Chuck Habermehl is a decorated U.S. Marine Vietnam Veteran who served his country from 1971 to 1975. During his 38 years in law enforcement, he achieved the rank of Deputy Chief in an active urban jurisdiction of Miami-Dade County.

In 1994, Habermehl founded the training company Direct Action Defensive Systems, followed by the CQB-Close Quarters Battle, Inc., and CQB, LLC, headquartered in Florida. He has trained thousands of police and military personnel inside and outside the U.S., including many top-tier elements.

Habermehl has decades of experience in various hand-to-hand fighting systems; He managed a Marine Corps gym facility; spent 10 years as a police academy senior defensive tactics instructor at the Southeast Florida Institute of Criminal Justice in Dade County, Florida; and 16 years as Director of Training at Volusia County Sheriff’s Office before retiring in 2016.

Habermehl developed CQB training enhancements adopted by many organizations and has written and produced several tactical training manuals, books and DVDs reserved for LEO and military units. His 2011 book Depictions: Poems About Warriors and War, Habermehl’s first book made available to the public at the time, was awarded a gold medal by the Military Writers Society of America.

Habermehl continues research for various tactical white papers. He is a graduate of the University of Miami.