Vasquez

Rick began his career as a United States Marine in 1974.  Over his 21 year career in the Marines, Rick received training as a basic armorer and as an advanced gunsmith at the precision weapons shop in Quantico, VA, where Rick subsequently served as the chief instructor of the facility.  During his tenure at the Marine Corps, he was the representative that ensured the introduction of the M16A2 into the hands of the 6th Marine Regiment, coordinated the implementation and development of the Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle and deployed to Colombia and developed armorer training for the Colombian Marines.  Additionally, Rick served as a Marine recruiter, Marine Barracks (Security) duty in Naples, Italy, Marine Security Guard duty as Detachment Commander at the American Embassies in Kingston, Jamaica, and Moscow, Russia.

After leaving the Marine Corps Rick joined the U.S. Department of State, as a gunsmith and firearms instructor before joining the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), as a Firearms Enforcement Officer in the Firearms Technology Branch (FTB).  Rick’s tenure at ATF has included travel to Bosnia where he worked with NATO forces to gather evidence for the war crimes tribunals,  assisting  the governments of Colombia, Mexico, Interpol, Canada, Jamaica, Curacao, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Australia with firearms regulations, statutes and prosecutions for the U.S. Government.  While at ATF Firearms Technology Branch where he served as both a specialist, Assistant Branch Chief and Branch Chief he wrote the first Standard Operating Procedures for all disciplines of the FTB, wrote firearms rulings, preparing firearm briefs for Congress and developed firearms identification courses and reviewed and approved all ATF firearms ruling produced by FTB.  Rick was also instrumental in reviewing the National Firearms Act Trade and Collectors Association (NFATCA) for accuracy and trained Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the intricacies of importation guidelines and the recognition of unlawful imports.

Rick has received a public service award from the United States Attorney in the 4th district, ATF’s Distinguished Service Medal, and numerous letters of appreciation from ATF, FBI, and foreign law enforcement, noncommissioned officer in charge of the year for the Marine Corps, and was presented with a commendation from the Director of Diplomatic Security.