2024 FEATURED INSTRUCTORS

Jack & Michelle Pickett

Michelle Pickett is an accomplished firearms instructor with a wealth of experience. She is the General Manager at Pickett Weaponry (Newberry) and Harry Beckwith Guns & Range (Micanopy), both well-established firearms retailer and training center in North Central Florida.

• • Michelle is a USCCA & NRA certified instructor and an avid shooter.
  • She has trained with many well known firearms instructors from around the country.
  • Hosting local and state events promoting education in personal protection and competition shooting.
  • For over 18 years Michelle hosted women’s shooting leagues and education.
  • She has extensive experience as a firearms safety educator.
  • Michelle has been part of Pickett Weaponry since 1997¹ and Harry Beckwith Guns & Range since they purchased the company from Harry Beckwith in 2006.
  • Her passion for firearms and commitment to safety make her an invaluable asset to the community.

Ross Begnaud  RB Training Consultants

Ross is a retired Master Sergeant of the United States Air Force with 30 years of combined military and federal law enforcement experience. He is currently a Sig Sauer Academy Senior Instructor and oversees daily operations at the Academy’s Outpost in Florida.  Ross also runs the Academy’s Executive Protection Program.  He retired from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, GA, where he conducted firearms, tactics, active shooter response, and LE instructor training for military units, federal agencies, foreign agencies, and state/local departments across the U.S. and abroad. His military service included over 20 years active duty in the U.S.A.F., serving 10 years as a Special Agent with the USAF Office of Special Investigations where he conducted felony level investigations, counter terrorism missions, executive protection details, counterintelligence, and surveillance operations. He also served 10 years as a USAF Security Police/Forces member specializing in personnel and resource protection. He was a member of multiple Emergency Service Teams and the Nuclear Weapons Tactical Recapture Force. Ross is a combat veteran of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom where he directed off base force protection operations and led numerous counterintelligence missions and protective service operations. He possesses an Associate degree in Criminal Justice, Bachelor’s degree in Security Management, Master’s degree of Business Administration, and a Teaching Certification from the Community College of the Air Force.

Massad Ayoob – Massad Ayoob Group

Massad Ayoob has been handgun editor of GUNS magazine and law enforcement columnist for AMERICAN HANDGUNNER since the 1970s, and has published thousands of articles in gun magazines, martial arts publications, and law enforcement journals. He is the author of some twenty books on firearms, self-defense, and related topics, including In the Gravest Extreme and Deadly Force, widely considered to be authoritative texts on the topic of the use of lethal force.  Read more: Who is Massad Ayoob? Massad Ayoob Group

Kyle Barrington – Modern American Combative Arts

Special Forces Urban Combat Instructor, Sig Academy Master Instructor – Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, FLETC Senior Firearms Instructor, NRA Training Counselor, NRA Instructor- Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Personal Protection in the Home, Home Firearms Safety, Chief Range Safety Officer.

John Murphy  FPF Training

John recently retired after 25 years of service in the Marines and the intelligence community, but he makes no claim to being a combat veteran. He considers himself very fortunate to have trained under some of the most respected firearms instructors in the country, and he’s learned much more about shooting and self-defense outside the military than he ever did during his service. As an instructor, John has incorporated the best and most practical methods and techniques into his courses, and he continues to train and refine his skills every year, both as a defensive shooter and as a trainer. John has presented classroom and range instruction at the multiple Rangemaster Conferences, and currently holds a “Master Instructor” rating from Rangemaster, and is a graduate of Massad Ayoob’s Lethal Force Instructor program.

John Gardner – Force4Training

John Gardner is a highly skilled firearms instructor known for his expertise in training with firearms, knives, and self-defense.

• John Gardner is associated with Force4Training, where he provides quality instruction for a variety of students.
• The courses offered cover a range of topics, including firearms training, hand-to-hand self-defense, and urban and outdoor survival.
• Force4Training’s instructors are highly trained, with backgrounds in law enforcement, military operations, and security.
• Their philosophy aligns with the Combat Triad, emphasizing self-defense mindset, effective equipment use, and appropriate tactics¹.

Rich Graham is a Navy SEAL veteran and the creator of the Full Spectrum Warrior (FSW) System. President of Home Front K9 Project and Vice-President of SEAL Swim Charities and currently sits on the board of Directors for both of those charities. Committed to assisting in Veteran Suicide Awareness and Prevention.

His accomplishments include:

• SEAL Team 10 Operator
• SEAL Team Sniper
• Trained Security Forces for 2004 Olympics
• Oversaw Security Teams for 2016 Olympic games
• Tai Boxing Coach and Competitor
• KAPAP Instructor
• Tactical advisor to multiple SRT/SWAT Teams across the country
• Trained Police Departments across the country in Counter Terrorism Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs)
• Trained Police Departments in Brazil in counter Cartel Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs)
• Trained New Jersey Transit Police in Counter Terrorism for Cylindrical Environments (Subway)
• Personal trainer for everyday athletes to Professional Athletes in the NFL and Olympic Athletes like Danielle Soriano
• NAUKA Combatives Coach
• Leadership Coaching for Wells Fargo and UBS Banks
• Training and Workshops for Churches, Schools, Men’s Leadership Conferences

Schools & Certificates Completed

• Free Fall Certified Skydiver
• Special Reconnaissance Scout School
• High Risk Personal Security Detachment (PSD)
• Close Quarters Defense Combatives Training
• High Speed Driving School
• Winter Mountaineering School
• Dive Certified
• Land Navigation
• and many more…

Donna Anthony  Point Blank Firearms and Self Defense Training

Investigator Donna Anthony is a veteran of law enforcement and was injured in the line of duty. With over 20 years of law enforcement and security experience, she was a duly sworn Police Officer in Alaska, prior to which she was a Deputy Sheriff in Ohio. During her time as an officer she was a Field Training Officer (FTO), School Resource Officer (NASRO), on the Suspicious Active Report Task Force Team (SARS) and an Investigator assigned to the Alaska State Trooper Statewide Drug Task Force Unit for 6 years in an undercover capacity. She served as a case officer in several State and Federal cases. She has also worked throughout Alaska with many law enforcement agencies including the military, U.S. Marshals, DEA, ATF, and FBI. Donna has extensive training in DEA (Basic Narcotics Investigation and Diversion of Pharmaceutical Investigation), SWAT, Rapid Response to an Active Shooter, Hostage Negotiation, Anti-Terrorism Training, Law Enforcement Prevention & Deterrence of Terrorist Acts, Tactical Operations Planning, FEMA Intermediate for Expanding Incidents, FEMA Advance Incident Command & General Staff-Complex Incidents. Since her injury Donna started a company called Point Blank Firearms & Self Defense Training and travels nationally teaching. She is a Certified NRA Firearms Instructor, a Firearms Training Counselor for USCCA and a Rangemaster with the National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association.

Tatiana Whitlock – Training in Context

Tatiana Whitlock is a firearms instructor, hunter, and outdoors enthusiast residing in the majestic state of Maine. Tatiana works with men, women & youth to establish a real-world foundation of firearm skills, safety, and situational awareness. A lifelong interest in martial arts resulted in the inevitable introduction to firearms as a means of self and home protection. As a mother of four, Tatiana takes the safety of her family seriously and knows that in a worst-case scenario the first responder on the scene is her. The training that she offers brings a participant’s mindset out of the square range and into the context of daily life. Tatiana is member of the Walther Defense Division. She is an NRA BPI, RSO and Refuse to Be a Victim instructor, USCCA instructor, in addition to being a featured host & instructor on Trigger Time TV airing on the Pursuits Channel. Tatiana is the Director of Training at Howell’s Indoor Range and Shooting Academy in Gray, Maine and the Director of Training for the national women shooting league, A Girl and A Gun. She is a contributing author for numerous industry publications and the NRA Women’s Network.