New Trainer Profile: Ayman Kafel Joins the Owen Army

Ayman Kafel joins Owen Army as a new trainer, bringing decades of war-fighting and policing experience to help train members in countering threats and strengthening communities.

Owen Army is proud to announce that Ayman Kafel – a combat-hardened veteran and seasoned law enforcement leader – has officially joined our ranks as a trainer. Born amid the chaos of two civil wars and later battle-tested in Iraq, Kafel has forged a life defined by resilience, service, and an unyielding “warrior ethos.” Now, he’s bringing those hard-earned skills to Owen Army, where he will be teaching our members everything from community engagement and counter-extremism to tactical law enforcement skills, trauma recovery, and building effective public-private task force partnerships.

From Civil Wars to U.S. Army Combat

Ayman Kafel’s life journey reads like an odyssey through conflict. As a child, he survived two civil wars – one in Lebanon and one in Africa (Liberia) – before immigrating with his family to the United States in 1988. Growing up amid violence taught him the meaning of perseverance at a young age. “Growing up amidst the chaos and uncertainty of civil war in both Lebanon and Liberia… instilled in me a fierce determination to survive and thrive,” Kafel writes, recalling how those early hardships forged his resilience.

Inspired to give back to the country that gave him refuge – and driven by a sense of duty after the 9/11 attacks – Kafel enlisted in the U.S. Army. He deployed to Iraq in 2005 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he conducted over 20,000 miles of combat patrols and missions, leveraging his proficiency in Arabic to coordinate with various Army unitsobjectivearete.comobjectivearete.com. Hardened by intense combat, he learned to lead under fire and “embrace the sense of duty to serve and protect”, as he puts itobjectivearete.com. This period cemented the ethos that would guide him going forward: pain can be turned into purpose.

Law Enforcement Leader and “Hybrid Wolf”

After 8 years of military service, Kafel continued his fight on America’s streets. He began a law enforcement career in 2007, first with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Police, and then in 2011 he joined the Attleboro Police Department. Over the past 15+ years, he has worn many hats in law enforcement: uniformed patrol officer, detective, undercover interdiction specialist, DEA Task Force officer, SWAT operator, and now a police sergeant. In fact, he was promoted to Patrol Sergeant in 2022 and currently leads his department’s Problem-Oriented Policing Unit.

Kafel’s reputation is that of a “predator hunter.” He has led and participated in numerous complex investigations, successfully capturing high-level criminals ranging from major drug traffickers to violent offenders. As a DEA Task Force Officer and SWAT team member, he worked side-by-side with federal agents to take down fentanyl dealers and gang networks, helping prosecute those who prey on the vulnerable. (For example, his investigative work contributed to federal cases like a Rhode Island fentanyl distribution ring and the takedown of an I-95 corridor drug network.) At the same time, as a detective he helped put child predators behind bars – such as a fugitive who molested a 5-year-old girl in Attleboro and was captured thanks to diligent police work and DNA evidence. In short, Kafel knows how to bring monsters to justice.

It’s no surprise, then, that he’s been called a “hybrid wolf” in the law enforcement community – a term he himself coined. In one of his widely read articles, Kafel describes the “Hybrid Wolf” as a rare type of police officer who combines the protector’s empathy with the predator’s ferocity. Unlike the typical “sheepdog” officer who waits to react, the hybrid wolf proactively hunts the worst criminals while still caring for the innocent. This philosophy, influenced by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s famous sheepdog analogy, speaks to Kafel’s relentless proactive mindset. He doesn’t just stand guard – he goes after the wolves that harm the flock. It’s a mentality perfectly in tune with Owen Army’s mission to “fight monsters” in our communities.

Turning Pain into Purpose – The Warrior Scholar

“Ayman Kafel is what happens when pain meets purpose—and never flinches,” says Owen Army founder Ben Owen. Indeed, Kafel has transformed personal adversity into fuel for helping others. Beyond his field exploits, he has become a thought leader and educator in the areas of tactical training, mental resilience, and human performance.

  • Writer & Author: Ayman has published over 100 articles in publications like The Havok Journal, sharing lessons from war, policing, and the struggle with PTSD in the first responder community. (He was even featured on BBC Arabic to discuss his Iraq experiences.) One powerful essay, for example, “Victim No More: Embracing the Survivor Within,” challenges the defeatist “victim” mindset and encourages a survivor’s mentality in the face of trauma. “Social media...uses [the word victim] so frequently that it has lost some of its original weight and significance,” Kafel writes, urging people to reclaim agency and focus on recoveryt. This perspective will be invaluable as he trains Owen Army members in trauma recovery and resilience – teaching us how to overcome adversity rather than be defined by it.

  • Entrepreneur & Trainer: Kafel holds a Master’s degree (M.S.C.) and is the founder of Project Sapient, a venture where “tactical training meets neuroscience, stress physiology, and raw human performance”. Through Project Sapient (which includes a popular podcast), he blends cutting-edge research with real-world tactics to improve how warriors train and cope with stress. He also founded Hybrid Wolf Blue Line Strategies, LLC, a veteran-owned training and consulting company for law enforcement. As a certified police instructor, he has taught officers across the East Coast in advanced skills – from mechanical breaching and designated marksmanship to “human performance under duress.” In short, he doesn’t just know how to fight; he knows how to teach others to fight smarter and harder.

  • Published Book: Kafel is the author of “The Resolute Path,” a book that delves into living with purpose and resilience. (If you want to understand the core of his philosophy – living “with purpose, embracing adversity, and relentlessly pursuing excellence” – that title says it all.) His life embodies that credo.

All these accomplishments reflect major milestones in Ayman’s journey. Few people can say they have: survived civil war, fought in an American war, worn a badge to protect a community, led SWAT raids, counselled fellow officers through PTSD, and then distilled all that into training programs and writings to uplift others. Kafel has done it – and he’s just getting started.

What Ayman Kafel Will Teach the Owen Army

Bringing Ayman on board supercharges Owen Army’s training capabilities. Our mission is to combat human trafficking, violence, addiction and societal decay by “forging warriors with a purpose” – and Kafel has the exact skill set to do it. Here are the key areas in which he’ll be training Owen Army members:

  • Community Engagement & Counter-Extremism: Kafel understands that the battle for safer communities isn’t only fought with fists or firearms – it’s won by earning trust and winning hearts and minds. Having seen insurgencies up close and having led a Problem-Oriented Policing Unit at home, he emphasizes working with the community to root out violent extremism and crime. In his writing, he highlights the often overlooked role of local influencers (for example, how empowering women in communities can help prevent extremist recruitment). Owen Army members will learn how to engage citizens as allies – building relationships, gathering intelligence from the ground up, and defusing radicalization before it takes hold. Kafel’s insight from both Middle Eastern conflict zones and American neighborhoods will guide our trainees in being not just warriors, but also community guardians.

  • Advanced Law Enforcement Tactics: As a SWAT officer and DEA task force veteran, Kafel brings a wealth of tactical knowledge. He will be teaching practical skills for high-risk situations – the same kind of advanced patrol tactics and breach-and-clear techniques he has taught to police across the country. From room-clearing and close-quarters combat to surveillance and undercover interdiction, Ayman will ensure Owen Army trainees can operate effectively and safely alongside law enforcement. His motto is to be “civilized minds and savage bodies” in action: disciplined in strategy, but fierce in execution. Expect hands-on workshops that push your limits and ingrain the muscle memory needed to tackle armed traffickers, violent gangs, or an active shooter scenario with confidence.

  • Countering Violent Extremism: With a background in both military counter-insurgency and domestic counter-terrorism, Kafel is uniquely equipped to train us on identifying and neutralizing extremist threats. He has studied how terror groups operate and how early intervention at the community level can stop homegrown violent extremism. In training sessions, he will cover how to spot warning signs of radicalization, how to partner with community leaders to steer at-risk individuals away from extremist ideologies, and how to apply de-escalation vs. enforcement appropriately. This training is especially critical in an age where international terror tactics are seeping into our neighborhoods. Kafel’s experience coordinating with multiple agencies (military, FBI, local police) in such cases will help Owen Army develop a holistic approach to counter-extremism on our own streets.

  • Trauma Care & Survivor Mindset: Having endured combat and worked with victims of horrific crimes, Kafel knows the toll trauma takes – and how to heal from it. He often says he dislikes how society overuses the word “victim,” preferring to focus on survivors. Owen Army members will benefit from his guidance on trauma recovery, both for ourselves and those we aim to help. This includes understanding PTSD (post-traumatic stress) and strategies to build mental resilience. Kafel has openly discussed the challenges of PTSD among veterans and officers, and he’ll share techniques on managing stress, avoiding burnout, and transitioning from a “victim mindset” to a “survivor mindset.” Whether it’s aiding a human trafficking survivor in regaining control of their life or coping with our own critical incident stress, Ayman’s mentorship in this arena will be invaluable. Mental toughness and compassion go hand-in-hand in his philosophy.

  • Public-Private Task Force Partnerships: One of the reasons we’re excited about Ayman is his proven ability to bridge gaps between agencies and communities. During his tenure as a DEA Task Force Officer, he worked jointly with federal, state, and local units – a model for what we in Owen Army strive to do as a private initiative working with law enforcement. Kafel will train members on how to effectively collaborate with police departments, government agencies, and community organizations as a unified task force. This includes everything from the legal basics of assisting law enforcement, to operational communication protocols, to establishing trust and clear roles. The goal is to create force-multipliers: civilians with specialized training who can augment official efforts. Kafel’s own unit at Attleboro PD employed “unconventional methods… ranging from winning hearts and minds to strategic law enforcement actions” to target root causes of crime. Expect to learn how Owen Army’s grassroots warriors can plug into larger operations, share intelligence, and coordinate missions while respecting boundaries and maintaining safety and accountability.

Forging Warriors with Purpose

In Ayman Kafel, Owen Army gains a trainer who is the very embodiment of our credo. He has literally been forged in fire – surviving civil wars and combat – and tempered by years on America’s frontlines as a cop. Through it all, he never lost sight of why he fights: to protect others and to turn hardship into help for those who need it.

Kafel’s approach aligns perfectly with our vision of creating “trained people with civilized minds and savage bodies” to defend our communities. He believes, as we do, that the fight against human trafficking, violence, addiction, and even societal collapse “can’t be won with good intentions” alone – it takes action, skills, and relentless resolve. His life’s work has been about more than just catching “bad guys”; it’s also about fixing what can be fixed. He has shown compassion for addicts looking to break free of the poison of fentanyl, and empathy for trafficking survivors trying to reclaim their lives. But for those predators who truly deserve no quarter, Kafel is the first through the door – the one who “runs towards the sound of gunfire” to stop them.

Major Milestones of Ayman Kafel’s Journey: (in summary form)

  • Civil War Survivor: Endured childhood in war-torn Lebanon and Liberia, instilling unbreakable determination.

  • U.S. Army Veteran: Enlisted after 9/11; deployed to Iraq (2005), running 20,000+ miles of combat patrols. Honed leadership under fire and cross-cultural communication using his Arabic fluency.

  • Law Enforcement Career: 15+ years with Attleboro Police (MA). Served as Patrol Officer, Detective, DEA Task Force Officer, SWAT & SRT operator, and Metro SWAT team member. Led investigations taking down drug trafficking rings and violent criminals. Promoted to Sergeant in 2022; currently commands a special policing unit employing “Special Forces philosophy” to fight crime.

  • Educator & Thought Leader: Founder of Project Sapient (training & consulting firm integrating neuroscience with tactical training) and CEO of Hybrid Wolf Blue Line Strategies (LE training company). Certified instructor who has taught advanced tactics and human performance courses to officers across the East Coast. Master’s degree holder and Editor-in-Chief of Objective Arete Journal.

  • Author & Advocate: Written 100+ articles on military and police life, including addressing PTSD and officer wellness. Featured in major media (BBC Arabic) for his insights. Author of The Resolute Path (personal leadership and resilience). Passionately promotes a “Survivor, not Victim” mentality for trauma recovery.

Every one of these experiences adds a layer to what Ayman Kafel brings to Owen Army. Our members will not only learn how to fight, but also why to fight – and how to sustain that fight for the long haul without losing heart or humanity.

Welcome to the Owen Army, Ayman. In his own words, “this fight…can’t be won with good intentions. It’s going to take trained people” with the will to do what’s necessary. With warriors like Kafel training our own, we are well on our way to building an unstoppable force for good. The first 100 Owen Army enlistees are already benefiting from world-class instruction; with Ayman’s addition, we are raising the bar even higher. We train. We build. We deploy – before the next kid gets trafficked, before the next overdose, before it’s too late.

If you’re on the sidelines, now’s the time to join in. As Kafel’s example shows, pain can be turned into purpose – and together, we will fight monsters and reclaim our communities. Welcome aboard, Sergeant Kafel, let’s get to work!

Train. Build. Deploy. ✯

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