Airmen Honor Those That Came Before Them
(December 13, 2010) |
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LANGELY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. -- Select airmen are asked each
year to represent the Air Force and Langley to honor those
airmen who have sacrificed and committed their lives to
protecting this nation.
The Langley Honor Guard represents the 633d Air Base Wing by
providing services including military honors for deceased
military personnel and other ceremonies on Langley Air Force
Base, the local community, Virginia and North Carolina. |
These distinguished airmen are removed from their career
fields for 90 days to be members of the honor guard, in
which they will show the grace, humility and military
bearing of the Air Force, be it at retirements, weddings or
funerals. Before training Dec. 7, the troops stood in
formation after learning about the day's events and recited
the Honor Guard Chant:
“Handpicked to serve as a member of the Langley Honor Guard,
my standards of conduct and level of professionalism must be
above reproach, for I represent all others in my service.
“Never will I allow my performance to be dictated by the
type of ceremony, severity of the temperature or size of the
crowd. I will remain superbly conditioned to perfect all
movements throughout every drill and ceremony.” |
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Langley airmen practice carrying the casket in windy and cold weather Dec. 7, 2010. Langley honor guard practices daily, carrying the mission of representing Airmen to the American public and the world. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Racheal Watson)
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These paragraphs are just a few lines shouted with pride
from the up-and-coming participants who then went on to work
with an American flag draped over a casket.
“It's always difficult to learn new things and to get it
precise,” said Airman 1st Class Steven Williams, 633d Civil
Engineering Squadron heating, ventilation and air
conditioning and honor guard pall bearing trainer. “You get
frustrated sometimes with yourself and with the trainers
ahead of you. In my class, we got frustrated with them
because they were pushing us hard, but it was for a good
reason....But you have to look past it and get focused because
it's your decision to be here...”
One of the biggest factors the honor guard looks for in
members is someone who embraces the Air Forces values and
who is physically fit. They encourage Airmen to perform a
lot of pushups and they have physical training five days a
week, in which they incorporate cardio and strength
training. For team building exercise, they go on runs of
four miles or completely around the base.
“The distance the honor guard carries a casket varies
because it varies on where the internment is located or if
we are taking it into a chapel,” said Staff Sgt. Christopher
Rathy, NCOIC of the honor guard. “Caskets can range from 300
to 1,000 pounds determining on the type of wood or material
they are made of plus the body. A couple of classes ago, one
of our honor guard members said, ‘they carried the casket
more than 75 meters.'”
Another tactic the honor guard does is use push-ups as a
team building tool. The members of the team can perform
upward of 400 a day.
“We expect the Airmen to show the commitment, team work and
dedication to work with one another,” said Rathy. “When
someone messes up, we don't want the team to dislike each
other. The pushups are not to punish one individual, but
it's to have everyone work together. The main reason we have
them do push-ups is because we want them to develop the
strength to carry caskets and equipment for long periods of
time.”
For the fiscal year from October 2009 to September 2010, the
Langley Honor Guard performed 329 funeral details and 435
colors; on average, that's approximately two details per
day. |
By Sr. Airman Jarrod Chavana
633rd Air Base Wing
Copyright 2010 | |
Provided
through DVIDS
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