Deployed Airmen volunteer for honor guard

  • Published
  • By Capt. Aaron Burgstein
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Airmen at forward-deployed locations often spend most of their day at work. Downtime is something to be cherished; however, some Airmen deployed with the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing are using some of their personal time to serve the community.

Be it at a promotion, award ceremony or weekly retreat, the base honor guard Airmen are there to ensure the proper customs and courtesies are followed.

“It is all about honoring the American flag and those who went before us,” said Airman 1st Class Christina Colvin. “It’s heartfelt, honoring our flag and that of our host nation.”

Volunteers who arrived in September formed the base’s first honor guard, and they take their responsibilities seriously.

“Here, the mission (of the honor guard) is slightly different than at a stateside base,” said Senior Airman Ian Perry. “Our mission is simple: to pay homage to the symbol of all that we are fighting for, the American flag, as well as the flag of our host nation.”

Honor guard volunteers are Airmen with and without honor guard experience.

“We were looking to provide a standardized way for the wing to do its retreats,” said Master Sgt. James Hawkins, one of two noncommissioned officers in charge of the honor guard. “We looked for volunteers and some folks with experience to provide the core and then built it up through training.”

The team, about 25 Airmen strong, trains once a week after their normal duty day. Each week they participate in a retreat ceremony where the U.S. and host nation flags are lowered, marking the end of the duty day.

“We’ve got people from every career field and all across the base,” said Staff Sgt. Candace Moore, the other NCOIC. “What’s great is that we get to meet and work with people we might not otherwise get to see.”

After three months, the honor guard Airmen are now expanding their activities.

Besides weekly retreats, they now post the colors at official functions, such as promotion and award ceremonies.

“We’re also looking at traveling to other locations in-country where there might not be an honor guard,” Sergeant Moore said.

Being at a forward-deployed location presents its own challenges to an all-volunteer honor guard. Besides the constant work schedule there is the rotation to deal with.

“As the rotation ends, we start losing a lot of our team,” Sergeant Hawkins said. “We’ve got a few people on 179-day rotations, so that helps, but each (rotation) means new people to recruit and train.”

And train they do. A small cadre of honor guard veterans trains all newcomers to the team.

“Most people think you have to have honor guard experience to qualify,” Sergeant Moore said, “but we’re open to everyone.”

“You need to want to learn,” Airman 1st Class James Hopper said. “You have to have the right training to pay the proper respect to the American people and our flag.”

The honor guard Airmen said there is a bigger reason for volunteering than gaining the experience. It is about honoring their country and fellow warriors.

“Being on the honor guard brings the military aspect of being in the Air Force to center stage," Airman Perry said. “Otherwise, it is easy to forget this isn’t a 9-to-5 job.”