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Some of the rifles fired at Camp Smith Training Site weren’t
loaded with rounds and yet their impact could still stop you in
tracks.
The ceremonial rifles, along with a folded American
flag, a bugler playing taps and a weighted casket were all part of
the specialized training that 12 Army National Guard Soldiers from
across the country were conducting at Camp Smith Training Site, New
York during May 2017.
Four New York Army National Guard
Soldiers, along with eight other Guardsman from across the country,
were selected by their respective states and territories to attend
the 80-hour, Train-the-trainer Military Funeral Honors (MFH) course.
Soldiers who successfully complete the course return to their
respective unit as a state level training instructor.
The course is designed to be both physically and
mentally challenging to ensure Soldiers are ready and able to
perform their duties. Each day starts early with physical training
and goes long into the evening for studying and practice.
Training tasks include:
- Rehearsing the honorable transfer of remains
- Casket team sequences
- 2 or 3-Soldier funeral procedures
- Inspections of the ceremonial uniforms
- Familiarity with the M14 Rifle used by honor guard member
- Firing party sequences, drill and ceremonies
- Chapel sequences
- Soldier “modified” full military funeral honors sequences
Since 2000, federal law has mandated that any military
veteran who did not receive a dishonorable discharge from
the armed forces is eligible for military honors at his or
her funeral.
The ceremony must include the folding
and presenting of the flag of the United States to the
veteran's survivors and the playing of Taps.
The size of the detail varies from a minimum of two
service members to nine or more personnel for deceased service
members who retired from the military after a full career or were
awarded medals for valor.
Because the Army National Guard is
a community based force located in places where the Active Army can
be far away, the responsibility for performing many of these
funerals falls upon Guard Soldiers.
The New York Army
National Guard, for example, has a 31-member Honor Guard which
conducts about 98 percent of military funeral details for Army
veterans within the state.
Sgt. Stephanie Imenndorf, a food
service specialist in the New Jersey Army National Guard, wasn’t
surprised by the intense training. Guard Soldier for seven years,
she noted that “repetition makes it hard to do something wrong,
which is a good thing.”
Every move must be precise and every
command executed must be flawless. The exacting nature of the
training mirrors the expectations of the Soldiers when they’re
preforming military funeral duties, the instructors explained.
“We change minds with our performance, not our words,” said
Brian Hise, a Military Honors Senior National Trainer.
Hise,
who is prior military with 26 years of experience, explained that
Soldiers who complete this training and perform these duties are
held to a higher standard.
However, any of the trainers or
participants will tell you that it’s not about the Soldier, it’s
about the deceased service members and their families. Even the Army
Service Uniform worn by the Soldiers has their name tapes removed to
show that it’s not about them, Hise explained.
Spc. Jeremy
Cardenales, a field artillery automated tactical data system
specialist assigned to the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery
Regiment, New York Army National Guard, said he performs these
challenging duties to give back to those who came before him.
“Our veterans gave their all for us,” said Cardenales a
Woodhaven, N.Y, resident., “I want to give what I can back to them
and their families.”
The New York Army National Guard has the
second largest funeral honors program in the country performing
between 9 and 10,000 military funeral services per year.
By U.S. Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Michael Davis
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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