HASF PSD

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Average Gatsby

Amateur
There is a company near me, that I essentially came by via news feed on Facebook. They are an NPO and claim to send teams on foreign aid missions in conjunction with humanitarian NPO's and provide Security or in some cases their own foreign aid. Im skeptical because im attempting to get my foot in the door to the PSD field and there are a few red flags ive noticed just from their website that make me wonder about the legitemacy of how they run the business.

First of all most of the "training" they provide is within about 25 yards at paper targets. That may just be my misjudgement about their curriculum.

They charge 900-1200 to attend class to be a reservist component, im not entirely sure what the role of their "reservists" are, the majority of the guys they have pictured seem to be of retirement age (considering the allegedly are doing this as volunteers i suppose that isn't out of the realm of possibility, they probably arent exactly hoping for Tier 1 entities)

They only allow six students at a time, and they have not posted any specific credentials as far as instructors go, i havent asked for them yet because the Founder added me when I inquired and i wanted to get a chance to talk to him before i go claiming they arent willing to show proof that they know what they're doing. (They claim to have previous contractors instructing)

In theory I really like the idea of what they claim to do. Im sure since theyre an NPO things wouldnt be on the same standard as Academi or something, but before i go drop 1200 bucks and risk not "deploying" since i suppose i would be on the "reserve team" i wanted to get some experienced advice. Ill post their company website link here : http://dvmhasf.org
 
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JeffM.

Amateur
I can't speak to their PSD credentials, but I'm sure some here can. I do however have experience with them mismanaging class enrollment. Several years ago I attempted to take a class with DVM, prior to their HASF endeavors. I researched a bit and found some less than stellar info regarding the owner, James Price, including accusations of thievery on more than one occasion. (IIRC there's an old LF thread where James even chimed in). Despite my better judgment I scheduled the class. The first time the class was canceled supposedly due to last minute student cancellations, which left too few students enrolled to conduct the class. The second rescheduled class was cancelled supposedly for the same reason. Both times the class was canceled within just a few days of it's start date. Thankfully it was local enough that I was going to carpool with a buddy and no hotel accommodations were required. The guy I was tagging along with was out some vacation time that he used for the classes. When offered the choice between a refund or another rescheduled class plus enough credit to basically cover an additional future class, I chose the refund. When that finally happened it was short by $10-15. Not a huge deal and I can write it off as a "stupidity tax" for ignoring my gut. IIRC the other guy took the reschedule/credit and has been trying to get something going without any luck for a couple of years. I understand that they have some unique offerings that may not be available through other venues, but based on my experience I would stay away from their outfit.
 
A

Average Gatsby

Amateur
275 RLTW thats kind of what i was thinking. In the same token we're talking about people who are willing to work for free and the low class time could potentially be explained by the low requirement of funds. Not saying your point is not valid, just saying that considering its application in theory it could be reasonably explained, and personally the "On the job" experience would be a pretty good way to maybe get real classes down the road that dont come out of my own pocket.

Jeff M. It appears just from the short conversation i had with Mr. Price today that they havent changed much, a class thats slated for early june that was full three days ago seems to have two new open slots. By all accounts this looks like a Boondoggle.
 
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Asr34

Amateur
Out of my lane a little, and I only know enough about the applicable law to be dangerous, but this doesn't seem completely legal either.


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A

Average Gatsby

Amateur
Asr34 said:
Out of my lane a little, and I only know enough about the applicable law to be dangerous, but this doesn't seem completely legal either.


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Click to expand...
I dont really know enough about the subject to agree or disagree. As a 501(c) org. There may be some loophole that doesnt get his group branded as a terrorist like the guys that go to Syria and then cant come home because they went and joined the Rebels there. I was going to ask him about that as well, but from the little that i can find on the guy anywhere he always speaks as broadly, and generally as he can humanly get away with. He did and interview with breach bang clear and managed to say almost nothing after six or seven paragraphs.
 
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jake0331

Newbie
Go through the comments on the linked BBC article. I don't know and don't care which side of the argument is right, but somebody that has that much shit swirling around him makes me want to stay away. I don't keep up with all the petty feud/argument bs in the overall industry and I'm not about to wade into all the stuff surrounding him. Especially if I were entertaining the possibility of going to a warzone with him like the OP. If you want to deploy as a contractor, there are a lot of known decent entities to work for.

I will say I have never had any interaction with Price or any organization/company he is affiliated with. I'm not trying to slander his name. The above is my opinion. He could very well be a rock star that just has an army of angry trolls chasing him around the internet. But with the amount and variance of the accusations, I'm not going to seek out training/employment from him.

http://www.breachbangclear.com/jame...asians-who-can-drive/comment-page-1/#comments
 
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