Operation PRESENCE Mali - Sergeant Pagliaro
Transcript - Sergeant Pagliaro
Hi I'm Sergeant Matt Pagliaro from Ajax Ontario. I've been with the Canadian Forces for 10 years. Currently I'm deployed as part of OP PRESENCE, Task Force Mali, as a door gunner on the CH-146 Griffon. So one of the primary tasks for a door gunner, is to supply situational awareness to the flying captains of the very front of the aircraft. This allows us to make proper maneuvers in order to avoid any potential obstacles or if we have to change course for various reasons. The other task for a door gunner is to be able to provide defensive fires to protect the aircraft itself, as well as the forward aero medical team on the ground.
This is the GAU-21, 50 caliber machine gun; has a high rate of speed and packs one heck of a punch. So this is the ammunition here. It's 4 bit, 50 cal ammunition. 4 bit meaning every fifth round is a tracer around, which allows us to see the bullet at night. It's filled with phosphorus and upon ignition it burns bright red.
It's really fun job. I got to deploy across the world on a very exciting, fulfilling, and important mission. We take our jobs very seriously because we are that extra security blanket for the medical folks on the ground who are there lives.