Base Honor Guard sharpens cadets Published Nov. 21, 2008 By Monte Miller 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Fifteen Reserve Officers' Training Corps honor guard cadets from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale visited Scott Saturday to sharpen their skills with a little help from the base honor guard. "They want to take what they do and make it better," said Master Sgt. David Gray, Scott Honor Guard superintendent. "So, we had our instructors polish them up." Sergeant Gray explained they ran the cadets through several drills including flag presentations at funerals, posting of the colors and parade techniques. The cadets also specifically asked to be taught the prisoner of war table ceremony as well. "We showed them how to take their experience and presentation to the next level," Sergeant Gray said. " We instructed them on how to properly carry flags, rifles and worked on how they interact with the other members and make it sharper and tighter." Sergeant Gray added the base honor guard demonstrated the movements they do, which are very similar to the ones used by the cadets. "For most of the cadets, this was their first time on a military installation," Sergeant Gray explained. "The cadets were able to see not only how a very active honor guard operates, but also got a glimpse of their future military lives." Because of the very busy schedules of the base honor guard, the course with the cadets was very condensed and to the point, because of limited number of volunteer instructors available. "Our primary mission is military funerals," Sergeant Gray said. "We do between 1,800 and 1,900 funerals per year. That comes to an average of 30 to 40 per week. When I started with the honor guard as an Airman 1st Class in 1997, we did 125 per year." In 2000, Congress mandated that military honors be given to all veterans at their funerals. The rise in funeral numbers is also attributed to the increasing age and death rates of World War II and Korean War veterans. A major factor that keeps Scott so busy is the staggering size of their coverage area. "Our area is 110,000 square miles," Sergeant Gray said. "It is the third largest area of responsibility in the Air Force. It encompasses 208 counties including all of Illinois, parts of Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennesee and Missouri." The Scott honor guard conducts funerals for veterans of the Air Force, Army Air Force and the Army Air Corps. "If a member served in any of those, we send two Airmen," Sergeant Gray explained. "If they are a retired member, seven Airmen attend their funeral and if it is an active duty death, a crew of 20 does the funeral. Thank God we haven't had any of those in a while." Sergeant Gray has been told the high tempo of funerals is expected to continue until 2012. Another issue that challenges the honor guard members is the wartime mission the Armed Forces are conducting, which limits available personnel. "When I started we had 70 Airmen in the honor guard at Scott," he said. "Now we have just more than 30 Airmen." In addition to the funeral mission, the honor guard is also called on for numerous ceremonies on base and the surrounding communities. '"The funerals we have to do because of the mandate," Sergeant Gray said. "If we don't have the people available, we may have to decline ceremonies. Luckily, we have a great working relationship with the U.S. Transportation Command Joint Service Honor Guard and they can do some of the ceremonies we can't." Recently, the base honor guard pooled support from other units to perform an honor cordon for Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley when he visited Scott last month. "Only three or four members of the cordon were from this unit," Sergeant Gray said. "A lot of folks came together to make that happen. We had Reservists from the 932nd Airlift Wing and the Missouri Air National Guard's 131st Fighter Wing based at Lambert Airport in St. Louis." Veteran's Day is an especially busy, but rewarding time for the honor guard. "It is a popular time, but we enjoy it," Sergeant Gray said. "You can ask any of our members and they will say it is their favorite because we get to meet and talk to the veterans. Usually when we interact with veterans it is not so good, because we are carrying them." This summer, the honor guard received a new headquarters that it shares with the Family Child Care Center and is still in the process of settling into their new home. "It gives us a much larger training facility," Sergeant Gray said. "It's a work in progress, but it's ours." Airmen serve on the honor guard in four-month increments. Each month a quarter of the honor guard members head back to the respective units, which leads to a very high turnover. "We have consolidated our training into one, five-day class per month," Sergeant Gray explained. "During that time, all of our instructors converge on that group. So far, everyone involved thinks it is a good process.' A future project for Sergeant Gray and the honor guard is standing up a reserve flight to alleviate some of the strains that come with such a busy schedule. "We would like to have people to use on a very limited basis," he explained. "It will be made up of past honor guard members that still have their ceremonial uniforms and remember how to do things." Anyone interested in participating in the reserve flight is asked to go through his or her proper chain of command.