Playing combat at LI game arena

What started as a project to entertain his son has transformed into a growing business for Paul Fetkowitz.

He originally opened his airsoft gaming center, Strikeforce Sports in Deer Park, because his son was interested in the realistic firearm replicas and military tactics that characterize the sport. Airsoft pits participants against each other in a combat situation with a set objective. The weapons are powered by batteries or compressed air and shoot plastic BB rounds.

Fetkowitz, 41, of Commack, intended to market the business as alternative recreation for kids and adults, but he said he now gets a stream of customers with serious intentions. Law enforcement officers, military personnel and first responders use Strikeforce for unofficial training to sharpen their skills.

Different than paintball

"It's a very different thing than paintball -- we're out there training tactic-wise," said Ken Navarro, commander of the American Eagle Force-SERT, a not-for-profit military cadet youth organization in the Bronx. "We apply more principles . . . as opposed to just going out there and just . . . hillbillying."

Navarro has been bringing his group's junior ROTC cadets to train at Strikeforce and says he plans to frequent the facility once a month if his budget allows it. It costs $25 to play one session, plus "gun" and mask rentals. Players must be 10 or older. Gun replicas sell for $200-$500.

Fetkowitz said a group of Marines from Floyd Bennett Field is scheduled to come in to train unofficially in a month. Strikeforce customers said they have participated in sessions with Suffolk County SWAT officers -- also there unofficially.

Strikeforce has a pro shop, which sells replicas of pistols and rifles, and an air-conditioned indoor arena to play the sport. Fetkowitz said he has 12 full-time employees, many with military experience.

The indoor arena has enjoyed a steady flow of customers since it opened in January -- the pro shop has been open since late 2009 -- but Fetkowitz is also capitalizing on the interest from professionals.

"We kind of married the training aspect to the 'bring your kids down' aspect," he said.

Fetkowitz is building another smaller indoor area better suited for realistic law enforcement training. It is designed to resemble an office space from one side and an apartment room from the other, to better imitate real-life situations that police or other first responders might find themselves in.

An official September opening is planned for that facility, to be followed by heavy marketing to law enforcement groups, which Fetkowitz hopes will attract them to rent and use Strikeforce on an official basis.

Some of his employees who have served in the military will be offering classes on tactical combat in the new space.

Combat medicine training

Fetkowitz also hired Chris Van Houten, a paramedic training officer of Ronkonkoma, to teach several courses such as basic CPR and combat emergency trauma care, which is done amid gunfire. Van Houten has already taught classes as a test run.

Jon Sendach, public information officer for the Roslyn Rescue Fire Company, took Van Houten's certification course on tactical, combat, casualty care with a group of fellow firefighters because he thought it would be a useful thing to learn.

"We literally stumbled on it," Sendach said. "It's not inexpensive, but in the interest of public safety, I think it's worthwhile."

Fetkowitz hasn't forgotten about his original goal on opening Strikeforce: providing a place for kids to have fun.

On a particularly crowded afternoon earlier this month, Alek Squeri, 12, of Atlantic Beach, was loading up his KWA airsoft rifle with plastic BBs as he waited for his team's turn to go onto the field. It was his second day in a row playing in the facility. "I like the field setup and the objective they make and how it's run," he said.-- With Ted Phillips