KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Stern verbal commands followed by crisp, precise movements and flawless military bearing are all attributes of airmen who volunteer to be a part of one of the Air Force’s oldest traditions, the base honor guard.
The men and women that make up Air Force honor guard units throughout the world can be traced back to 1948 and carry on the same tradition it began with: to ensure the legacy of airmen, promote the mission, protect the standards, perfect the image and preserve the heritage.
While the professional airmen of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard and their history began at the U.S. Air Force Headquarters Command at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., it became apparent that each installation would benefit from having their own base honor guard made up of dedicated volunteers, to include deployed locations.
“The main purpose of the honor guard in a deployed location is to render the proper respects to fallen service members being sent back to their families to be laid to rest,” said Staff Sgt. Richard Dickey, 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Group Programs Flight chief and Kandahar Airfield Honor Guard NCO in charge. “Fortunately, we have not had to honor anyone in such a way. However, we do practice dignified transfers monthly.”
Currently, the honor guard unit here has about 10 members and practices twice weekly to fine tune their skills and master their craft.
While the primary reason the unit was assembled is to pay respect to someone who made the ultimate sacrifice, the honor guardsmen stay busy performing at change of commands, promotion and awards ceremonies, posting of colors for morale events and even offer their services to Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization allies around Kandahar.
“I think it’s important that we have a deployed honor guard presence in order to respectfully honor our fallen service members,” said Dickey, who is deployed from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. “As a new member to honor guard during my first deployment Balad Air Base, Iraq, we honored three fallen Air Force Office of Special Investigations agents by performing a full 21-gun salute and flag ceremony. If we didn't have a team on hand, those Airmen would have been sent back to the states without the proper recognition they deserve for their sacrifice to their country.”
While each member of the honor guard volunteers for different reasons, a common denominator always is struck amongst the group when it comes time to perform.
“To me, the honor guard represents the core value of ‘excellence in all we do’ the most,” said Senior Airman Kenneth Wise, 451st Knowledge Operations mail custodian and honor guard member. “We set the standards for dress and appearance by always looking sharp and crisp. It’s also our job to preserve the heritage and tradition by performing at funerals and special military events.”
Dickey noted how he tries to make contact with new airmen arriving at KAF to offer them the opportunity to be a part of a team whose main goal and focus is to honor others in life and death.
“We train hard to remain sharp, crisp, and motionless throughout every detail to provide honor with dignity,” he said. “We are not just a bunch of people marching and screaming, we are working towards perfection and setting the standards for our peers.”
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.02.2013 08:08 |
| Story ID: | 104458 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Hometown: | JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Hometown: | MADISON, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sharp, crisp and motionless: Airmen hone honor guard skills while deployed, by SSgt Scott Saldukas, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
