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Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donovan (Don) Alexander has been in the
military for over 26 years. Twenty- five of those years were spent in the
Special Forces. CW3 Alexander is currently assigned to the 5th Group based
out of Fort Campbell, KY. During CW3 Alexander’s career he has been involved
several combat operations to include Desert Shield/ Desert Storm (Saudi
Arabia-Kuwait-Iraq), Provide Relief and Restore Hope in Somalia, Joint
Endeavor in Bosnia, Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraqi Freedom in
Kuwait and Iraq. A large part of CW3 Alexander’s mission involved training
of not only U.S. military personnel, but foreign personnel as well. CW3
Alexander has extensive experience and expertise in small unit patrol
tactics in rural and urban environments, field craft, high risk entry and
assault, and numerous other areas related to tactical operations. CW3
Alexander is a certified instructor of numerous conventional weapons systems
as well as a past student of several nationally recognized firearms schools
both in the military and civilian sector. CW3 Alexander has conducted and
supervised training for thousands of personnel during his career. As a
result of an exemplary military career, CW3 Alexander has received numerous
medals, awards, and ribbons to include a Bronze Star with V and Oak Leaf
Cluster, Combat Infantry Badge with Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
with Bronze Arrowhead (assault landing) and a host of others signifying an
accomplished and distinguished career.
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Don in Baghdad |
As an eternal student, Don has continued his education outside the military.
He is currently a licensed instructor for the state of Tennessee for
concealed carry and conducts classes on a regular basis. Because of his
extensive background and expertise in training, Don was selected as an
adjunct instructor for the nationally known Thunder Ranch, Inc. in Mountain
Home, Texas. Don began a relationship with Thunder Ranch several years
earlier as student in a rifle class. Though he had extensive experience and
training, he gained new techniques and ideas as result of the instruction.
It was not long after this experience that CW 3 Alexander put this training
to use in actual operations with great success. The experienced gained from
his time at Thunder Ranch Inc., of Texas gave him insight into the
importance of firearms training for civilians and civilian law enforcement.
CW 3 Alexander has developed many classes involving the use of rifles
(semi-auto and bolt action) in a tactical and hostile environment. In
addition, he has developed and provided instruction in Close Quarter Combat
to the U.S. Military of all branches as well as civilian law enforcement.
Based on his personal experiences, Don also realized that honest, law-
abiding civilians were in need of training in the proper use of firearms to
protect themselves and their families. Instructing the concealed carry class
was the first step, but much more in-depth training was needed to truly
prepare an individual for a potentially deadly encounter. It is for these
reasons that Don has chosen to team up with Harry Fleming. Together they
created SHD Consulting, Inc. SHD, which stands for Strength, Honor and
Dedication, was designed to carry out training of the most professional
level to civilian, law enforcement, military and security personnel. |
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Harry Fleming retired May 8, 2004, having worked full time as a
police officer for over twenty years. He served in various capacities during
his tenure to include, patrol, traffic, narcotics investigation (both overt
and undercover operations), special operations (street crimes), criminal
investigations, and his last assignment of patrol sergeant. He served as a
member and team leader of a multi-agency narcotics entry team and was the
tactical commander for the multi-agency SWAT team in his area. Sgt. Fleming
was involved with SWAT operations since 1987. Harry developed many programs
that involved the training of law enforcement personnel in the use of
firearms and tactics. Harry Fleming holds a Master Peace Officer License,
Police Instructors license, Firearms Instructor license, NRA instructors
license, Defensive Tactics Instructors license, as well as many other
certifications that pertain to firearms training, tactical techniques, SWAT
operations, etc. In addition to training law enforcement and military
personnel, Harry has trained hundreds of civilians in the proper use of
firearms and tactics as it pertains to the security of their home, business
or the potential threat of a violent public encounter. As a criminal
investigator, Harry investigated hundreds of crimes against persons
including capitol murder. Because of his dedication, he has received
numerous commendations for his work. As a result of seeing first hand the
results of violent crime, he is also painfully aware of the need for proper,
realistic training for not only those men and women whose duty it is to
protect and serve, but also for people to protect themselves and their
families. |
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Early in his career, Harry realized that the methods taught to him
were not realistic of the challenges faced by law enforcement or others in
day-to-day activities, much less high-risk operations. As his career
progressed, he sought and developed different methods of training pertaining
to the practical use of firearms and tactics. Through his involvement in
execution of narcotics search warrants and high-risk operations, many real
world opportunities presented themselves to develop and evolve these
tactical skills into a more realistic training program. After years of
actual operations and learning through experience, Harry had the opportunity
to meet and work for Clint Smith who had just opened Thunder Ranch Inc., in
Mountain Home, Texas. After taking classes at the ranch, Harry was
recognized for his skills and abilities and was hired as an adjunct
instructor, spending over ten years training and working for Thunder Ranch,
Inc. and ITC (International Training Consultants). During this working
relationship, Harry realized that many of the answers he had arrived at
through the “learning through experience method”, could have been achieved
through the “learning through experience of others” method.
Over the years, Sgt. Fleming had
the opportunity to meet and work with many recognized experts in the field
of shooting and tactics. He also had the opportunity to meet with many that
were not known publicly, but had equally and in some cases, more impressive
backgrounds, one of which was CW 3 Don Alexander. Don and the men that
accompanied him were some of the most professional operators that Harry had
met while instructing. He established a relationship with Don and others in
the group. After years of exchanging ideas and training philosophies, both
Harry and Don were interested in continuing their relationship not only as
friends but also as professional trainers. Due to their respective
backgrounds, it seemed like a very natural progression to develop SHD
Consulting, Inc. |
