News

Honor Guard members gain unique experience

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  When Master Sgt. Sharon Royster, manager of the Robins Honor Guard, is looking for new members she has one thought in mind.

"You have to love the Air Force," she said. "If you don't love the Air Force, you can't go out and give 110 percent. I look for Airmen who are motivated and have a positive energy about them."

Although they are most often seen at Robins at special events, their primary duty is to honor Air Force veterans at funerals. They perform, on average, about seven funerals per week, often with short notice. Sometimes they may do several in one day.

The Robins unit has the sole responsibility to perform, whenever requested, funerals for Air Force veterans in three quarters of Georgia, three quarters of Tennessee and two counties in South Carolina - a 70,000 square-mile area. The only place in that area that they don't cover is Air Force funerals at the Georgia National Cemetery in Cherokee County. That is covered by a unit from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta that falls under the Robins unit.

Serving in the honor guard might seem, to some, like a cushy assignment. But according to Sergeant Royster, people who think serving in the Honor Guard is simply dressing in a pretty uniform and learning to slap a gun around and carry a flag are wrong.

Sergeant Royster said serving in the honor guard is a big commitment because members have to be ready to go 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And serving at so many funerals can be emotionally taxing. That's one reason most of those who serve in the honor guard are working a 90-day rotation away from their regular assignment. They are recommended for the assignment by master sergeants.

Robins Honor Guard has 30 people, with eight permanent staff members and 22 Airmen, in two flights of 11 each, putting their regular duties aside for 90 days to serve. The staff members also perform honor guard duties when needed.

Sgt. Marcus Zellner started with Honor Guard in 2006 and is currently a staff member. He said although for most it's a short-term assignment, the experience is meaningful.

"The Airmen come into this and they don't know each other at all," he said. "And at the end of 90 days you have 21 best friends who have shared a unique experience you will carry with you throughout the Air Force. If you go anywhere else in the Air Force and meet someone who served in the honor guard you will be able to share stories that will live with you the rest of your life."

Due to the number of funerals honor guard members must attend, it is sometimes necessary to call former members to fill spots, Sergeant Royster said, and they are almost always willing.

Everyone who has served any length of time in the Air Force and was honorably discharged is entitled to at least a three-man honor guard team at the funeral. Those who have served at least 20 years get a seven-person team, with a bugler. Active-duty members who die get a 20-person team.

The unit has an electronic bugle that makes it appear the person holding it is playing but the sound is actually generated by the bugle itself. People never know the difference, Sergeant Royster said, and there have been times when people have complimented the person holding the bugle on the perceived performance. When they do active-duty funerals, they usually try to get a real bugler from the Band of the Air Force Reserve.