Minnesota unseats Oregon as honor guard champs

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy | Sgt. Matthew Reed, from H Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), grades the performance of the Kansas Army National Guard's Honor Guard team during the 2009 Army National Guard Honor Guard Competition at Fort Myer, Va., Monday, Sept.14, 2009. The competition, which included eight finalists, tested the skills of the team members on their drill and ceremony knowledge, performance of military funeral honors, and attention to detail in wearing the Army uniform.  

FORT MYER, UNITED STATES

09.18.2009

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy 

National Guard Bureau

FORT MYER, Va.— After sweeping the competition for the last two years, Oregon was finally unseated as the champions of the Army National Guard's Honor Guard competition by a strong team from Minnesota this week.

"Oregon has been a great team to chase this entire competition," said Sgt. 1st Class Bradley Williams, Minnesota's team leader. "We got our standings every day, and we would find out we're in second and they're in first. It came down to the wire and we pulled through. It feels good."

The competition, which featured eight teams from several regions of the country, tested the skills, knowledge and abilities of the teams on military funeral honors, transfer of remains, uniform items and other aspects of military honors.

For those on the winning team, the toughest part of the competition wasn't the individual tasks.

"The toughest part of the competition was not knowing what lies ahead," said Williams. "The schedule was set so that [all day] you'll be tested, but you don't know what you'll be tested on."

For other teams, the difficult part was not in the overall tasks, but the details.

"The hardest things are the little things," said Staff Sgt. Nathan Boyd, Maryland's team leader. "That's the most difficult part of the competition. Everybody here knows how to do all the [big] stuff."

The road to the competition here started with teams submitting a digital video disc showing them performing their honor guard duties.

"We had 35 teams submit DVDs to be graded in order for a chance to come here and compete in this competition," said 1st Lt. Dan Rebmann, the National Guard Bureau honor guard program manager. "Once they win the DVD submission part of it, the work doesn't end there."

What follows is months of training to get ready for the competition.

"We've probably spent about three or four months of straight training specifically for the competition," said Boyd.

And because of that, many felt that the competition was very tight.

"The competition here was so tough," said Williams. "I was mind-blown by how good other (teams) were, having only seen the Minnesota side. I thought they were good. It was a tough competition, but I never lost faith in my guys."

Despite the stiff competition, Williams said he always knew his team was the best.

"I came here and I knew that I had the best team in the nation," Williams said. "They may not have known it yet, but I knew it. I've worked with them for the past year and I see the way they perform and the way they focus. When we came here Sunday I knew they were the best. I'm so glad they got recognized for what they've done."

The teams competing this year were evaluated by instructors from the honor guard program at the National Guard's Professional Education Center as well as Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), the Army's top ceremonial unit. Among other missions, the unit provides guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

"That's the organization we try to emulate," said Rebmann about The Old Guard. "So to be here, on Summerall Field, doing it this close to Arlington Cemetery, it's an incredible opportunity for these teams."

The competition also gave the teams the chance to refine their skills, which will improve upon how they perform their mission back at their home stations.

"The way you look at the uniform is going to be different. The way you look at your Soldiers is going to be different, that's a guarantee," said Boyd. "The stuff that we're going through here is just going to elevate the level at which we are performing military honors when we get back to our home stations."

And for many in the competition, that is really what it's all about.

"Every time I give that flag to a grieving [family member], I picture giving that flag to my mother or my wife," said Williams. "Doing that, we cannot fail. That's why we train, because we don't want to let the family down. That's with me at every funeral."

By winning the competition this year, the Minnesota team will automatically be able to return for next year's competition and much of the coming year will be spent getting ready for it.

"We're going to start our training as soon as we get back from here," said Williams. "I'm going to go back and every Soldier I train I'm going to train as if they are coming to this competition next year. If they are on the team, they'll be prepared. If they're not, then they will be able to carry the flag and the torch while we're gone."

• Date Taken: 09.18.2009
• Date Posted: 09.18.2009 15:17
• Story ID: 38970
• Location: FORT MYER, US