Honor Guardsmen volunteer with Girl Scouts Published March 29, 2017 By Senior Airman Melissa Estevez 375th Air Mobility Wing Pubic Affairs Senior Airman Jarmal Wrinch, Airman 1st Class Robert Pineda and Airman 1st Class Johnathan Simmons, who are all assigned to the Scott Air Force Base Honor Guard, volunteered with Girl Scouts on March 9. The Honor Guardsmen taught the Girl Scout troops how to properly and ceremoniously fold a flag, as part of the troop’s training process for earning a specific badge. It was the troop’s Den Mother who approached the Honor Guard NCO in charge, Master Sgt. Clayton Halpain, and asked if they would be able to provide a lesson for the girls. “Typically we perform military honors at funerals, so it was refreshing to be able to teach these girls a valuable skill, and fun to see their excitement to learn something new,” said Pineda. Girl Scouts have several objectives, but learning new things is an essential part of their organization’s overall goal. “Teaching the Girl Scouts was an awesome experience,” said Simmons. “It brought a great sense of accomplishment to see the great progress they made; it was an amazing feeling of pride to be able to do that.” Community relations enable commanders to enhance Airman morale and readiness, and increase public trust and support. Simmons said, “I feel as if this was just the first step toward a great relationship between the Scott AFB Honor Guard and Girl Scouts, as well as the chance to reach out to the community for future events.” Honoring the flag is a big part of military tradition, and for local members of the community to see how some of those honors are performed provides an insight, and relatability between the base and local community. “I think for us to provide a lesson to any local organization has a huge impact on the relations between the base and the community, as it provides a positive image to people of our military culture,” said Pineda.