About Us
Training Solutions International is a Central Aid Agency Affiliate Company. Our mission is to provide high quality consumer-oriented training services, enriching experiences, and gear to emergency responders, businesses, organizations, and the general public. We offer services focusing on emergency management, medical, survival, outdoor skills, and occupational training.
Guiding Principle: To help our customers succeed, and our employees thrive.
Guiding Principle: To help our customers succeed, and our employees thrive.
Training Solutions International LLC was created by the Central Aid Agency as an Affiliate Company in February 2015 as a means to create a reliable funding source (TSI is mandated to donate a minimum of 10% of its earnings to the Central Aid Agency) and to serve as a regulatory and certifying body for C.A.A. Instructors. The "International" in Training Solutions International comes from the fact that many of our instructor certifications are recognized internationally. Training Solutions International is a company built on the principles of Non-Denominational Christian Intellectualism. As such, honesty, integrity, and service are all core tenants of our company. In order to better serve the whole community, our company has taken an official stance of political neutrality. Except in cases where it directly relates to our business or mission. Since 2015 the company has grown to include a variety of services available to the public, companies, organizations, and other agencies. At Training Solutions International, we are focused on providing training services with the highest levels of expertise, professionalism, and customer satisfaction. Our instructors are all fully certified and draw on years of experience in their particular fields, this knowledge helps to make them more effective teachers. (All TSI Instructors must have a minimum of 2 years of experience, although many have much more) In addition, they receive countless hours of additional training and testing before becoming certified as an instructor with TSI. This training and vetting process insures only the highest quality instructors work for TSI, which equates to a more effective training experience and greater customer satisfaction. With a variety of training options to choose from, including custom training, we can provide a solution to all of your training needs. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.
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Our EmblemThe TSI emblem is made up of symbols that each holds specific meaning to our company:
Why do some Instructors wear Central Aid Agency Insignia?Because Training Solutions International is an Affiliate Company of the Central Aid Agency, TSI personnel who are also members of the Central Aid Agency wear their C.A.A. insignia on their TSI uniforms.
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Staff Instructors
Staff Instructors are the backbone of the company and provide the bulk of training services, many are cross-trained to teach multiple disciplines.
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Ben Bower
Company Manager / Chief Instructor Bio: Ben is the Company Manager and Chief Instructor for Training Solutions International and oversees the operations of the company, he has a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice and over a decade of experience as a first responder. Ben got started in the realm of emergency management in 2008 (while still a teenager) when he helped found the Central Aid Agency, an emergency response and community service non-profit organization that is the parent of Training Solutions International.
In 2009 Ben joined a county Search and Rescue team as a volunteer member to gain more experience, later serving in roles such as Explorer Post Advisor, 4x4 vehicle operator, ground searcher, hasty team member, instructor, and SAR medic. He still maintains mission-ready status with Search and Rescue and goes on SAR missions when he can. Ben is also an experienced SAR instructor and specializes in land navigation, search procedures, and survival techniques. In 2012 Ben began working part-time as a Public Safety Officer at a community college, rising to the rank of Corporal and becoming an EMT there in 2015. He still works part time in this capacity because it brings him valuable additional experience he can leverage to be a better instructor. In 2013 Ben became a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) instructor, laying the ground work for him to later become the program manager for two separate but complimentary CERT programs. In 2014 he completed the training necessary to be certified as an Armed/Unarmed private security professional, and graduated from the regional law enforcement reserve police academy. He continues to assist with the reserve academy as an instructor and by coordinating roleplayers for training exercises. In 2015 Ben became a DPSST certified private security Executive Manager. He also began the process to become a sworn reserve police officer, a process which he completed in early 2016 and continues to serve in to this day. 2015 was the year that Training Solutions International came into being on Ben's recommendation as a way to provide funding to the Central Aid Agency. The Central Aid Agency Board of Directors approved spinning off part of the C.A.A. Academy (the Academy is the Central Aid Agency's training unit) into it's own separate company, which Ben volunteered to lead as Company Manager, and TSI was born. In 2016 Ben became an unarmed DPSST private security instructor, an NRA certified firearms instructor, and a CERT Program Manager for the Central Aid Agency CERT program and the Campus CERT program for the college where he works as a Public Safety Officer. Also in 2016 Ben became a certified instructor for CPR / AED / First Aid and Basic Life Support (BLS) certified by both the American Heart Association (AHA) and Health and Safety Institute (HSI). In 2017 Ben completed an instructor course put on by trainers with the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) to become a certified Tactical Medical Instructor, allowing him to teach the law enforcement version of the US Army's popular Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) course. In 2018 Ben became a certified Stop The Bleed instructor. In 2019 Ben completed the instructor course through the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to become a certified Traffic Incident Management (TIM) instructor. Also in 2019 Ben completed IS-449 which allowed him to become recognized by the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an Incident Command System (ICS) instructor. In 2021 Ben became the Armed Security representative on the DPSST Private Security Policy Committee, which is responsible for helping craft rules and policies for the security industry in Oregon. He also completed a 40+ hour law enforcement-level firearms instructor development course and became a certified law enforcement-level handgun instructor. In addition to his numerous instructor certifications, Ben continues to serve as the Executive Director of the Central Aid Agency personally leading Central Command and overseeing all Emergency Response operations. He also oversees the C.A.A. security team on a policy level and develops training and standards for them, and still wears a security uniform himself from time to time. Ben was part of the original group that founded the Lane County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) and continues to represent the Central Aid Agency within COAD, serving on the COAD Leadership Team and previously serving as both Chair and Vice Chair. Ben has been involved with and led numerous responses to disasters and emergencies. Ben has been involved in numerous law enforcement and security training, and has written multi-agency exercises. His specialty is emergency management, force on force, and active shooter training. Ben is a member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), and the National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association (NLEFIA). In his very limited free time, Ben enjoys hiking and other outdoor activities with his wife. |
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Cody Leaton
Instructor Bio: Cody is the lead Survival Instructor and Survival Curriculum Developer at Training Solutions
International. He has an AAS in Paramedicine and over a decade in emergency response from volunteer and professional experience. He was raised in rural areas, has always enjoyed being outside, and has been practicing survival skills from a young age. In 2012 Cody joined Lane County Search and Rescue Post 178. He rose to the position of Senior Scout and then Post President. During this time he ran missions, set up trainings, and taught several different groups wilderness survival skills. In 2017 he graduated from the program and became an advisor for the group. He continued to teach incoming members survival and navigation skills. He left Search and Rescue in 2020 due to time constraints but hopes to rejoin in the future. In 2015, Cody joined the Central Aid Agency. Currently he is a Non-Commissioned Officer, serves in community service, and training site maintenance and development. He started his Fire Fighter experience at Lane Fire Authority where he volunteered from 2014 to 2016. Then at Goshen Fire District from 2016 through 2017. He also worked at PatRick during 2015 and 2017 as a Wildland Fire Fighter on an Initial Attack hand crew. In 2017, Cody obtained his Paramedic license and began working at Falck Northwest, where he is still working. Between work and volunteering, Cody enjoys being outside, hunting, fishing, hiking, practicing bushcraft, and small scale farming. He is currently developing a homestead with his wife and daughter on their rural property |
Associate Instructors
Associate Instructors are subject matter experts or specialists who teach specific classes or disciplines; they may also teach courses for entities other than TSI.
Volunteer Instructors
Volunteer Instructors are instructors who volunteer their time, usually to help teach community programs like CERT. They also often volunteer instructors who are TSI certified for the sole purpose of providing training for the Central Aid Agency.
Elizabeth Clark Volunteer instructor Background / Experience:
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Billy Thomas Volunteer instructor Background / Experience:
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