Damian "Skip" Stites
Skip
Stites served as the Senior Supervisory Special Agent and Program
Manager for the FBI’s Law Enforcement Training for Safety and
Survival Program (LETSS) at the FBI’s Training Academy in Quantico,
Virginia. During his distinguished 23-year career with the
FBI, Stites has instructed over 20,000 domestic and international
police officers and agents world-wide in firearms, street survival
tactics, sniper tactics, SWAT and defense tactics.
Among his many accomplishments, Stites is one of a select few agents to be certified as a FBI Master Police Instructor. Post 9-11, Stites was deployed to Turkey, for an extended period of time, to conduct investigations in support of the War on Terrorism. Stites most recent accomplishments have been training and rebuilding the Iraqi and Afghanistan Security Forces, including serving as the FBI’s Lead Instructor, Organized Crime/Officer Survival for the Iraqi National Police.
Prior to his assignment at the FBI Academy, Stites conducted investigations in Narcotics, Organized Crime and Domestic Terrorism. He served on the FBI’s Springfield, Illinois and Chicago Division’s SWAT Teams as a sniper and entry team member. Stites is a recipient of the FBI Medal of Merit for his actions in saving the life of a child. Stites began his career in law enforcement as a police officer with Durango Colorado Police Department where he served for seven years.
Among several professional associations, Stites is a member of the FBI National Academy Associates, International Chiefs of Police, Society of Former Agents, International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, International Law Enforcement Firearm Instructors, American Society for Industrial Security, National Rifle Association and the Illinois Tactical Officers Association