Maximum Respect

[DrLove42]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A6ZahQqCIAAoywX.jpg

Standing guard even as Sandy moves in.

Mucho respect

[DarkLink]

Semper Fi

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Oh wow! Props to those guys.

[Psychosplodge]

Maximum Respect

+1

[scadugenga]

Gotta love and respect our finest.

[eldargal]

I hope those coats are made of a good, waterproof felt like military coats used to be a few decades ago.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Otherwise there will be a fair amount of pneumonia to deal with...

[Wildeybeast]

That's nothing. I bumped into an old school friend a few months ago and he was telling me about having to keep a blank face whilst the Queen was effing and blinding at her disobedient Corgi's. Now that is true military stoicism.

[Psychosplodge]

Brilliant. I don't think I could manage it.

[Wildeybeast]

Neither could he. I have no idea how he managed to act as if he hadn't heard anything.

[Denzark]

I hope those coats are made of a good, waterproof felt like military coats used to be a few decades ago.

We don't actually like the smell of wet dog after parading in the rain... What we like is leather or waterproof macs which is probably what these army types have on.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

But tradition...

[Psychosplodge]

Saw it captioned earlier somewhere, apparently that memorial has had an honour guard for something like 80 years and they'd been told the president had ordered them to stand down and get out the hurricane, and they'd politly declined and remained in situ.

[DarkLink]

While that smells of a rumor designed to make Obama look bad, I absolutely believe that they'd refuse the order.

[Build]

This photo is misleading, it was actually taken back in september, but is being paraded around on the internet (pun accidental) as being present.

[Deadlift]

This photo is misleading, it was actually taken back in september, but is being paraded around on the internet (pun accidental) as being present.

Yeah I thought as much, as much as I respect the armed services, any order to stand guard over a memorial amidst a hurricane is ludicrous.

[Psychosplodge]

This photo is misleading, it was actually taken back in september, but is being paraded around on the internet (pun accidental) as being present.

Sounds about right.

[Sean_OBrien]

Saw it captioned earlier somewhere, apparently that memorial has had an honour guard for something like 80 years and they'd been told the president had ordered them to stand down and get out the hurricane, and they'd politly declined and remained in situ.


While that smells of a rumor designed to make Obama look bad, I absolutely believe that they'd refuse the order.

How you take it will sort of depend on how you view things. They did receive a Presidential order relieving them of their post for the duration of the storm - their post is by order of the President and the only one who can relieve them is the President. It isn't the first time that the order has come down, though it has always been refused. A friend was part of the Honor Guard back in the 1990s and there was a strong ice storm that blew through the DC area. I have a picture of him somewhere from when he came in after his shift on the detail and his rifle had a good 1/4" of ice build up on it.

That they remain doesn't really reflect specifically on the President. However, politics as they are - if something "bad" where to happen to one of them and the President didn't give the relief order...it would not play well in the news. It ends up being a little bit of the ceremony surrounding the memorial. The President gives the order to stand down, and the Guard respectfully declines the order.


This photo is misleading, it was actually taken back in september, but is being paraded around on the internet (pun accidental) as being present.

September 18 IIRC - though that image was just thrown into the article because of how striking it is. You can see pictures from the Sandy event on the Old Guard's photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theoldguard

Like many things though, even within a high profile group like the Sentinel's there are a lot of people who get missed over in favor of those who are in the lime light. On the 29th there were two funerals at Arlington, and they both had a Honor Guard from the 3rd ID who followed the caisson and performed the 21 gun salute as well as presenting of the Colors to the family members in the middle of the wind, mud and crud.

[eldargal]

Well, my brothers friends in the army were always complaining about the quality of coats they were issued with compared to those issued in the past, just going on what they said.

We don't actually like the smell of wet dog after parading in the rain... What we like is leather or waterproof macs which is probably what these army types have on.

[Denzark]

Fair one - our army has tended o move away from macs etc remaining on greatcoats mostly for ceremonial foul weather.

Anyway, what is all this stopping for a bit of rain? The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London has been going in one form or another since the 14th century. On only one night has it been interrupted, when the dastardly Luftwaffe managed to get a bomb into the Tower, killing one Yeoman Warder. The Chief Warder telegraphed King George apologising. The reply, which is in the Yeoman Warder's Mess, accepts their apology but hints it had better not happen again!

[Psychosplodge]

Anyway, what is all this stopping for a bit of rain? The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London has been going in one form or another since the 14th century. On only one night has it been interrupted, when the dastardly Luftwaffe managed to get a bomb into the Tower, killing one Yeoman Warder. The Chief Warder telegraphed King George apologising. The reply, which is in the Yeoman Warder's Mess, accepts their apology but hints it had better not happen again!
Seems more than reasonable.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Otherwise that's 50 years in an iso-cube.