The Tomb Guards

Soldiering, just like athletics, involve lots of sacrifice plus many more. The risk of injury and death is more real and pronounced. But some opt to be part of a very select group who endure more training just be a cut above the rest.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was established in 1921 thru an act of the US Congress to dedicate a place where the unnamed brave men and women who died in battle from World War 1 up to the Korean War are interred and commemorated. Since the 1930s, the Tomb is guarded 24/7, by a select group of soldiers that passed thru a complex selection process.

The US military requires an applicant to be standing between 5’10” to 6’2” with the waistline to be no wider than 30 inches. They are handpicked with the majority of them failing during two-week training. The qualified applicant then goes to an intense training cycle covering six to twelve months, focusing on outside performance, uniform preparation and knowledge on the history of the Tomb and the Arlington National Cemetery.

Uniform standards of the Tomb Guards are different from the regular army and are of the highest and strictest in nature.

The tests are progressive with the trainee expected

As the underdog, Cone said he would just stick to his scheme of things.

"I don't play off revenge. Me personally, I don't talk about they beat us and we have to beat them back, we have a reason to beat them. For us, it's just going out and make sure we play our game," said Cone. "In fact, if you do that, sometimes you're gonna try too hard, extend yourself too much and get yourself out of what you do well."

Cone said they would to improve every time tests are given. If they fail, they are sent back to their mother units. Upon passing, they are given the Tomb Guard Identification Badge and will be officially referred to as a Tomb Guard. The average tour of duty is one year and they either live in a barracks in Fort Myer, adjacent to the cemetery or off-base. For their 24hour shifts, they have living quarters under the steps of the Memorial Amphi-theater.

Only four females were given the Tomb Guard Identification Badge since 1996. They must meet the same requirements needed as their male counterparts, the only difference is their minimum height requirement which is 5’8”.

The Sentinels work per Relief team, also called Tomb Squads, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Reliefs on rotations and are organized according to their heights so that during changing of the guards, they would be similar in size. Each relief team has a rotation during the 24-hour work day which is dependent on the number of soldiers proficient enough to guard the tomb.

The standard is an 8-man team composed of a commander and an assistant commander, 4 qualified Sentinels and 2 Sentinels-in-training. Usually, a Sentinel goes on guard duty for one tour then have a 2-hour break in between before doing another tour. Guards are changed every thirty minutes during summer and every hour in winter. When the cemetery is closed to the public, guards are changed very two hours.

Twenty-one steps are made by the Sentinel as he walks across the Tomb which is alluded to the 21-gun military salute, the highest honor given to any military of dignitary. He carries his rifle on his shoulder away from the tomb. He try to focus hard as they're facing a foe that he labeled "a monster."

"You can refer that to San Miguel Beer or you can refer that to June Mar (Fajardo). We know how good they are. Motivated or unmotivated, it doesn't really matter, they are still great. We're gonna have a hard time," said Cone.

Winner twice over versus San Miguel in the Governors Cup playoffs, Cone said the Philippine Cup is a different arena.

"We knocked them out as we had Justin (Brownlee). We don't have Justin now. We're a different team without Justin and they're a different team in all-Filipino. They're better in all-Filipino than with imports. There's the difference," said Cone.

Curiously, the Kings topped the Beermen, 100-96, in their elims duel last Jan. 28.

Ginebra then drew a big game from an Aguilar not named Japeth. stops at the 21st step then faces the Tomb for 21 seconds, turns then changes his weapon to his outside shoulder, counts 21 seconds then walks off for another 21 steps across the Tomb. He faces the Tomb for 21 seconds at each end of the walk, repeating the sequence until he is relieved during the Changing of the Guard.

The Sentinels have moistened gloves to have a better grip on their rifle, which is a fully functional M14 rifle. I sincerely feel that they carry a loaded rifle, considering recent events.

The shoes are standard issue military dress shoes polished to a mirror-like shine. To allow smooth movements, the soles have a steel tip on the toe and a ushaped steel plate on the heel. A piece of steel is attached on the inside of the face of the heel on each shoe. Called a “clicker”, it allows the guard to click his heels at certain movements.

In reverence to the Unknowns, sometimes no voice commands are given, thus the guards move on “silent mode” and their heel clicks, in relation to specific counts, determines the command, specially during the guard change.

Weather conditions never bother the Sentinels that every minute of the day since 1937, there’s always a guard on duty. There are contingencies to be followed in cases of extreme weather conditions where the safety and lives of the Sentinels will be at risk.

Guarding the unknowns. Neither rain, nor snow, nor gloom of night can dampen the dedication of a Sentinel. Perhaps, their biggest challenge are overeager tourists who force themselves at the off limits area just to have a selfie with the Sentinel on duty.