I have just completed the April/May 2009 Close Protection (hostile) course held in Hampshire and Slovenia, I AM STILL BUZZING from the course, it was a brilliant course, well run and totally professional from day one through to the final day.

Chris and Mick who were our main instructors for the majority of the course, are ex RMP CP and Police CP with a wealth of knowledge, experience and qualifications taught in a superb and well constructed way, even in power point presentations which can be boring were delivered in an interesting way that kept your attention as the information was all relevant to our chosen career path, the typical "squaddie humour" was there in abundance, I even started to forget they were ex RMP and thought of them as human; good blokes as it goes!!!

The Cricketers is a great choice of location, a typical English Inn and restaurant in the middle of nowhere with great food, good clean accommodation in a ski lodge/log cabin style all with en-suite. Eddie and Verity who run The Cricketers are great hosts and nothing is too much for them.

The students on the course were from places such as Holland, Poland, Portugal, Wales, N Ireland and even an Aussie With this international mob you would of thought Chris and Mick would have there work cut out, but not at all, it worked well and there was loads of banter.

Foot drills, enbus / debus drills and the driving were initially taught around the local area with different scenarios, and slowly progressed to different locations from out in the countryside to the middle of the city and done in a totally realistic way. The 4 day exercise was extremely demanding and with the lack of sleep and added pressure, the tempo was raised and required the team to step up to the mark, which we all did.

After the exercise we returned to the classroom for the written SIA exam and to deliver our presentations that we were allocated earlier in the course, once this was done those who weren't going onto Slovenia for the Hostile phase of the course were free to go.

The following day the remaining students, Chris and Mick set off to the airport -Slovenia bound. We were met and taken to our hotel, again a fantastic choice of location, beautiful country, great food and very nice people. The firing ranges were well organised, professionally run and all shoots were done in a totally safe environment, again we were treated like adults. I'm still a serving soldier with 23 years experience but I learnt more about shooting in a single day with Longmoor than I have in my 23 years, all down to the instruction and delivery of lessons. The unarmed combat again was put across well and realistic with different scenarios and situations with explanations of law and legislation, mind you even with the law and legislation we still managed to enjoy it and knock each other about a fair bit!

All in all the Longmoor Group course is fantastic course that I would definately recommend anyone to do if this is there chosen career path, great instruction, facilities, accommodation and locations.

Thanks again to Chris, Mick, Charlie and Simmo for a brilliant course, and remember Mick, keep the window up incase you get a dig!!!

John G, British Army - May 2009

I attended the April 2009 course held in Tangley and Slovenia, what an absolutely brilliantly run course. Chris and Mick are fonts of knowledge and are happy to share their experiences with students.

From day one I felt relaxed and that the instructors knew exactly what they were talking about. The first aid was also very interesting as it had defib and oxygen management included. It was run by a crazy guy called Trevor. Again experience and knowledge were passed over and were noticeable from the off.

The accommodation in Tangley was outstanding. Ed and Verety, were brilliant hosts. This is a typical English country pub in the middle of nowhere. Excellent!!!!

Foot drills and driving were carried out in the local area and were well taught. The final exercise was taxing and pushed use to the limit, 3 ½ days in total and packed full of recces and then the op itself. From the pickup at a local train station to the drop off it was none stop.

After the CPO course some of us went to Slovenia for the HE side of the course, 4 days on the ranges was brill! We fired AK47. Glock 17, MP5’s and M16. Ranges were well run and were different. I was in the infantry and had more fun in 4 days than I did in 8 years.

The Accommodation in Slovenia was again outstanding. We sampled both local food and local beer, it was a nice place, reasonably priced and clean.

Thanks guys.

Stephen K, IT Consultant/ Ex RIR - May 2009

From day one when I arrived in Hampshire until the departure for Slovenia, the atmosphere and the welcoming on both sides were very warming. The accommodation for both locations was great and very cosy with en-suite facilities. This was more than enough for the duration of our stay at both locations. Both had the added bonus of internet access.

The package from start to finish was progressive and any questions raised during any scenarios were answered there and then making the most of the experiences from the team. Some days were long but nothing too taxing. The more effort put in after your initial couple of days of ground knowledge of the Close Protection world and how teams function, was rewarded by enjoyable serials.

After the SIA exam we then moved to Slovenia and a beautiful family run hostel. From here we used ranges for pistol and multi weapon shoots also encompassing CQC as our back ground activity and gaining some useful tips when confronting people, that either want your weapon or just to get in the way of you and your principal.

All in all, a very progressive and well thought out course, for those who wish to embark upon this route to the Close Protection world. I would like to thank you and your team at the Longmoor Group for a very enjoyable course and the foundations to gaining successful employment within the Close Protection industry.

Stephen B, Royal Marine - November 2008

Thank you once again for an enjoyable and educational course. I found the programme was very well structured moving through the content in a logical manner with new sessions regularly linked back to previous sessions. This method allowed us to take on a great deal of information quickly and, most importantly, to retain it.

Inevitably there is a lot of theoretical knowledge to cover early on but this was presented in an interesting way with plenty of real life examples to bring relevance to the key competencies. Good use of practical exercises broke up the theory sessions and reinforced what we had learnt. Although intensive learning, by the final exercise I felt well prepared and able to fulfil the roles fully, therefore I enjoyed the experience and felt we gained a lot from it as a team. It is also worth saying that the final exercise was very well put together to give realistic experience of operating in all the roles on a Close Protection team, in a variety of different situations and environments.

Before attending I had thought the firearms element would feel like a separate course, but again it was carefully structured to continue seamlessly from the foundation in the UK building up to the final exercise which incorporated all the theory from the UK but in an armed environment. This was very realistic training but at the same time with the highest standards of safety at all times. By the end of the fire arms element I felt I was able to operate the weapons systems, operating as part of a team or individually, competently but most importantly safely. Considering I had never picked up a gun prior to the course I felt this was a significant achievement and to the full credit of the training team.

As a trainer myself, albeit in another subject, I felt the course trainers were all outstanding, each with a wealth of experience in their field. They were approachable, good humoured and genuinely keen to share their experiences for the benefit of the group. For me personally it was the calm, non egotistical, professional and discreet approach to Close Protection demonstrated by all the trainers that made me most pleased with my decision to train with Longmoor Group.

The accommodation provided both in the UK and Slovenia was very comfortable with excellent food, and plenty of it. In the UK Eddie and Verity could not have been more helpful, nothing was too much trouble and I will certainly be keeping in touch with them. Having internet access for the majority of the course was also a real bonus.

I would highly recommend choosing LG for CP training.

Richard D, Paramedic - November 2008