A Life of Service: The Story Behind Odin Defense Group

Some people spend years searching for their purpose. For me, it found me early and it’s shaped every step of my life.

I grew up in West Milford, New Jersey, a tight-knit town where service and community went hand in hand.

At just 16 years old, I joined the West Milford Fire Department, Upper Greenwood Lake Station 5 as a volunteer firefighter.

That’s where I first truly experienced what it meant to show up during someone’s worst day, to bring calm to chaos, reassurance to fear, and hope to tragedy.

Every call reinforced something inside me: being there for others wasn’t just a choice…it was a calling.

The rush of purpose, the “dopamine dump” that came from making a real difference, was powerful, and I knew I needed more.

Two weeks after graduating high school, while others planned their summers, I left for U.S. Coast Guard boot camp at Cape May, New Jersey.

My first duty station took me farther from home than I ever imagined:

I was assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley, homeported in Kodiak, Alaska, nearly 1,700 miles away from everything I knew.

There, in the brutal waters of the Bering Sea, we earned every inch of our reputation.

We weren’t just patrolling, we were rescuing real fishermen from some of the most treacherous seas on earth, the same deadly conditions made famous by the show Deadliest Catch.

Every rescue was a fight against time, weather, and fear.

The Alex Haley’s motto was: “Find the Good and Praise It.”

And that wasn’t just something painted on a bulkhead, it was how we lived.

No matter the chaos, we found something worth saving. Something worth believing in.

Later deployments would take me even farther, 900 miles south of Hawaii, where we rescued 26 Taiwanese fishermen from a burning vessel.

We saved them all.

From there, I worked migrant interdiction missions off the coast of Cuba, rescuing desperate families risking everything for freedom.

And I helped interdict over $16.5 million worth of narcotics in Central America, keeping drugs off American streets.

In the Coast Guard, there’s an old legend, one captured beautifully in the movie The Guardian:

“There is a legend of a man who lives beneath the sea. He is a fisher of men, a last hope for all those who’ve been left behind. He is known as the Guardian.”

I didn’t realize it at the time, but that legend wasn’t just a story, it was a reality we lived every single day.

Out there, hundreds of miles from shore, when all hope seemed lost, we were the ones they prayed would find them. We were their last hope.

And that weight, that responsibility, it never left me.

After my time in the Coast Guard, my commitment to service didn’t end. It just shifted uniforms.

I proudly served as a Deputy Sheriff with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, one of the busiest and most dynamic counties in the nation.

There, the challenges were just as real, and just as unforgiving.

I patrolled some of the most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, where violence was a daily reality. I responded to more shootings than I could count on my fingers and toes.

I resuscitated infants, some who survived, and some whose lives slipped away despite our best efforts.

I investigated homicides, helped bring closure to families broken by tragedy, and talked people down from the brink of suicide.

I provided route security during Presidential visits to Tampa, protecting dignitaries including the President himself.

I responded to countless domestic violence incidents, standing between victims and abusers.

I also served as a DUI Investigator, personally removing over 170 impaired drivers from the roads over a two-year period.

And I watched.

I watched friends and colleagues lose the battle to mental health, some silently, some suddenly.

And I watched others claw their way back, fighting for their lives with strength few will ever understand.

The weight of carrying so many strangers’ traumas eventually took its toll.

And I knew it was time for a change of pace, before I became another statistic myself.

Transitioning out of law enforcement wasn’t easy. But it was necessary.

I accepted a role as Director of Security for a private security company, a shift that allowed me to still serve,  just in a different way.

There, I trained countless security professionals, developed active shooter response drills, designed emergency action plans, and collaborated with law enforcement partners I once patrolled alongside.

I even assisted in major details:

• Provided security for Governor Ron DeSantis during his visit to Tampa.

  
  
  
  

• Provided close protection for NFL star Vita Vea during a public fan event.

  
  
  
  

• Delivered private security services for entertainers and high-net-worth individuals needing discreet, professional protection.

  
  
  
  

I loved what I was doing.

But a voice inside me kept whispering: You can do this better.

I realized I didn’t want to just build a career.

I wanted to build something bigger, something founded on the lessons, scars, and wisdom earned through a lifetime of real service.

That realization gave birth to Odin Defense Group.

Odin Defense Group isn’t just a security company.

It’s the culmination of a life spent answering the call to protect; whether it was pulling fishermen from freezing seas, saving lives in America’s streets, or shielding those who cannot shield themselves.

We are veteran-founded, mission-driven, and built to serve those who need it most.

We don’t just “show up”…we bring decades of real-world experience, a calm hand in the storm, and a relentless commitment to excellence.

We live by the words I first learned aboard the Alex Haley: Find the Good and Praise It.

Because no matter how dark the situation, there is always something worth protecting.

And as warriors of service, we also carry another truth deep within us:

We stand for those who can’t stand for themselves, and we honor those who can no longer fight alongside us.

At Odin Defense Group, our mission is simple:

Protect what matters, serve with honor, and live every day like it’s a step closer to Valhalla.

Until Valhalla.

- Alex Klenofsky

Founder, Odin Defense Group