Why You Never Mess With A Guard Of The Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier

the tomb of the unknown soldier is one of the most continuously guarded monuments in the world it's patrolled 24 hours a day 365 days a year regardless of the weather by an elite regiment of soldiers known as sentinels these sentinels are highly trained specialists in superb physical condition ready at a moment's notice to defend the honor of fallen war heroes so what makes the old guard of the tomb of the unknown soldier so feared and respected and what happens when people push the boundaries and try to mess with one of the guards let's find out the old guard is essentially ceremonial special forces and despite their seemingly mundane job they represent the very best of the best the army can offer it's so elite that less than 20 of all volunteers are accepted for training and of those only a fraction pass training to become fully fledged tomb guards in fact the tomb of the unknown soldier guard identification badge is the third least awarded badge in the entire united states army behind military horsemen id badges and astronaut badges to become a tomb guard an old guard soldier must volunteer by applying for appointment to the tomb through the sergeant of the guard to be considered for an appointment the soldier must be highly motivated and disciplined and possess a strong military bearing and soldierly appearance if appointed the soldier is assigned to the tomb for an initial two-week training period upon reporting to a relief the trainee is assigned a tomb guard trainer the trainer informs the trainee of what is expected of them including following strict rules training guidelines and the need for complete dedication and commitment to the tomb the training cycle is intense consisting of a series of five exhaustive tests over six to 12 months these tests focus on ceremonial performance uniform preparation and knowledge if the trainee completes the training cycle and passes the test they are able to flawlessly conduct seven different types of ceremonies meet the highest standards of uniform preparation and recite 35 pages of information without error if the trainee fails any test they are assigned back to their company the successful trainee is awarded the tomb guard identification badge and will be from then on referred to as a tomb guard or badge holder by their fellow sentinels demonstrating how serious a role this is considered to be the tomb guard identification badge is the only military badge that can be revoked for any action that brings disrespect to the tomb the unknown soldier on the 11th of november 1921 the remains of an unknown american soldier were returned from the battlefields of france unidentified remains weren't uncommon during world war one and without dna profiling or reliable ways to match the list of missing soldiers with the discovered corpses many bodies were simply marked as unknown for this reason the u.s government approved the construction of a memorial in the arlington national cemetery in virginia united states this would be the final resting place of the returned unknown soldier and would serve as a monument to all deceased military personnel who were either lost or the remains never identified the remains of the unknown soldier were interred beneath a three-level white marble tomb covered in a stone slab intricate carvings decorate the sides including wreaths and figures representing peace victory and valor the rear of the sarcophagus includes an inscription which reads here rests in honored glory an american soldier known but to god why you shouldn't mess with a tomb guard while the role of the sentinel is mostly ceremonial there are some things you just don't do when visiting the tomb of the unknown soldier the old guards will appear strong and silent that is until you break one of their rules cross over the barrier into the plaza and you'll probably hear this it is respect and silence is required at all times if you're being loud rude and obnoxious you'll likely get this response remain standing for this ceremony it is requested that everyone maintains a level of silence and respect it is supposed to let everyone maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times these sentinels are very similar to the queen's guard at buckingham palace however they aren't trained to remain still at all times get too close and the sentinels will gladly point their m14 rifle straight at you they aren't messing about day in the life of a tomb guard the old guard is made up of three tomb squads or reliefs numbered first through to third unlike traditional army units tomb reliefs are organized based on height so that the tomb guards are similar in size during the changing of the guard the three reliefs are on duty utilizing 24-hour rotating shifts a tomb guards day begins at 5am with arrival at the tomb quarters 1 for duty the tomb guards will inspect the quarters prepare their uniforms review orders and receive their duty assignments for the coming day at 6 30 am the tomb guards inspect the trainee's readiness and uniforms if a trainee meets relevant standards the tomb guard may allow them to walk the first morning guard change known as bolo at 7 am the evening bolo will be the final change and walk of the day during the hours of the day the arlington national cemetery is open to visitors the tomb guards will perform several changing of the guard and wreath laying ceremonies and walking the mat during summer hours the changing of the guard ceremony takes place every half hour and during winter hours every hour although all walks are important the most coveted walk for a tomb guard is the midday noon moon walk during the same time the trainees perform mirror time conduct uniform preparation study knowledge check in wreaths and alert the tomb guards of the next changing of the guard 10 minutes while guarding the tomb sentinels do not display rank insignia this is done so as not to outrank the unknown soldier whatever their rank may have been the tomb is guarded 24 hours a day and 365 days a year so after the evening bolo no ceremonial changes and walks in battle dress uniforms are performed until the next morning's bolo guarding the tomb in march 1926 the u.s decided to post a permanent guard over the tomb of the unknown soldier soldiers from the nearby fort myers members of the third cavalry regiment nicknamed the brave rifles were first assigned to guard the tomb at first they were enlisted only during daylight hours and served just to discourage visitors to climb on or disrespect the monument by 1937 guarding the tomb became a round-the-clock job and on april 6 1948 the third u.s infantry regiment known as the old guard was designated as the army's official ceremonial unit tasked with guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier old guard myths the tomb guard sentinels have a bit of an intimidating reputation and it's all thanks to some pretty fantastic urban myths that have surrounded the old guard for decades fortunately we're here to separate fact from fiction according to one urban legend sentinels live for two years in a barracks under the tomb and are not allowed to swear watch television or drink alcohol for the rest of their lives fortunately this is completely false and members of the old guard are allowed to indulge in the occasional off-duty vice and finally it was once rumored that during hurricane isabel in 2003 the tomb sentinels refused orders to abandon their post despite the inclement weather and perished in the storm while it's a cool story it's also bogus while the tomb requires 24 7 guarding contingencies are in place in case of lightning high winds or torrential conditions what do you think of the guards let us know in the comments below leave a like if you enjoyed it and don't forget to subscribe to the channel with notifications on to make sure you never miss out on future videos thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one

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Id: vdmWB4DxdMw

Length: 8min 18sec (498 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 27 2020