Honor Guard at Camp Murray a Testament To Detail, Respect

(Editor's note: This story comes from John Simpson, a longtime journalist who has spent years covering everything Joint Base Lewis-McChord. His work is also available at northwest.military.com)

Sergeant First Class Ken Cowen stared at the regimental pin on the blouse of Specialist Amedee Santamour.

His eyes never wavered as he examined the pin. Santamour never moved; his eyes fixed on a spot on the wall of the Captain George Fortson Armory at Camp Murray, WA.

Several moments later, Cowen brought out a small metal ruler - calibrated to 1/32nd of an inch - and measured to determine if Uvalle’s pin was perfectly centered.

Satisfied the red pin was where it should be, Cowen, a senior non-commissioned officer in the Washington Army National Guard, continued his painstaking inspection of Santamour’s Dress Blue uniform.

From the top of Santamour’s service hat to the bottom of his highly glossed shoes, Cowen took a deliberate and measured approach to his work.

“The last button on your blouse is not aligned,” Cowen said at one point as he wrote down the discrepancy on an inspection checklist that was a couple of pages long.

“You will get that fixed.”

Santamour stood silent; he had gotten the message. 

The Army Dress Blue uniform, and the soldier wearing it, must be perfect, particularly when performing Color Guard and Military Funeral Honors. The Washington Army National Guard Honor Guard Program is a testament to that.

The inspection over, Santamour took his blouse, or jacket, off and made minor adjustments.

“The instructors are hard but fair,” he said as he put his blouse back on in preparation for another inspection on Military Funeral Honors.

“Besides, I want them to be hard on me; I only get better.”

Held at Camp Murray, the Washington Army National Guard Honor Guard Program is a five-day, 40-hour week course that instills the fundamentals of Color and Honor Guard duties. 

National Guard units in all 54 states and territories provide the training.

The major thrust of the training centers on the Military Funeral Honors (MFH) ceremony.

Nationally, the Guard conducted 80 percent of the Army’s Military Funeral Honors.

Officials expect that nationwide approximately 643,000 military veterans will pass in 2012.

The honor represents the country’s gratitude to those who have faithfully defended the nation in times of war and peace.

For Honor Guard instructors like Cowen, they must first endure 80-hours of training at the National Guard Bureau’s Professional Education Center at Camp Robinson, AR.

“The training at PEC is modeled on what the Old Guard, the soldiers who guard the Tomb Of The Unknown, receive.  It’s tough.”

For the 11 Army National Guard soldiers from an eight-state area in the Northwest, the Honor Guard training they receive and will use is the way they wish to serve the nation.

“I wanted to take this course, to be the finest member of an Honor Guard that pays respect to those who have served and their family members,” Specialist Samantha Eutsler, Wyoming Army National Guard, said.

The uniform inspections over, more tests on drill and ceremony, firing detail procedures and pall bearing responsibilities awaited.

“This duty is the most fulfilling,” Sergeant Benjamin Ashworth, another instructor and PEC graduate, said.

“The Military Funeral Honor is the last time we can extend an honor to those who have served.”

The honor represents the country’s gratitude to those who have faithfully defended the nation in times of war and peace.

It is projected that the number of military veterans requiring such honors will increase.

“In 2004 we held 48 funerals with military honors here in this state,” Bill Graham, the State of Washington’s MFH regional director, said. 

“This past year, we held over 5,000 military funerals, and there was an Honor Guard at each one of these.

“All are deserving of the final honor due them."