Air Force Honor Guard visits Laughlin

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Blake Mize
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  A select group of Airmen from Laughlin, Dyess Air Force Base and Goodfellow AFB recently had the opportunity to train with some of the premier honor guardsmen in the Air Force and showcased what they had learned at a graduation ceremony Aug. 3.

Three members of the Air Force Honor Guard were here July 25 through Aug. 3 training the honor guard members in several different aspects of guardsmen duty.

Senior Airman Jordan Anderson, Senior Airman Leonard Brower and Airman 1st Class Jarrett Adair, all of the Air Force Honor Guard and stationed out of Bolling AFB in Washington D.C., came to Laughlin after Chief Master Sgt. Ray DeVite, 47th Flying Training Wing command chief, and Tech. Sgt. Kenneth Bowman, NCO in charge of Laughlin Honor Guard, requested they come to conduct an Air Force Honor Guard Basic Protocol, Honors and Ceremonies Course.

The course included training the Laughlin guardsmen as well as the guardsmen from the other bases in basic honor guard duties and the presentation of military funeral honors to include the duties of color guard, pallbearers, flag folding, presentation of the flag and standing manuals.

"The goal was to give our base honor guard members the best training available and to give them the tools to be their best when performing details on and off base," said Bowman. "We often present military funeral honors in locations as far as Laredo, Texas, Zapata, Texas and Marfa, Texas. We also lead parades in Del Rio and Eagle Pass, Texas as well as present the colors at dedications and sporting events. We represent the Air Force when we perform these details, so being as sharp as possible is a must."

Bowman said he was pleased with the performance of everyone who took part in the course.

"Each member of the class worked hard and performed at a high level. I am especially proud of our Laughlin members. They represented Team XL extremely well," he said. "I would like to thank all of the members of our base honor guard for taking part in this training, as well as the members from Goodfellow and Dyess."

The motivation to request the training, Bowman said, was not to make Laughlin look better but to ensure that fallen veterans were properly honored.

"The training that our members received is valuable to our mission. Performing at the highest level possible is what we must do when presenting military honors to our fallen veterans and retirees," he said. "They deserve the best and that is what we provide them and their families."