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Spangdahlem congratulates new Honor Guardsmen

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Timothy Kim
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  The 52nd Fighter Wing welcomed 12 graduates from the Base Honor Guard's training course, graduating class 16-1, with a ceremony inside the base theater at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Oct. 23, 2015. The ceremony acknowledged the new ceremonial guardsmen who underwent and successfully completed five days of Honor Guard training.

"This comes down to a commitment of time and discipline," said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Brian Gates, 52nd Fighter Wing command chief. "To the guardsmen, I ask you to stay sharp. What you've done is nothing small and we recognize that. It takes a commitment of your personal and professional time to train with discipline to be precision guardsmen. By your good example, we can grow the Honor Guard's team."

The new ceremonial guardsmen spent more than 40 hours to master more than 60 ceremonial movements required for the completion of their training course.

"As Honor Guardsmen, we take elite individuals only," said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Keith Washington, a training instructor for class 16-1 and one of the Masters of Ceremony for the graduation. "We started with 20 and graduated 12, and I feel 100% sure that all 12 of these guardsmen can go out and perfect all movements throughout every ceremony, throughout the six countries that we represent."

During the ceremony, the 12 graduates displayed the fruits of their labor through a series of conducted ceremonial movements, including the presentation of the colors and a flag folding ceremony. The ceremony was concluded with the graduates reciting the Honor Guard Charge.

"It was very challenging, we had a lot of individuals out there who were really sharp," said U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jaylon Worthy, Honor Guard's Class 16-1 distinguished graduate. "I felt the pressure to go above and beyond. You can expect to see perfection throughout every drill movement at every ceremony from me and the rest of the guardsmen."

The new guardsmen received the Honor Guard badge during their graduation ceremony, which represents their obligation to be ready at a moment's notice to ensure the highest military honors are rendered to the patriots and heroes of the United States of America.

"It's a rewarding experience," said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Lewis Tartt, 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron flight commander and officer in charge of the base Honor Guard. "I was an Honor Guardsmen as an enlisted troop in my previous life - so, to see these guys where I was at one point, and now they're going to go out there and execute the duties of a ceremonial guardsman. It's a very rewarding experience for me to see them, where they are now, and where they will be when we need them to represent the 52nd Fighter Wing."

Congratulations to the graduates of Class 16-1:

Staff Sgt. Justin Ward, 372nd Training Squadron
Senior Airmen Andrew McCord, 52nd Dental Squadron
Airman 1st Class Ryan Bowker, 52nd Fighter Wing
Airman 1st Class Jeremy Lazarus, 606th Air Control Squadron
Airman 1st Class Michael Lombard, 606th Air Control Squadron
Airman 1st Class Kyle Macy, 52nd Communications Squadron
Airman 1st Class Tyler Maxwell, 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron
Airman 1st Class Reagan McLeroy, 52nd Logistics Readiness Squadron
Airman 1st Class Patrick Stein, 52nd Communications Squadron
Airman 1st Class Jeffrey Stewart, 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron
Airman 1st Class Jaylon Worthy, 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron
Airman 1st Class Kelsey Boeckman, 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron

For more photos of the event, visit Flickr here.