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Attention to detail

Members of the Honor Guard at MacDill Air Force Base dedicate themselves to getting each move just right as they pay respect to fallen comrades.

By JOHN BARRY
Published July 4, 2006

This is how a sacred military tradition is handed down, from one year to the next, from one century to the next:

A group of initiates walks into a large training room, one floor above the child care center at MacDill Air Force Base. Their eyes are drawn to two caskets, each draped in the flag.

The "funeral" starts. Three of the trainees assume the role of the grieving family. They sit in chairs beside a "grave site." The other trainees make up the Honor Guard. Some line up as pallbearers, some as riflemen. They begin on a silent count.

"Everything has a count, always a count," says Senior Airman Scott Ginn, one of the trainees. When practicing the rifle sequences, they sometimes use a metronome. "You focus on the count and think about perfection."

"Forward MARCH!" says their trainer, a staff sergeant. He speaks firmly, but doesn't shout.

Ginn and the others step off on their left feet, sliding their heels on the first step. They swing their arms precisely 6 inches to the front and 3 inches to the rear. They march with 24-inch steps.

"Flight, HALT!" says the sergeant.

"Flight" - the term for their unit - is called on the right foot. "Halt" is called on the left foot.

Someone doesn't get it right, they all start over.

* * *

U.S.A.F. Honor Guard Training Guide. Chapter 1: Appropriate Wear of Ceremonial Uniform Items.

The silver braid on the ceremonial hat rests on the top of the black visor portion of the hat. Pull the two tabs outward to tighten the braid. Place a few small drops of super-glue behind the tabs and set them into place until they dry.

The aiguillette ornamental cord fits snugly along the shoulder seam of the blouse. Use several (5-7) large baby pins to secure the aiguillette from underneath the blouse. The tassel is pulled down and

the spiraled cord is attached (sewn or glued) to the inside of the larger portion of the aiguillette.

Clean and shine the shoes. Furniture polish works well.

* * *

MacDill has two Honor Guards, Alpha and Bravo, each with 18 members. The two units take turns on round-the-clock call every month. June was Bravo's turn.

They perform their duty at the funerals of any deceased Air Force veteran, whether he or she served in World War II or in Iraq. They go wherever the family wants to hold the service, a cemetery or a grocery store parking lot, anywhere between Ocala and Key West.

Some members of the Honor Guard are volunteers. Some, in Air Force parlance, are "volunteered." Motivation coming in doesn't matter. They usually get that after experiencing their first funeral detail.

"They see what an Honor Guard can be," says Staff Sgt. Steve McIntyre.

Bravo's members are drawn from all corners of the Air Force. Size or gender isn't a factor, and among Bravo's 18 there are three women and men of all sizes. But they learn right away that pulling one's weight is meant literally. They have to carry caskets that sometimes weigh as much as 800 pounds. More important, they have to make it look effortless.

Most of them had no clear idea what the Honor Guard actually would be like. They are not prepared for the exacting demands of perfection.

Senior Airman Emily Woolfolk got a glimpse of these standards on the day her free-spirited grandmother was buried.

Woolfolk was 16 when she fell under a spell at her grandmother's house a block away in Waterloo, Iowa. Wanda Johnson, an American Indian, had been a nurse in the Army Air Forces in World War II. She served in New Zealand, treating wounded fighters. It was where she met Woolfolk's grandfather, a Navy man.

Decades later, she entertained her granddaughter Emily on afternoons after school with tales of lying about her age to get into the war at 17 and going off to the other side of the world.

"She was a bold, strong-willed woman," Woolfolk remembers.

Following her grandmother's example, Woolfolk joined the Air Force. "The rest of the family shot me down, but my grandmother always emphasized how proud she was."

At her grandmother's funeral, Woolfolk wore her Air Force blues. She stood beside an American Legion honor guard. She watched their intricate choreograph, stood at attention with them during taps, saw them place the folded flag in the lap of her grandfather.

"I lost all control and cried in uniform," she says.

That day, Woolfolk swore she'd get herself into the Honor Guard. She waited three years before winning an assignment to the unit at MacDill.

"My grandmother would be at a loss for words."

* * *

U.S.A.F. Honor Guard Training Guide. Chapter 4: Firing Party.

In a continuous movement, the right hand will go to a fist with the index finger on the trigger. The front sights will be level with the firing line member's eyes. The butt of the rifle will be placed and held firmly under the right upper arm as the right elbow presses the weapon tightly to the side of the body. The balance of the rifle will rest in the palm of the left hand with the left pinky around the ring of the rifle. Turn the head, eyes, and upper torso toward the direction of fire.

The right hand's index finger is ripped out of the trigger housing, squeezing the trigger at the same time and bringing the right hand out as a fist; all is done in one fluid motion.

* * *

They get a week's immersion. That's the basic-training package for new recruits into the unit. They don't come in cold; all of them already have learned how to march and drill in boot camp.

Now they have to master the precise rituals of honoring the fallen. After the initial week, they spend the rest of the year edging closer to perfection. So when seven of them fire their M-14s, mourners will hear a single report.

What Senior Airman Ginn remembers most about the earliest drills was learning to stand still. They practice absolute stillness. This is rehearsal for unexpected delays after they have locked into formation at funerals. Sometimes the hearse is late. Sometimes the family lingers inside the church. Outside, flies are buzzing, the temperature is climbing.

"No matter how much you sweat, you can't scratch your face," Ginn says. "Five minutes feels like 30 minutes."

Every physical movement means something. Even each fold of the flag means something. According to the Air Force Academy manuals, the first fold "symbolizes life." The fourth "represents our weaker nature." The sixth "is for where our hearts lie." The eighth "is a tribute to the one who entered into the shadow of the valley of death." There are 12 folds.

"I came in December, and it was a real shock," said Airman 1st Class Nathan Bowles. His previous Air Force experience had been writing government contracts. "It was a shock how sharp everything was, the integrity of it. It might be something as small as the way the fingers are spread out. If it's wrong, all of us know it, it's a failure in our eyes. We're that critical of ourselves."

Stephanie Otero, Airman 1st Class, said she found a way, on her own time, to perfect her rifle moves.

"I practiced with a broomstick."

* * *

U.S.A.F. Honor Guard Training Guide. Chapter 6: Pallbearers.

Note: Always try to fold the flag in front of the family. If there is not enough room due to obstacles, such as a pile of dirt, family in the way or some other obstruction, then fold the flag to a quarter fold over the casket, then take two side steps toward the family. If the family is close two side steps away are allowed.

The OIC (officer in charge) presents the flag to the next of kin and recites the message of condolence, followed by a slow salute to the flag. An example of condolence is: "On behalf of the President of the United States, the Department of the Air Force, and a grateful Nation, we offer our nation's flag for the faithful and honorable service of your loved one."

* * *

In early June, the Bravo Honor Guard presented the flag to a widow in the parking lot of O'Brien's Pub in Brandon.

"It was a wake," Staff Sgt. John Fisher said. "There was a tent outside, but when we got there everyone was inside the pub. We waited outside. Someone told everyone to put their beer down and come out and watch the ceremony."

"You never know what it's going to be," says Master Sgt. Calvin Douglas, the Honor Guard's leading noncommissioned officer. "Sometimes there are two flags to present. Sometimes, the next of kin is 16 years old. There are times when the next of kin doesn't want the flag. Some guys have even been slapped. They do what they have to do."

Staff Sgt. George Danzy once presented the flag to a 7-year-old.

He recited the official condolences: "We offer our nation's flag for the faithful and honorable service of your loved one."

It wasn't enough. He had to say something else, but the words he needed were nowhere in the training manual.

Danzy caught the child's eye and held his gaze. He placed the flag in the boy's hands.

"Stay strong," he said. "Your dad will always be there for you."

John Barry can be reached at (727) 892-2258 or jbarry@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 3, 2006, 20:37:58]