ADAB honor guard numbers grow.

Photo By Master Sgt. Patrick O'Reilly | AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates -- Staff Sgt. Leon Brown, 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron and NCOIC of honor guard here, demonstrates to volunteers how to ceremoniously fold and unfold the U.S. flag as part of the honor guard program here July 3, 2020. Volunteers come from both the U.S. and coalition forces and are made up of any rank. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Patrick OReilly)  

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

07.10.2020

Story by Master Sgt. Patrick O'Reilly 

380th Air Expeditionary Wing

AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates – The mission of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard is to represent Airmen to the American public and the world.
The vision of the USAF Honor Guard is to ensure a legacy of Airmen who: promote the mission, protect the standards, perfect the image, and preserve the heritage.
“The 380th [Air Expeditionary Wing] honor guard covers retirements, colors, retreats, and any moment a fellow brother or sister in arms is killed in action we are called upon to perform a dignified transfer as well,” said Staff Sgt. Leon Brown, 380th Expeditionary Force Support squadron and NCOIC of Honor Guard here.
The honor guard program accepts volunteers from a wide array of personnel.
“Anyone and everyone is eligible to come out, all ranks,” said Senior Airman Lillian Griffith, 380th AEW religious affairs and HG volunteer. “There is a bit of a mix of everyone.”
“We have active, guard, and reserve here,” said Tech. Sgt. Sidney McSwain, 380th Equal Opportunity and honor guard trainer. “Everyone comes and wears the patches (honor guard), the same uniform and were all one team, total force integrated.”
The current rotation has shown substantial growth in participation.
“I’ve been the NCOIC here since October of last year and I can definitely say that it has grown to a large team,” said Brown. “We went from eight on the last rotation to now at 25. A lot of our members, about 90 percent, are first timers, which is excellent. At the end of the day, we all know it’s not about us as individuals but the team effort and completing this mission.”
Honor guard is a unique organization which refers to personnel as ‘Airmen’ and not by their name when performing honors.
“I’ll say that one of the things that’s unique is that we take the name plate off,” said McSwain. “For me, coming together and being a part of something bigger than yourself, paying it forward with color details or military honors is rewarding in every aspect.”
Although being a member is noble volunteering has its challenges.
“There are so many steps involved that I didn’t anticipate,” said Senior Airman Brittany Cooke-McMath, 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance squadron and honor guard volunteer here. “There’s a lot crammed in one session. It’s definitely something you have to practice on your off-time if you want to become well at it.”
“The biggest challenge of honor guard right now is making time for it because of the schedules,” Griffith adds.
Aside from the challenges, HG provides memorable experiences to each member in its own right.
“My favorite aspects of honor guard is the camaraderie, the structure, and the organization,” said Griffith. “I love honor guard a lot, and I think it’s a dignified type of experience that I think everyone should do. You get involved, you meet people and you learn a lot of history of the Air Force through honor guard. I think everyone should know what it’s like to fold the flag, do colors, retirements, and just feel the experience.”

• Date Taken: 07.10.2020
• Date Posted: 07.10.2020 01:04
• Story ID: 373669
• Location: AE