U.S. AIR FORCE- MASTER SERGEANT AVERY SKIPALIS
About This Project
My name is Avery Skipalis and I am a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force.
I am active duty and I’ve been proudly serving for 16.5 years. I am married and have 2 sons ages 13 and 10. 11 years ago, I decided to turn a weakness into a strength by becoming a Firearms Instructor and Gunsmith serving in the U.S. Air Force. Over the past 11 years as an active duty Firearms Instructor, I’ve been able to attend many shooting schools across the United States. I’ve also been able to attend courses with numerous manufacturers to learn how to operate and maintain their products. While attending these courses, I noticed that the classes were usually male dominated…okay, they were ALWAYS male dominated. They would often stare at me and ask me what did I do. Admittedly, I often felt out of place, although I knew that I deserved to be there just as much as they did. Over the years, people would approach me and ask if I trained people outside of the military. I would always respond by saying that I did not have the time. After observing and hearing about the lack of quality instruction within the civilian community, I decided that I would either be part of the problem or part of the solution. I wanted to be part of the solution therefore, I decided to start my own firearms training company, Skip’s Tactical Solutions. At Skip’s Tactical Solutions, our mission is to effectively teach women, men, and children the skills, attitude, and knowledge necessary to own and safely operate a firearm for personal defense, home protection, and sport. I want to make firearms a positive experience that families can enjoy together. I also want to spread positive images of women and minorities in the 2a/gun community. Although the firearms industry is dominated by men, I want to show that women can do the same thing and still look good doing it.
I grew tired of seeing and hearing that people were not being properly trained or even worse, becoming a victim. I was also tired of hearing about how some of these companies were treating women. When I listened to the stories from other women, I knew it all too well because I had similar experiences. People need to learn about firearms and firearms safety in a safe, comfortable, and professional environment. My goal is to see more people take their safety into their own hands and become their own first responder. Teaching people about situational awareness can prepare them to avoid bad situations. Consequently, I decided to launch a YouTube channel and a Podcast speaking about personal protection, firearms, and the second amendment. I want to reach out to as many people as possible and equip them with the tools, tactics, and techniques that we military members are equipped with, just on a different level.
Being a business owner, an active duty service member, and working on my Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, has been extremely difficult but I wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world! I love serving my country, taking care of the troops, and serving my customers/supporters. There have been many times when I have used my leave days to attend events which is okay because I am passionate about my mission. Honestly, I don’t think that there is ever an equal balance. There will be times when one area of your life needs more of your attention than the other. As service members, we all have skills that we can utilize outside of the military in the civilian world. Follow your dreams…if I can do it, so can you!
Visit our website @ www.skipstacticalsolutions.com to find out more information and join our email list.
