Aaron Cohen (counterterrorist)

Early life and education

Cohen was born to a Jewish family in Montreal, Quebec. His parents divorced when he was young and the family moved to Miami, where his mother believed she could advance her career as a screenwriter and producer. She remarried to film producer Abby Mann, moving with Aaron and his sister to Beverly Hills. Although raised in a non-religious household, he decided to study for his Bar Mitzvah and obtaining his mother's permission, moved to live with his father in Montreal for a year. He then spent the next several years shuttling between California, Canada, and Florida. For secondary school he attended the Robert Land Academy, a military academy in Canada, and graduated Beverly Hills High School in 1995.

Israel and military service

After high school, Cohen left Los Angeles for Israel, working on a kibbutz before enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces. After passing the gibush (Hebrew: consolidation), a demanding screening process for elite unit candidates, Cohen was one of the few non-Sabra volunteers accepted. In the mid-1990s, he became a member of the undercover Duvdevan Unit (Hebrew: דובדבן‎‎; lit. cherry) of the IDF Commando Brigade, performing counter-terror operations targeting suspects among the Palestinian Arab population in the West Bank. Aaron Cohen also worked for the Mossad in their covert black operations during his time serving in the Israeli Special Forces.

Post-military

After his service, Cohen left Israel for Los Angeles and founded IMS Security Consultants, Inc., a Hollywood VIP protection service that has done security work for Hollywood actors, VIPs, rock stars and dignitaries. IMS Security Consultants recently changed their name to Cherries Counter-Terror School and is a leading tactical training firm offering Israeli Special Forces style counter-terrorist and “active shooter” training to vetted members of local, State and Federal law enforcement as well as police SWAT teams and the U.S. military Special Forces. Cohen frequently appears as a national security analyst on various major news networks.

After reality star Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room, it was rumored that she had hired Cohen, although this has not been confirmed.

Film and television

Cohen has appeared in numerous films including End of Watch, Haywire and Get the Gringo. In Haywire, he was assigned by director Steven Soderbergh to serve as the film's technical advisor and tactical weapons trainer, prepping actors Channing Tatum, Gina Carano and Michael Fassbender for their roles as well as consulting on the script.

In 2013 Cohen wrote, directed, and co-starred in a short action war film, Overwatch, a war drama about post-traumatic stress disorder and the high emotional price paid by American special operations soldiers who carry out dangerous and complex missions.

He is the stepson of the American filmmaker Abby Mann.

Books

Aaron Cohen’s book, Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in one of the World’s Most Elite Counterterrorism Units, coauthored with journalist and best-selling author Douglas Century, was published by Ecco Press in April 2008. The book has been translated into six languages.