The V.I. National Guard is training 18 soldiers to perform military funeral honors, educating them on the history, policies and procedures needed to conduct the honorable ceremony to military standards.
According to VING, soldiers will complete a 40-hour training course, offered last week on St. Thomas and beginning Monday on St. Croix.
Sgt. Leon Perkins, the V.I. Guard’s military funeral honors coordinator, completed a 40-hour basic honor guard course in Puerto Rico in February of 2013. Perkins then attended an 80-hour training course and was certified as a trainer at the National Guard Professional Education Center in North Little Rock, Ark.
As the military funeral honors coordinator, Perkins’ duties include preparation to conduct military funeral honors, continuously training on the preparation and procedures, and processing pay and other benefits for service members performing in the program.
“It is a difficult yet heartwarming position to hold because you have to be sturdy with members of your detail but kind and subtle to handle the emotions of grief during ceremonies,” Perkins said in a VING statement. “Our main goal is to honor those who serve," he said.
Perkins is the second generation in his family to serve in the Virgin Islands National Guard. He has been a member of VING since 2007 in the 652nd Engineer Platoon. Perkins was born on St. Croix on Sept. 19, 1989, during Hurricane Hugo.
The guard has certified more than 500 soldier funeral honors trainers since 2006. These trainers conduct in-state (or territory) certification before soldiers are authorized to perform military funeral honors. The training ensures professional and dignified execution of honors. Topics covered include uniform preparation, drill and ceremony, casket carrying and flag folding.
There are nine students enrolled in the course on each island, who will be in class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a week.
Graduation ceremonies were held Friday on St. Thomas and will be held April 25 on St. Croix.
The Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors program renders professional military funeral honors, in accordance with service tradition, to all eligible veterans when requested by an authorized family member. Military regulations say an honor guard detail for the burial of an eligible veteran shall consist of not less than two members of the Armed Forces. One member of the detail shall be a representative of the parent service of the deceased veteran. The VING Military Funeral Honors Program conducted 60 funeral honors in Fiscal Year 2013, 61 in FY12 and 61 in FY11. In the territory, VING provides this honor for beneficiaries from all military organizations. From 2009 to present, the VING MFH program conducted 281 ceremonies.
