Warren Honor Guard recognizes newest members

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Stacey Fenton
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  Warren held its first graduation ceremony to recognize new honor guard members Nov. 23 in the Pronghorn Center here.

Warren's Honor Guard trains new members every six months, and this was the first time a formal ceremony was held for the graduates. The training consists of a two-week course covering honor guard basic standing movements, rifle movements and funeral sequences.

"We are very proud of these Airmen, and we thought it would be fitting to recognize our new members with this ceremony," said Tech Sgt. Gary Wayland, 90th Force Support Squadron honor guard NCO-in-charge.

The honor guard here consists of 40 members -- 13 hold the rank of airman first class. Twenty new members were part of Wednesday's graduating class.

The graduation ceremony began with a demonstration of an active duty funeral, which showed the roles of the 20 ceremonial guardsmen who would be required to perform such a ceremony. The demonstration gave the audience an opportunity to view the honors that would be performed at a real active duty funeral, including the folding of the U.S. flag, presenting the flag to the next-of-kin and the playing of "Taps."

"Many people don't realize the preparation that goes into a funeral ceremony, and we wanted to showcase the discipline and professionalism required of our honor guard members in order to honor our fallen comrades and their families," Wayland said.

After the funeral demonstration, the 20 graduating members received their base honor guard badges, which display the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard emblem composed of crossed M-1 rifles over a Roman helmet with the motto "to honor with dignity."

"The honor guard has an incredible responsibility to pay respects to fallen heroes and their families, and I can't think of a more professional group of Airmen to do the job," said Col. Christopher Coffelt, 90th Missile Wing commander, during his remarks at the ceremony.