Built in Africa to safeguard the world.
To deliver world-class Close Protection training that is operationally relevant to all global theatres - producing world class graduates who are immediately deployable, internationally recognised & held to unwavering professional standards.
Founded by an operator who did the work
ARES was founded by Angus Knowles-Jackson, a close protection veteran with over 20 years of operational experience across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. The training academy is based in Nairobi, Kenya — the security hub of East Africa.
Why train with ARES
- Facilities
The best training facilities in Africa
13,000 acres of purpose-built terrain in Athi River, designed for real-world operational training
- Instructors
Some of the best instructors in the world
Decades of real-world experience across military, law enforcement, and specialist security
- Syllabus
The most comprehensive syllabus in the region
From tactical driving to emergency medicine to close quarter combat
- Standards
The highest international graduation standards
Our graduates are recognised and deployable worldwide
- Intake
Small course numbers
Deliberately limited intake so every student gets focused, personal instruction
Accredited to the standard. Trained well past it.
ARES is a Highfield International Approved Training Centre. Highfield is one of the most widely recognised names in close protection accreditation worldwide — a qualification your future employer will know and trust.
But Highfield's standard International Close Protection Level 3 syllabus runs just 8–9 days. Most training providers stop there. We don't.
Highfield ICP Level 3
The syllabus most providers deliver, and stop at.
8–9days
Hostile Environment Close Protection
The ARES course that awards it — the same Level 3, inside a full operational programme.
27days
Required for the qualificationAdded by ARES
We've taken the Highfield syllabus and built it into a genuinely international-standard programme — one that prepares graduates not just to pass an exam, but to operate anywhere in the world. Where others deliver the minimum required for certification, ARES delivers the complete skillset the industry actually demands.
The result: graduates who carry a globally recognised Highfield qualification, backed by training that goes far beyond it.
We don't disappear after graduation
ARES provides ongoing alumni support to every graduate — because your career doesn't end at graduation, and neither does our commitment to you.
Career guidance
Direction and advice as your close protection career develops.
Job placement assistance
Help connecting with real opportunities across the industry.
Global professional network
Access to a worldwide community of ARES-trained operators.
Train to a standard employers already recognise
Talk to us about course dates, entry requirements and what to expect on site.
Enquire About a Course