Meeting the GROMmets

During my recent visit to Pittsburgh, USA, I got to meet some of them and this is what they had to say for the WMASG community.

Kserkses: Who started this project?

Dom Reale: It was a group of guys really. In the beginning it was me, Matt Hafley and Anthony Pariano. We just decided we would do this for Milsim West and then it grew to what it is now. At Milsim West you are required to have a minimum of nine people, so in order to get to that number we got everybody from our local area involved. At first, we were doing a pretty basic impression and then we built it into what it is now.

Anthony Pariano: All of us were brought together by the MilSim West game. I work for them part time when events are held, and nearly all of us either met through that or our love of war gaming in general. And what keeps us together is that we are all friends who agree to put in the work for each other. We live all over the country, and all of us have different jobs. Some of us work for software companies, some of us are first responders, some of us are prior service military, some of us work as marketers, some of us are photographers, sanitation workers, accountants, and everything in between.

Kserkses: When did you first hear about GROM?

Anthony Pariano: I’ve known about GROM for some time. I used to bump into Polish units when I was in Iraq and had heard about some of their operations through the grapevine.

Kserkses: Why did you choose GROM over other more popular SF units?

Dom Reale: For Milsim West most of the better-known groups were already taken. There’s a German group, there’s a SEALs group, a Rangers group... so we were forced to look outside of the usual candidates. We found there was something really different about GROM; Polish camos are really cool, there’s a lot of people in Pittsburgh that have Polish background, so it was also something that was relatable to us. Their kits are quite easy to get too; they have HK416, in airsoft everbody has an HK416, they have JPC vests, everybody has the JPC… so it was easy to get started. Honestly, after going through all the research, it’s a really respectable culture and, looking into the past, their history is really cool too, starting back in World War II and going on from there.

Kserkses: How long has GROMmets been around?

Dom Reale: We’ve been official for about a year, but work began a couple of months before that, so maybe a year and a half in total. After a Milsim West event a year ago we made the conscious decision to do this properly, so that’s when we started collecting all the necessary gear.

Kserkses: How have other members of the US airsoft/milsim community reacted to this project?

Anthony Pariano: A lot of people became interested in GROMmets after multiple Milsim West showings. Since we’ve been to multiple games, we’ve had a very good response. It seems like our group is well respected in the Milsim community in the US. We plan to keep it that way too. Integrity is a huge part of GROMmet’s.

Kserkses: Have you had reactions from Polish citizens?

Dom Reale: I’ve spoken probably with ten or fifteen Poles that have helped me with this project. They’ve written personal letters to us saying how they appreciate that we’re paying homage to their country and respecting it in a proper way. Getting that kind of feedback is really cool. They respect us and obviously we try to respect them back as much as we can.

Kserkses: Where do you find info about GROM? Is it hard to find?

Dom Reale: Most of the information I found was given to me by former service members, other enthusiasts, and of course Google searches. To find correct information you need to fact check and make sure your sources are correct. We want everything to be as accurate as possible, but also feasible for MSW, which means we need to be inaccurate in some instances.

Kserkses: How is it that you’re all equipped with Polish gear? Where do you get it?

Dom Reale: To keep it simple, I have networked with multiple Grom enthusiast around the world and source gear through them. Facebook groups have been the easiest way to find gear and find the people who distribute it. The gear we get is almost always from Poland. The catch is, when I find a piece of gear I need to find 30-40 pieces of it to outfit all of the GROMmets and the probies who are trying out.

Kserkses: How many official members have you got?

Dom Reale: There are 32 total members split into East and West Coast groups, based out of California and Pennsylvania respectively, similarly sized. It really doesn’t matter much because we all travel across the country trying to attend the same events together, at least the big ones, particularly those games by Milsim West and American Milsim. We also have probies, begginers who want to join, but that are still going through our selection process.

Kserkses: How does your selection process work?

Anthony Pariano: Our process for becoming a GROMmet is actually kind of strange compared to most other wargaming teams. The first requirement before even being considered is to have completed at least one MilSim West event from start to finish. If the person has done that and their cadre has given them a go ahead, then they might be considered. The main thing in GROMmets is that everyone gets along and works well together. Soldiering skills can be taught, but if people cannot get along with the group, then they have no place being there. Probationary members (Probies) remain as such until members all agree that they have earned the right to be there. People can’t just be a GROMmet, they have to earn it. Terrible people never make it.

Dom Reale: if they don’t make it through by their third attempt, they’re not allowed in. Having this process has allowed us to build a tight-knit group that works well together, which has been really important at Milsim and regular airsoft events.

Kserkses: What are the values members are expected to uphold?

Anthony Pariano: Members are expected above all else to be honorable individuals. This breaks down into several things. GROMmets are expected to have Integrity. This means being honest and forthright, never lying to other members or players, and never cheating or gaming the game for the sake of a cheap win. Respecting other participants as well as each other. They are also expected to always be there for a fellow member or ‘Battle Buddy’, they will never abandon their friends nor will they will they do things to purposely hurt a member of the group. And finally, all of the members will be expected to hold themselves accountable to the standards agreed upon by the group. If the group decides that there will be group exercises so that people will be in shape, then everyone is expected to exercise. If there is an expectation of group training, then everyone will educate themselves to the same standard. The only way that a group like this can survive is if everyone agrees to a basic code of conduct and then adheres to it. That way, everyone has earned their equality and knows that the others have done the same.

Kserkses: What are your upcoming goals?

Dom Reale: Well, our biggest goal is to get more people in, but only the right people. We have to make sure that those who come in are in line with our requirements and objectives. It would be great to show up at events with at least thirty people in order to create our own platoon. At the last Milsim West event we were about two squads short, so if we could make that number it would be awesome.

See also

You can find an interview made with Kserkses's reenacting group here:

http://wmasg.pl/en/articles/show/633617

Asian cosplayer:

http://wmasg.pl/en/news/show/800094