‘The ethical warrior’

VIENNA – The preacher’s kid from Caroline County has come full circle.

A violent assault nearly 60 years ago in Denton became the catalyst for the remarkable career of Duane Dieter, known internationally for his unique and effective defense training methods.

Today, he’s helping the vulnerable – especially kids and trafficking victims – find their inner strength and become their own heroes.

Dieter, 66, is the president and chief instructor of Dieter’s Close Quarters Defense and his 365-acre state-of-the-art Eagle Tactical Training Center near Vienna, Maryland. Despite accolades and honors from around the world, his heart belongs to Caroline County, where he was raised by his dad, the Rev. Paul Dieter, and his mom Jane.

The celebrated close quarters defense expert and firearms instructor is proud to be a native son of Caroline County. “From third grade, I was totally a Caroline County Bulldog all the way through,” Dieter said, who is a member of the North Caroline High School Class of 1976.

Dieter said he’s the middle child who “heard a different drummer.” His brother David is an Episcopal priest and his sister Dawn Steward is a musician and music teacher. Dieter’s late father, who passed away in March, was a renowned and respected district superintendent of the Wesleyan Church on the Eastern Shore. Highly organized, Dieter credits both his parents for passing on that trait to him, as well as their focus and having “deep purpose in what they did.”

Galvanizing events

Four events galvanized Dieter’s calling to defeat the bad guys and to defend the victimized and vulnerable, especially children.

The first took place when he was nine years old. At the annual summer Wesleyan camp meeting on Camp Road in Denton, Dieter and his buddy Dennis Wood were goofing off. “We would sneak out under the pews and go catch frogs and have fun,” he said.

One day, as the boys were “sneaking around the back of the ring meeting tent,” music was playing before the worship service, but they heard a girl screaming. “I pulled the curtain back, and (four guys from the community) were grabbing this young girl (with) long black hair, and were ripping her clothes off.”

While the girl fought back, the young boys picked up rocks, threw them at the attackers, and ran to the tabernacle, shouting, “Hey, this girl’s getting hurt.” As adults responded, the attackers jumped in their car and fled.

“They called us little heroes, and it meant nothing,” Dieter said. However, something inside the young boy had changed. “I didn't know it changed me until time went along, so that within another couple days, we still snuck out, went to the same tent, didn't think twice about it. But what happened is, when I was in elementary school and I would see a girl harassed or picked on, or a nerdy guy kind of picked on, I would stand up and say, ‘Leave them alone.’ Now, if (those attackers) had beat me up, I might not have had that (desire to defend my peers), but because it worked – that little rock throwing, that little screaming – it saved that girl.”

Dieter learned something then that would mold the work he does today. “If it wasn't for that girl screaming in the church in Denton, I would never had that driving force to try to protect. people. And overall, that's what made everything happen – to protect those that are preyed upon,” he said.

He said he learned that he didn’t “have any fighting skills,” that bullies “are weak and insecure,” and “once martial arts came around, I went crazy learning all sorts of martial arts.” Dieter went on to earn numerous black belts in martial arts and ran a studio in Easton for several years.

A random attack in Washington, D.C., formed the second milestone. 

Dieter had gone to the city to meet a Chinese master of martial arts. Waiting to cross a street, a gang member standing beside him suddenly hurled his fist at Dieter’s face. Dieter ducked and then “tore into him in the middle of the streets of D.C.” before the attacker took off.

“Though I had been in competitions – a rated competitor, black belt, all sorts of things – my hands were shaking like a leaf,” Dieter said. “I thought everybody was going to attack me. I had no knowledge of what was happening. I could hardly breathe. I was in top shape. After I settled down and I was driving back, which took a while, I thought: Nothing I learned did I do. Not one skill that I learned all these years did I do. I didn't blame anybody. I just said, ‘Why couldn't I do it? What is up?’”

That incident “dramatically changed me,” Dieter said. And it drove him halfway across the world to find the answers.

The master teacher inspires a method

The third milestone in Dieter’s journey towards his calling occurred over 40 years ago – after Dieter arrived in Taiwan with $67.50 in his pocket and an invitation to stay with missionary friends of his parents. His personal mission was to figure out how to react more quickly and to delve into a mindset suggested by the popular TV series Kung Fu and Master Po, an elderly character who was blind but able to sense an attack and respond with amazing speed.

Though the Dieter credits God with directing him to his master teacher, he said his quest was “not a religion” for him. Nevertheless, he said the venerable Chang Yi-Dieh was the “Holy Grail guy, the best guy I’ve ever seen,” who had wisdom, skill and moral character like his father’s.

While his mentor, with whom he had a deep friendship until he died in 1995, didn’t provide the key that would form the foundation for Dieter’s training system, he heartily encouraged Dieter to pursue its development.

A Vietnam War veteran helped unlock the brain acceleration discipline embedded in the system. With Dieter literally fighting blind, he fought off attack after attack, as his brain began functioning differently and “super-fast,” Dieter said. “I started seeing things under pressure quicker.”

The genesis of Close Quarters Defense system began in 1981, but it took Dieter nine years to fully develop it, and “it destroyed everything that I’d learned before, and it created this new thing,” he said.

“The true essence of what I teach is how to empower the person,” Dieter said.

Coincidentally,  the Drug Enforcement Administration came calling, seeking his help.

Dieter had been working in law enforcement in Talbot County for several years. Because of his reputation and his knowledge of the community, the DEA deputized him, and he worked undercover to help take down one of the biggest drug kingpins on the Eastern Shore, among other missions.

But seeing firsthand the celebrity status the criminal enjoyed pulled Dieter up short with a dark epiphany, the fourth galvanizing moment. “This is one that changed my life,” he said.

Dieter realized the kingpin was no role model for youngsters, so 25 years ago, he began the Hero Community Program, which is his passion project going forward. It began simply: “Just be on the street with the kids,” he said. “Let them see our job. Let them see the excitement. Let's do some activities with them that are exciting, so we can be the counter example for them, so they don't choose that guy.”

He began sponsoring bowling and fishing outings, entertaining speakers and magicians, to name a few. He helped organize the construction of a community pool, and eventually developed a CQD program just for them.

In the meantime, Dieter’s sphere of influence expanded globally and exponentially.

His CQD system was so innovative and effective, he soon was training elite counter-terrorism teams, from SEAL Team Six to MI6 in Great Britain, from local law enforcement officers in Maryland to the Central Intelligence Agency. Altogether, 40,000 have been trained in Dieter’s CQD method, he said. His methods are so successful, the people he has trained “have never had to go to court because they don’t do wrong,” he said.

One author has called him “the ethical warrior.”

Dieter lives in Trappe with his Barbara, his wife of 40 years. They raised three children: the late Daniel Dieter, Diana and Devin.

Today, as he sits behind his massive desk, he is surrounded by reminders of his amazing career. Challenge coins and badges are displayed on his desk. On shelves and walls are tactical knives he has designed, awards he’s garnered and photos of unforgettable people and missions.

In his travels to the Middle East where he supported of the Global War on Terror, Dieter saw firsthand the humanity of ordinary people. “The people are all the same,” he said, gazing at a photo he took of kids in Kabul. “Traveling all over the world, when you get to the natives, they're all like us. … They love their community; they just cannot stand the criminals and the terrorists.”

Locally, Dieter continues to empower children to develop their inner strengths with the Hero Community Program (HCP). “We empower the kids to make them heroic in their own minds,” he said.

He trains local first responders and social services personnel. He also helps victims of trafficking and those who have suffered other traumatic events.

“The ramifications of criminality, abuse, peer pressure and other negative influences create challenges which are difficult to overcome in our present society.” he states in an informational brochure. He established HCP “to encourage the positive development of at-risk children through mentorship, guidance and educational opportunities.”

Despite the offer of “massive money” to build gun ranges in other states and travel outside the country, Dieter said he’s not interested. “I was born and raised here, and I really love my community,” he said. “I wanted to always try to stay in the community, to try to help it.”

For more information and to support the CQD Foundation and the mission of the Hero Community Program, visit www.herocommunityprogram.com/

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Photos by Connie Connolly

2234 – The desk of Close Quarters Defense Founder and President Duane Dieter displays challenge coins and patches from just a few of the special forces and law enforcement personnel he has trained.

2248 – Duane Dieter’s Eagle Tactical Training Center and Close Quarters Defense training is based near Vienna, Maryland.

2253 – A majestic soaring eagle sculpture greets those who visit the campus of Duane Dieter’s Eagle Tactical Training Center.