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MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. - "It's all about perfection."
That's how Airman 1st Class Katie Kuhar, 350th Air Refueling
Squadron boom operator and one of 16 airmen in the 22nd Air
Refueling Wing Honor Guard, describes the mindset behind the details
she and her fellow airmen perform on an almost daily basis.
"It doesn't matter how many times you have to do it to get it
perfect," she said, "we'll get there. People view us as perfect. We
represent the base."
Airmen are selected from squadrons
across the wing for a four-month rotation in the honor guard. They
are separated into a "senior" flight and a "junior" flight with a
new one arriving every two months.
The duty day is spent
training to flawlessly perform a specific detail, ranging from a
presentation of the colors to burial services.
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Airmen from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing
Honor Guard practice a color guard detail June 11, 2013, at
McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. Color guard is one of several details
the airmen practice as part of a strict, daily routine. (U.S. Air
Force photo/Airman 1st Class Victor J. Caputo)
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Airmen in the senior flight who have mastered the details
coach the junior flight, even if it means restarting a
practice from the beginning because an airman was out of
step.
The constant work might seem like it would
require a team of supervisors, but Kuhar
stressed a phrase often heard in the building.
"It's
an airman-run program," she said.
Capt. Sterling
Tribble, 22nd ARW Honor Guard officer in charge, and Tech.
Sgt. Terrance Williams, 22nd ARW Honor Guard NCO in charge,
comprise the administration portion of the honor guard.
"We have a really big family concept here," said Tribble.
"When we go out there and watch people's details, it's like
pulling for a family member. You're on the edge of your
seat. You want them to nail it. It's really exciting."
Tribble's officer in charge position is a rare one in
base honor guards. He was brought in after the previous
NCOIC left, and the billet had not been filled.
"Circumstances allowed it to happen," said Tribble, "and I
wouldn't have it any other way."
The increased
leadership with Williams on board has given the honor guard
a unique opportunity to bring their teamwork and practicing
skills to a new level.
"This OIC is in the back
training his butt off or training the troops on a daily
basis," said Williams. "It's nerve wracking when we watch
them, because we don't want them to make a mistake. We want
them to be perfect, so that's why our job is to make sure
they are training daily."
Williams is often asked
what the honor guard does when they are not out performing a
detail.
"We have a schedule that we follow pretty
strictly," he said. "The captain and I are very firm about
it because we want perfection."
An average day could
begin with 45 minutes of full honors veteran burial service
practice followed by an hour of color guard practice. Then
they will run through a standard veteran burial service and
repeat the sessions. The group catches their breath during
10-minute breaks interlaced throughout the day before a
group workout.
"That's what we do every day," he
said. "We mix it up once in a while to break away from the
monotony of it. We have this structure so our airmen aren't
sitting in the break room doing nothing."
Tribble and
Williams have not forgotten these airmen still have off-duty
responsibilities, so an hour-long study session is included
in the daily schedule.
Whether airmen are taking
educational courses or studying for an upcoming promotion,
they utilize this block of time properly, said Williams.
The entire system behind the honor guard goes toward
making the airmen strive for perfection, even if it means
facing their imperfections first, he said.
Airman 1st
Class Frank Sibley, 22nd Communications Squadron knowledge
operator and honor guard member, dealt with imperfection the
first time he commanded a detail.
"We had a veteran
service," he said. "I was in charge of making sure the
detail went smoothly. Because I made a wrong judgment, it
lessened the effect of the honor guard detail. After that, I
said I would never make the same mistake twice and that I
was going to make sure everyone that comes in here and
everything we did was perfect because it's not about us. We
do it for the family of the deceased: the family of the
fallen."
While the decision to join the honor guard
is not always up to the individual, the lessons learned and
experience gained after the four months are over leave many
wishing they could come back.
"At first I wasn't
really into it," he said. "I liked my (primary) job a lot, I
liked what I did. After a while, I saw what an honor it is
for us to do this. You get a sense of pride in how we're out
here training to get it perfect every time. I would come
back without hesitation."
By USAF Airman 1st Class Victor J. Caputo
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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