Are you a ceremonial guardsman? Published Nov. 2, 2010 By Staff Sgt. Frederick Stewart 90th Forces Support Squadron F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, WYO. -- Members of any honor guard program are commonly referred to as "ceremonial guardsmen." Merriam-Webster's definition of a ceremonial guardsman is a member of a military body who stresses careful attention to form and detail. Air Force Global Strike Command base honor guard's definition of a ceremonial guardsman is an individual of good reputation, having integrity, ethical conduct and exhibiting standards which merit respect and are responsible for protecting and overseeing the maintenance of standards on and off duty. Ceremonial guardsmen exude enormous amounts of pride in the performance of their duties, for they represent all Airmen past and present, specifically the 90th Missile Wing, to both the American public and the entire world. According to both of these definitions, all Airmen, not just those who are in a ceremonial uniform, have all of these qualities within themselves. These qualities are just another way of displaying the Air Force core values, which are continuously drilled into us on a daily basis: Integrity first, Service before self and Excellence in all we do. These definitions in particular refer to the third core value "Excellence in all we do." For it is with excellence that we strive to be that "superstar" when performing job-related duties. It is with excellence that we all strive for that "firewall-five" enlisted performance report, or the next pay grade. It is with excellence we push our bodies past the limit for that extra second, extra sit-up or extra pushup on our physical fitness test. However, there are some duties that we as honor guard members perform that set us apart from other Airmen. Some of these duties include presenting, posting and securing the colors of both our Nation and the Air Force. Performing military funeral honors is the most important duty an honor guard ceremonial guardsman will perform. Military funeral honors are mandated by Congress, and the honor guard ceremonial guardsman profession is truly an occupation which requires outstanding devotion and commitment to all of these duties. The 90th MW honor guard is setting the bar and looking for picture perfect examples of ceremonial guardsmen. Guardsmen can range from the ranks of airman basic through technical sergeant for enlisted ranks, and second lieutenant through captain for officer ranks. Guardsmen here have the unique responsibility of traveling throughout approximately 96,000 square-miles, spread across four states including Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Southwestern Nebraska and parts of Northeastern Utah. At F. E. Warren, we not only perform military funeral honors, we also present the colors at several arena football games for the Wyoming Calvary in Casper, Wyo. All Airmen, regardless of rank, possess the qualities of a ceremonial guardsman; by maintaining these exceptionally high standards, both the Air Force and base honor guards will continue to remain icons of excellence. If you are interested in joining the 90th MW honor guard or would like more information, please contact Staff Sgt. Fredrick Stewart, 90th MW honor guard NCO in charge, at 773-2686.