To honor with dignity: USAFHG visits Langley

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Victoria Taylor
  • 633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. --  With crisp precision and near-robotic cadence, six Airmen represented the U.S Air Force Honor Guard in a drill demonstration at Langley Air Force Base, Va., March 29.

Making numerous stops on different Air Force bases around the world as a part of their recruitment tour, the USAFHG stopped at Langley not only to look for Airmen who want to join the challenging, yet rewarding experience of Air Force Honor Guard, but also to represent their team to the public.

"We are the traveling department of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard," said Senior Airman Andrew Winders, USAFHG drill team trainer. "We are here at Langley to inform people about Honor Guard in hopes to add valued members to support our mission."

One way the USAFHG team hoped to achieve this was by visiting with the Langley Honor Guard prior to the drill demonstration.

"I had never thought about being an Air Force Honor Guardsman before today," said Airman 1st Class Mellissa Darwin, ceremonial guardsman for the Langley Honor Guard. "Now, I'm definitely interested in applying for this special duty."

The vision of the USAFHG is to ensure a legacy of Airmen who promote the mission, protect the standards, perfect the image and preserve the heritage of the Air Force.

"I think it's vital to the health of the USAFHG to do these recruiting efforts," said Staff Sgt. Justin Lemmon, USAFHG drill team supervisor. "It inspires the rest of the Airmen in the Air Force to take pride and continue serving their country."

Although the American public and military personnel may only see the drill team, there are five different USAFHG flights that also perform different ceremonies in Washington D.C.: the colors, pallbearers, firing party, drill team and support flight.

To honor the traditions they display in their ceremonies, the USAFHG team has an outreach flight that visits base honor guard teams.

"To ensure conformity across the board, the USAFHG also has a separate flight that teaches base-level honor guards throughout the Air Force," said Winders.

While many of their traditions are found in regulations drill team maneuvers are, by contrast, not transcribed in a manual. Instead, they are passed down from one generation of the AFHG Drill Team to the next, showing the responsibility and dedication that these men and women must go through to become a part of the vision that is the USAFHG.

For more information on the USAFHG, visit www.honorguard.af.mil

For Airmen wishing to become a part of Langley's Base Honor Guard, contact Tech Sgt. Christopher Hollingsworth at (757) 764-7181.