Upholding military tradition of honor, dignity

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Evelyn Chavez
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  On the first day of the job all he wanted to do was comfort the woman who kept crying, but he couldn't. The only thing he could do was perform his duty as an honor guard member by maintaining his composure and honoring the creed he vowed to uphold.

"She wouldn't stop crying or screaming, it was a loud heartbroken wail and all I could think of was how she lost someone she really loved," said Staff Sgt. Jonathan Campos, Aviano Air Base honor guardsman. "I kept my composure because it was my job to honor the veteran who was being buried."

The base honor guard is composed of hand-selected Airmen who have the opportunity to not only participate in funeral details to honor past service members, but also to provide support for ceremonies throughout the base and southern Europe.

"The honor guard is here to render honors for past and present service members," said Campos. "We perform details to support many ceremonial requests for the base, military members and even events for local towns that might request our presence."

To foster stronger community ties the Aviano Honor Guard works alongside Italians to provide honors for events such as local festivals, changes of command and retreats.

Retirement ceremonies, military funerals, changes of command, weddings, memorial services, cordons for distinguished visitors and flag folding details are some of the events the honor guard supports.

Preparation is everything. Before every event, members practice the routines at the particular locations to avoid any discrepancies. They also prepare mentally in order to concentrate and perform their duty as it was practiced.

This is the life of an honor guardsman for a year, complete with a certification course and review of all honor guard manuals.

According to Campos everything is about preparation and repetition, if muscle memory of every honor guard motion isn't built, members will not be able to perform their duties properly.

Honor guardsmen must demonstrate dedication and commitment in everything they do to include their dress and appearance. Uniforms must be neatly pressed and shoes shined prior to every detail.

"We represent the Air Force, if our uniform looks bad it reflects on everyone," said Campos. "Perception is everything so we have to make sure we look sharp all the time."