portal (included with monthly DA membership $49.00).
  5. Annual recurrent training (see below)

Additional Costs And Considerations

Once you have paid for and gained your certification, you have no other obligation to pay us anything or to purchase anything from us. For those DSA's who would like marketing support and or merchandising support, we offer a number of items and services you can purchase directly from us which we will cover during your private briefing.

Recurrent Training - DSI doesn't believe in "one and your done" training for either students or instructors and all DSI instructors live by the motto "Sometimes and instructor, always a student." Each year CFIs must continue to train on current skills and learn any new skills being incorporated into the program via "Recurring Training" opportunities hosted by your DSA and pass all range qualifications appropriate to their level of certification:

Tier 4: Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun. Qualifying Certification $895/Recurring Certification $Cost+On the job eval.
Tier 3: Individual Tactics. Qualifying Certification $3,000/Recurring Certification $Cost+OJE.
Tier 2: Team Tactics. Qualifying Certification$2,000/Recurring Certification$Cost&OJE.

Cancellations And Refunds

Once your payment is processed then you are committed to the program. There are no refunds. If you are unable to attend your scheduled date then you will be able to cancel and attend a future program. We train rain or shine so there are no weather cancellations. Should we cancel a program after payment has been made then we will either refund your payment in full or apply it toward the next course.

Next Steps

For interested candidates the next steps are:

  1. Expression of interest. Start by sending an email to ron(at)distributedsecurity.com with a letter of recommendation from your current DSA recommending you as a DSA.
  2. Interview. You will be contacted about setting up an online interview.
  3. Briefing. Successful interviewees will proceed with a detailed program briefing and have all their questions answered.
  4. Acceptance. The candidate will be extended a formal invitation to join a class.
  5. Payment. Once accepted, payment is due 14 days prior to the class start.

Press Announcement August 17, 2020.

 

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DEFENSE ACADEMY

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We Start Where the NRA Stops

We offer combative firearms and tactical training for individuals, businesses, schools, churches, and communities. Our training ladder delivers new revenue stream opportunities that you won’t get anywhere else. Our integrated online, on-range, and on-site curricula provide new ways for communicating and engaging with your students.

DSI is Vested in Your Success

Our business model requires your success, so we’ll work with you toward that goal. Your DSI instructors have the knowledge and skills along with the ability to teach those skills to you in a meaningful way. Your instructor's backgrounds include over 100 combined years of tactical, military, federal, and private contractor experience across the globe.

Our Curriculum is Designed with You in Mind

DSI takes the headaches out of preparing, designing, and publishing your own curricula. We’ve done that so you don’t have to, leaving you to do what you want to do - engage your students and train. Take our processes and integrate them into your classes to certify your own students. Our training scripts, plans, course, program formats, administrative best practices guide, documents, integrated training manuals, and videos are at your disposal. Help shape the curricula by becoming a part of the DSI Curricula Development Team and help keep the curricula fresh and relevant for your students.

Multiple Revenue Opportunities

Build your clientele by offering more classes that have growth and advancement opportunities for your students. You also get revenue opportunities via sales of manuals, DSI Defense Academy memberships, SWAG, and other partnership opportunities. There are no limits or fees associated with what you can earn.

Training Ladder: It differentiates Us from The Rest

You benefit from our integrated training ladder approach. Help move your students forward to additional classes and courses that you control. We can help you offer training in Tactical Medicine (Bleeding Control, Tactical Emergency Casualty Care), Communications, Combative Handgun/shotgun/rifle, Individual Tactics via RBT (Reality Based Training), Team Tactics, (businesses/churches/schools) and Unit Tactics (communities).

DSI’s Training Fills More Seats

By integrating our blended learning approach (online, on-range, and on-site classes) into your offerings, you’ll benefit from a well-rounded portfolio that few instructors possess. These integrated services will put you ahead of the game by offering your students resources, materials, and advanced training opportunities others are not.

Maintain Your NRA/CCW Classes…We Help You Build on That

Our courses pick up where the NRA leaves off and DSI doesn’t offer CCW training. So, it’s not a competition against existing NRA-type courses, but an upgrade. But by adding DSI training to your profile, you open new opportunities for continued training and revenue streams by giving your students a full spectrum of personal defense courses they can take well beyond the basics.

Proprietary Training Resources

DSI resources such as the DSI Individual Training Plan and the Training Notebook are invaluable resources that help you help your students identify and set their training goals, teach them how to prioritize and schedule their training, gives them a clear path to follow to success, and is an invaluable documentation resource. As an instructor, the DSI Training Notebook helps you pinpoint any gap in your student's knowledge, skills, or abilities and allows you to quickly fill those gaps and give them the advice they need to achieve their training goals.

Online Defense Academy Keeps You in Touch with Your Students

Offer your students an opportunity to work on the cognitive declarative knowledge at their home or office by handling the classroom portions of their training in our vast online portal (The DSI Defense Academy) while generating a monthly revenue stream for your company. You won’t have to attend to any of the “behind-the-curtain” headaches with the online portal. The tech stuff is all handled for you by HQ.

Private Training Groups for Your Students Inside the Defense Academy

You’ll be able to put your students in your own “Private Training Group” engaging with them on a regular basis. No more waiting for your next live class to keep them involved and training.

Continuing Education Keeps You Sharp

DSI is the leader in continuing the training and education of our certified instructors. Trainers always train and leaders always learn. It’s never “one-and-done”. You’ll continue your certification process throughout the year with both bi-monthly Continued Education events - to maintain the highest level of training for yourself and, in turn, for your students, and weekly DSA Ops calls - giving you the ability to share timely information needed to operate more wisely in the marketplace with other DSAs and is your direct line to Headquarters.

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Distributed Security Advisor (DSA) program certification facts at a glance:

  • Cost. $4,995 certification fee + $49 per month adviser portal access.
  • Certification: Online discussions and guidance, homework, and exams.
  • Duration: 40 hours preparation over 6 weeks.
  • Method: Online instruction, discussion, and guidance.
  • Next class: Classes begin the first week of each month.
  • Next step: Send an expression of interest along with your DSA's written recommendation to ron(at)distributedsecurity.com and I will schedule your brief and interview.