Security Forces troops put on weapons display in Connecticut

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jessica Roy
  • 103rd Security Forces Squadron, Unit Public Affairs Representative
Three members from the 103rd Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms Training and Maintenance section volunteered to spend the day at the Hartford Armory to host a display table for a job fair February 27.
      Staff Sergeants Brian Davies, Monica Cox and Brandon Gasiorek brought along an M240B machine gun, an M249 machine gun, an M870 shotgun, an M203 grenade launcher, an M4 rifle, a Remington 700 sniper rifle and an M9 pistol.
     Also volunteering were Senior Master Sgt. Chris Divita, Master Sgt. Aaron Bowman, Tech. Sgt. Noah Castro, Tech. Sgt. Nick Augelli, Tech. Sgt. Marvin Perez and Tech. Sgt. Cody Remy, who performed real-world security for the event. I spoke to Staff Sgt. Gasiorek, the newest CATM team member, about the event.
     When asked why he volunteered, Gasiorek said, "I wanted the opportunity to interact with the public and help de-mystify the military; I also wanted the opportunity to help clear up common misconceptions about firearms."
     The job fair event was attended by the public and potential recruits. Gasiorek had a great experience, describing the day as a huge success and further adding, "We had ample opportunity to interact with the public and give people a respect for the firearms they may come into contact with if they enlist, as well as answer any questions they had."
     Gasiorek said that his group was asked many questions about which were personal favorite weapons to fire, how each weapon worked, some of the nomenclature of the firearms, and what weapons they would use in a deployed environment. The group allowed attendees to handle the firearms as well as take photographs with them. The CATM team, on behalf of the 103rd SFS, host numerous weapon displays for various events throughout the year.
     "The weapons always draw attention and this day was no exception.  The CATM team was enmeshed with the public all day long answering questions. My CATM troops always do a great job at these events and the people they speak with really seem to enjoy and appreciate them explaining how the weapons work and sharing real-world experience that they have with them." said Staff Sgt. Davies, the CATM NCOIC. While all SFS troops are knowledgeable about weapons, CATM members are specially trained and serve as the subject matter experts, making them indispensable for these types of events.