Dignity, honor and respect extends beyond Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations mission

  • Published
  • By Christin Michaud
  • Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Providing dignity, honor and respect is the mission of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations, but it doesn't stop there. Fallen active-duty service members are given the same dignity, honor and respect during the reverse dignified transfer process through the dignified arrival on their journey home to their final resting place.

"All theater deaths transiting from Dover Port Mortuary will have a 6-person Honor Guard team that will carry the casket from the aircraft to the waiting ground transportation," explained Master Sgt. Donald Cleveland, AFMAO Honor Guard NCO in charge.

The Honor Guard Team from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., has performed dignified arrivals for fallen servicemembers who arrive by aircraft directly to the base as well as Charlotte International Airport, N.C., and the Columbia Regional Airport, S.C., according to Master Sgt. Jimmy F. Counts, Jr., Base Honor Guard superintendent.

A detail of seven members dressed in their ceremonial uniform stand by to receive the remains. Another member of the team crawls into the belly of the commercial aircraft to dress that Flag prior to the movement of the remains, explained Sergeant Counts. This ensures it is positioned properly in the event it may have shifted during the flight.

"Since we have been at war for more than nine years now, many of the (dignified arrivals) performed are for deaths that have occurred in the (area of responsibility) prosecuting the global war on terror and preserving the freedoms we still enjoy every day," he said. "It is very important to show the families, friends and American public at large that we as a profession of arms care for our people with the reverence we show for their individual sacrifices."

The enhanced honors for deceased service members is the least we can do, he added.

It's "respecting and honoring an active-duty Airman that gave their life for our country," said Staff Sgt. Dan Sutton, Minot Air Force Base Honor Guard.

Sergeant Dutton has performed a dignified arrival at the commercial airport in Bismark, N.D.

He realizes it is an Airman he's caring for, but he tries to focus on the job at hand.

"I make sure we are respecting and honoring the individual appropriately," he said. "Of course, it impacts me because I consider the importance of honoring someone's child, sibling, spouse or parent."

Rendering honors to the fallen is a job base honor guards take seriously.

Dignified arrivals are very similar to established pallbearing sequences, but base honor guards also use a sample video from the AFMAO Web site as well as in-house training videos which allow them the opportunity to train for their specific location, unique to each aircraft and parking spot, according to Sergeant Counts.

With each dignified arrival, honor guards at the base level continue the dignity, honor and respect, that begins at the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs. Honor guard details ensure the remains of a fallen loved one are treated with honor through every step of the process until they reach their final resting place.