About Us:
I have been a law enforcement trainer for over 29 years. In 2004 I started teaching for a private company as a sniper instructor. I enjoyed teaching but always felt like the it was difficult to implement improvements that would help students evolve and prepare for actual deployments, where lives are at stake. I believed I could do a better job of training law enforcement officers for the reality of SWAT deployments and decided to build and run my own courses.
I created Advanced Combat Evolutions in 2011 and ran the first Basic Sniper course in 2012. Our goal was to take a newly assigned sniper with no knowledge and make them deployable by the end of the five-day course.
We focus on real world applications in our courses and demand a high level of participation and effort from our students. We focus on operational habits and performing under real world conditions. The students deliver in every class and we are very proud of the warriors that leave our course at the end of the week.
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Since 2012 I have added Advanced Sniper, Sniper Instructor, Tactical Mission Planning, Sniper Unit Overview, Urban Sniper, Night Vision Precision Rifle, and SWAT Team Assessment courses to the curriculum. I focus on providing necessary training that is difficult or impossible to find elsewhere. I only offer a handful of courses that focus on areas in which I feel I can offer expertise. I only use two other people to help me instruct because I am extremely demanding in regard to instructor standards.
We are committed to providing an outstanding training experience that enhances the student's abilities to perform in real world operations. We believe in involving the student as much as possible in the learning process to maximize the impact on job performance and proficiency.
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-Matt Alexander
Matt Alexander
Owner / Lead Instructor:
Matt Alexander is the owner, lead instructor and course developer for Advanced Combat Evolutions. He started his law enforcement career with a California Central Valley sheriff's office in 1994 and was assigned to a SWAT team in various capacities from 1997 through 2020. Over a span of 22 years he has served as an entry operator, sniper, entry team leader, sniper team leader, and team commander. His specialties include chemical agent instructor, rappel master, diversionary device instructor, less lethal instructor, firearms instructor, sniper instructor, carbine instructor, force-on-force instructor, and submachine gun instructor.
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Matt currently instructs in multiple subject matters, including tactical long rifle, narcotics investigations, surveillance techniques, SWAT Team leadership and management, tactical mission planning, and SWAT & Sniper Team assessments/audits. He is an instructor for the California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO), where he also serves on the Board of Directors. He also teaches for the Institute of Criminal Investigations (ICI) and the Fresno City College Police Academy.
Frank Harper
Frank Harper has been an instructor for Advanced Combat Evolutions since 2012. He teaches in both the basic and advanced sniper courses and has extensive experience as a law enforcement sniper. He is the lead instructor for the Night Vision Precision Rifle course. Frank also served as a team leader for a Crisis Negotiations Team for several years and brings that experience to our courses. He has been in law enforcement as a deputy sheriff and a sergeant for over 25 years.
Edward Essegian
Eddie Essegian has been an instructor for Advanced Combat Evolutions since 2012. He is a sniper instructor and has over 25 years of law enforcement experience, including extensive time as a trainer and SWAT Team sniper and sniper team leader. He teaches Basic Sniper, Advanced Sniper, Urban Sniper, and Night Vision Precision Rifle.
THE LIST BELOW INCLUDES MANY OF THE AGENCIES WHICH HAVE TRUSTED ADVANCED COMBAT EVOLUTIONS WITH THE CRITICAL TASK OF TRAINING ITS PERSONNEL:
Alameda PD / Alpine SO / Amador SO / Anaheim PD / Anderson PD / Antioch PD / Atascadero PD / Bakersfield PD / Belmont PD / Berkeley PD / Bonner County SO (Idaho) / Burbank PD / Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives / Butte County SO / Calaveras County SO / California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation / California Department of Fish & Wildlife / California Highway Patrol / California State Franchise Tax Board / Campbell PD / Carmel PD / Cathedral City PD / Ceres PD / Chico PD / Chula Vista PD / Citrus Heights PD / Clackamas (OR) PD / Clovis PD / Contra Costa SO / Corona PD / Covina PD / Culver City PD / Delano PD / Daly City PD / East Palo Alto PD / El Dorado SO / El Monte PD / El Segundo PD / Elk Grove PD / Fairfield PD / Fremont PD / Fresno PD / Fresno SO / Fullerton PD / Garden Grove PD / Gardena PD / Gilroy PD / Grover Beach PD / Hanford PD / Hawthorne PD / Hayward PD / Henderson (NV) PD / Hillsborough PD / Humboldt County SO / Huntington Beach PD / Indio PD / Kern County SO / Kings County SO / Kings County DA / Klamath Falls PD (Oregon) / Laguna Beach PD / Lake County SO / La Habra PD / La Palma PD / Las Vegas Metro PD / LaVerne PD / Lemoore PD / Livermore PD / Lodi PD / Los Angeles SD / Los Gatos PD / Madera PD / Madera SO / Manteca PD / Manhattan Beach PD / Marin County SO / Marina PD / Mariposa SO / Martinez PD / Menlo Park PD / Merced PD / Merced SO / Meridian (Idaho) PD / Mill Valley PD / Milpitas PD / Monterey PD / Monterey SO / Monterey Park PD / Napa County SO / National City PD / Newark PD / Newport Beach PD / Novato PD / Orange PD / Oxnard PD / Palm Springs PD / Palo Alto PD / Pasadena PD / Placer SO / Placentia PD / Pleasanton PD / Pittsburg PD / Porterville PD / Redding PD / Redlands PD / Redondo Beach PD / Richmond PD / Riverside PD / Riverside SO / Rocklin PD / Roseville PD / Salinas PD / San Bernadino SO / San Diego PD / San Diego Harbor Patrol / San Francisco Fire Dept / San Francisco PD / San Jose PD / San Joaquin SO / San Luis Obipso County SO / San Luis Obispo PD / San Pablo PD / San Rafael PD / Santa Ana PD / Santa Barbara PD / Santa Barbara SO / Santa Clara PD / Santa Cruz PD / Santa Cruz SO / Santa Monica PD / Santa Paula PD / Santa Rosa PD / Seal Beach PD / Shasta County SO / South Lake Tahoe PD / Stanislaus SO / Stockton PD / Sunnyvale DPS / Sutter County SO / Torrance PD / Tracy PD / Tulare SO / Tulare PD / Tuolumne SO / Turlock PD / US Marshall's Service / Vacaville PD / Vancouver (WA) PD / Ventura PD / Ventura SO / Visalia PD / Washougal (WA) PD / Watsonville PD / West Covina PD / Westminster PD / Woodland PD / Yosemite National Parks / Yuba City PD / Yuba County SO