Al Torizzo

Instructor Torizzo is another highly motivated member of our staff. He currently lives in central Connecticut with his best friend Annie, a rescued Yellow Lab.

Al is a career firefighter, EMT, and acting officer with the Meriden Fire Department. From Chiang Rai to London, Philadelphia and Colorado, he has witnessed firsthand the solidarity of Emergency Service workers. During these visits, Al found it fascinating to observe the individual tributes that each department had created to memorialize their own passed members.

For one week each year Al puts firefighting aside, picking up kitchen utensils to cook at the Connecticut Children’s Burn Camp. Al is currently serving as the Deputy Commander of Operations for the Connecticut Statewide Honor Guard (CTHG). Coming from a family of teachers, he feels at home working with dedicated men and women who aspire to learn how best to honor their own.

Last year, Al was one of four CTHG members to spend time helping to prepare the Civil Air Patrol 103^rd Composite Squadron for a Regional Color Guard Competition. Al was recently invited to join the 103^rd Fighter Wing, Connecticut Air national Guard Base Honor Guard for training. He is looking forward to additional networking and compiling of resources.

This interagency relationship will also afford Al extra practice to sharpen up his knowledge and skills with the M1 Garand. “ATDATTET”