We recently connected with Michael Scheidle and have shared our conversation below.

Michael , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The idea for Constant Vigilance Safety Education began with a very simple, yet quite powerful conversation I had with a colleague from my time as a volunteer in the United States Air Force Auxiliary, from when we both were Civil Air Patrol cadets. CAP is where I started in my journey of service. Now, in 2025, I can say I’m in my 8th year in private security and I am to be blunt, not impressed with the training options and the competency standards and professional development opportunities private security have in the City of Las Vegas. CVSE while not operational just yet in Vegas (we’re running in Arizona through my business partner), will seek to change the training methodology and have a hand in standards for both armed and unarmed professionals. My point is to be “agnostic and neutral” and not tied to any one security organization. I am currently a less lethal instructor trained and credentialed to give basic user courses in batons, handcuffing, defensive flashlight, OC/Pepper Spray, as well as Tasers. One unique credential I have is the credential to teach 0.68 caliber “less lethal munitions” launchers through Sabre International. I took the 4th ever course in Draper, Utah hosted by the Utah Dpt of Corrections, our instructor was a Deputy Warden within UDOC who is in charge of a multi-state region for Sabre instruction.

I have my own stumbles in my security career and seek to essentially have a “don’t go down the same path I did” approach. I seek to help professionals in the City of Las Vegas be better and obtain court-defensible certificates in everything one would commonly have on their security duty belt (all my credentials are law enforcement quality courses that the manufacturers will go to bat on), all my credentials are either law enforcement Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) or International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) certified. Those being ASP’s AIC, Taser-Axon Law Enforcement Branch of Instruction, and Sabre International for OC and 0.68. My credentials only allow me to train public safety (sworn officers or security only) so in 2025 my wishlist of development includes the civilian side of Taser for self defense and a Sabre OC Civilian Instructor course, as well as ASP’s “Be Your Own Defender” for their smaller keychain OC products, that I myself carry everyday. Beyond that I also want to work my way into the medical world for medical instruction to go along with being a less lethal instructor. I have aspirations to become a Nevada Firearms Instructor for private security, but I have done a self-assessment of myself and have a lot of polishing and work to do before I feel ready enough to instruct others in firearms. Rather its these “less lethal implements” previously mentioned, or deadly lethal force when talking firearms, the assessment, options, and execution of using anything on an officer’s duty belt is not something I take lightly when you are responsible for the person you’re using force on, to include being responsible for them once they land in your care and custody while handcuffed.

While my expertise currently is limited to public servants, it is my goal in this new year to obtain the credentials necessary to also reach out to my community and train “John or Jane Doe” everyday citizen. EVERYONE deserves training and EVERYONE deserves to be competent AND confident alike in whatever tools (less lethal or lethal) one decides to carry.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Michael Scheidle, I am a private security officer of 8 years and an armed officer for 7 of my years. I have been on federal government security contracts, was also a direct federal employee for a short time, and have worked in 3 states on the West Coast (CA, UT, and NV) so far in my time in security.

I entered this profession out of a tragic circumstance: I was in the crowd of 10-1-17 – the Jason Aldean Shooting when 58 people perished and bullets rained down from Mandalay Bay Resort in the City of Las Vegas. I am a survivor of the Route 91 Harvest Festival Country Music Shooting. I carry a firearm every day, within security and concealed in my everyday life, to ensure no one has to experience what I went through on “One October”. It is a memory forever etched in my mind. It is a memory that pushes me and drives me to do what I do: as a non-sworn professional, I carry a firearm to ensure no one else goes through what I went through that fateful night as rounds were laid down range from Mandalay Bay…

I am a private security less lethal instructor with his own YouTube channel pushing out little tidbits of professional knowledge (shameless plug: The Professional Security Journal on YouTube!), I am actively working on my less lethal training company’s first training powerpoints and hope to go around to local businesses soon and introduce myself. It’s my goal to give back to my Clark County community and be of service to my community by handing out knowledge I’ve obtained through my time in federal service, as well as my general security experience.

I want people to know they can count on me to be as thorough as possible when giving instruction. I’m not afraid to say “hang on class” and go 1-on-1 with someone. I’m also not afraid to say “Off hand, I don’t know that answer, let me consult the manual and my professional network and I’ll have an answer for you by end of class (or session if multi-day)” I am VERY big on follow-through and WILL get you your answer, even if I have to email it to you and follow up BEYOND class. Once again, EVERYONE deserves the knowledge they deem necessary within this topic of personal safety, or professional competency (if in public service). If you ever find me in uniform on duty, since I still do field work in security, you will find a well put together private security officer that is always vigilant, always looking around and aware, and is always willing to help people, with a smile. I currently work as a Private Transit Security Officer for Las Vegas’s Regional Transportation Commission within the RTC Mass Transit Bus System that services the entirety of Clark County, Nevada. I am assigned to RTC’s Las Vegas Strip Detail and will ALWAYS serve my passengers and answer questions with a smile. During my calls for service I approach with a smile, and am consistent, firm but fair, and will always treat people with respect.

I am most proud of my passion and outlook towards my industry: Through tragedy I turned my experience into something that pushes me. Through perseverance and resilience I use my experience in the worst shooting in modern US history into my “professional why”

I think my general approach in security is what sets me apart from most others: in one job I heard a saying that forever changed my outlook in security “CYA does not mean cover your a…it means CAN YOU ARTICULATE? Were your actions reasonable? Were they necessary? Did they even make sense, was this action logical?” – that was a VERY powerful statement that has stayed with me to this day and drives my company’s approach of “Words Before the Belt” – “A “Vigilance with a Smile” Approach:
Part of my approach with my training company is “vigilance with a smile” and “words before the belt”. Verbal judo before the belt – before any force implements always. It can be VERY tricky in security unlike in law enforcement, to where a police officer can “ratchet up” and go straight into response. In private security we have a “duty” to provide “customer service”. Taking tidbits from multiple security firms I’ve worked for, I’ve developed this “vigilance with a smile” – you keep your awareness, while maintaining that command presence, that officer’s presence maintained at all times. Rather you’re serving up smiles, answering basic questions, providing general support to your client internally, or the client’s customers (externally), or escalating up through the public safety use of force continuum, you maintain command presence and your “vigilance with a smile”. That smile may disappear as you go through the continuum, and become firm, but fair, becoming authoritative as necessary, but as you go through your escalations, also bear in mind a smile can be the thing that does indeed *DE*-escalate a given call for service.
ALWAYS keep the smile in/on the tool belt, or as I jokingly call my duty belt, my “bat belt”
Constant Vigilance Safety Education:
Constantly vigilant of the ever-fluid and ever changing standards in the field
Providing training with a “Words Before the Belt” Approach!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Until VERY recently I used to think security was all about “looking tough” and “mean-mugging” people. This is something I’m actively working on since I have a lot of time left actually working in the field “out there” within security. I’m actively working on smiling more and not just “ratcheting up” and “winding myself up”, I do that WAY TOO SOON in a call for service within my encounters in security, but that comes to speak to my attitude that I’m not afraid to raise my hand and own it and say “Yeah I have this issue” – now what am I doing for that? I’m working on taking a page from my boss’s book (shoutout to Evan Levitt, a prior Canvas guest as I work for him under Alexios Security – yes I have 2 jobs in my industry! 3 if you count my own business!) and working on “Stopping. Pausing. And Breathing” more. I’m adapting this into my security calls for service by way of biting my tongue, slowing the situation down, and working on ACTUALLY talking to people more. I have given many security officers advice in my past and I jokingly have been saying to myself “Mike, you REALLY gotta start practicing what you’re putting out to people…”

Part of this effort is seeking out de-escalation and what we call “verbal judo” instruction and I’ll be going out of state and traveling out of Nevada if I must, because this effort is THAT important to me in my job that I will go out of my local area if I have to for this de-escalation and verbal judo instruction.

Any advice for managing a team?

I would say standards are important, and you need to manage people by way of setting those standards, and holding your team accountable, BUT at the same time, you need to take your people’s well-being in mind. As I stated in my previous answer, I work for a prior Canvas guest – I work for Evan Levitt within Alexios Security Solutions and one thing that he and Antonio Guadagni do so well is they actually DO CARE about their security staff. At the same time – we have professional standards within Alexios, standards that go two-fold: the way we act to each other within team, and how the team acts and performs within our security sites. What the gents at Alexios do so well that set them apart from the rest of the security industry, and the things that I appreciate out of them the most are: while they have this bar set, and they expect you to meet the bar and meet standards, if you fall below threshold, what makes these fine gents so different than any other security company I’ve ever worked for is they will reach out and touch base with you personally and check if you’re ok, beyond work. As I think most of us know, home life, or life around our friends and/or family can have an affect on us at work. What the guys do so well is they will take their manager’s caps off and be a friend if need be and check on you. I had a MASSIVE mental break earlier this year when I bit off more than I could chew when I worked FOUR security jobs at once. This was early on in my employment with Alexios (they were my then fourth job, and I only say I was working four because at the time I was doing a week long event working conferences under one temporary employer – where I would work the event then they would release me, common in security as we work event security, they bring you on, then release and terminate at the conclusion of the event), I had to explain to the guys that I wanted to make them my primary but I made some choices and took on more than I could handle. They appreciated the honesty, and continued to check on me. They managed their standards, but made it apparent they cared about my morale, and continued to keep tabs on me. This is textbook of what I think a leader should be and how they should take care of their troops: Professionalism and caring about your troops – and maintaining high standards and team excellence certainly is the way to go!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://constantvigilancesafetyeducati.godaddysites.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shieldel/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Shieldel