COLORADO SPRINGS — In any capacity, an honor guard serves an important purpose for an organization, whether in the military, law enforcement, the fire service, or even the boy scouts.
It’s no different for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office honor guard.
Deputy Heath Chaney has served on the office’s honor guard team since 2005. I recently asked him what it means to be involved with the team. He told me, “It means an awful lot to me and for me it goes back a long way. I remember growing up my dad taught me to respect and honor those that have fought for our country. Then that translated when he went into law enforcement after getting out of the Army. He taught me one way to honor those that have made the ultimate sacrifice is by joining the honor guard.
Deputy Lora Robblee is the honor guard coordinator who explained to me that being on the honor guard is voluntary. “It's an auxiliary assignment which means it's an extra assignment on top of our normal duties and the 25 members of this team come from throughout many departments in the sheriff's office.”
Both Robblee and Chaney agree on what they feel is the best part of being on the team. Deputy Robblee tells me, “We're very tight knit and we depend on each other for off duty and on duty.” Deputy Chaney says, “It’s the camaraderie we have because we do spend a lot of time together. We can laugh and joke behind the scenes but obviously, our our mission is very serious. We put everything into our missions and funerals are the most important mission we have. Anytime you have a line of duty death, It takes a toll on all of us - because we take it so seriously.”
Whether it’s a funeral, or a swearing-in ceremony for a new Sheriff anytime the honor guard is in the spotlight there is precision, pageantry and unison that takes work to get down.
Deputy Robblee says, “So much of what we do requires hours of practice and hundreds and hundreds of repetitions. A lot of that goes back to R.O.T.C. and military and marching band. Everything we do is timed so you're counting in your head and you're planning what you’re going to do ahead. For any service we rehearse for it so we know where things are going to be, what the marks are we are looking for so it can be accomplished seamlessly without commands.
The unity, precision and solemnity of each presentation helps convey all the honor guard represents.
Deputy Robblee says, “It's a deeper meaning of something higher than yourself. It's being able to be there for people during the darkest moments of their life and a lot of times that's at funeral services. When there's a line of duty death, that is one of our ultimate priorities as an honor guard team. We do what’s called an honor watch where we are there with the fallen and we deploy to that site immediately. We do that to watch over the fallen, who has made the ultimate sacrifice. They can no longer protect themselves so it's our duty to protect them. Many times for the family members it’s in the wake of a tragic, emotional, unexpected situation. So we feel the honor watch gives them a little extra comfort to know that their loved one is being guarded, honored and looked after.”
The honor watch details are 24/7 and begin when someone passes away and last until they are laid to rest.
Deputy Chaney adds of funeral missions, “It is absolutely an honor. I have had the privilege of being involved with many, many, many funerals and it's sad every time. I personally carried Micah flick, I have carried many others and I've personally folded the flags for them. It means a lot to me personally to say that I was there, and I did that for my fellow law enforcement officer and their family. It’s important that we always remember we are honoring a fallen brother or sister and honoring their family and you're giving them the respect they deserve and sending them off in the proper way. ”
If you ever observe the honor guard, don’t let the solemn faces fool you especially when it domes to line of duty deaths. It’s another reason being part of the team involves hours and hours of practice.
Deputy Robblee says, “A funeral is one of the most somber events that we can be at and you have to distract yourself. You put yourself (emotionally) in a little box and we don't think about our emotions because we have a job to do that is more important than reflecting on our emotions at the time. Many times we know, or worked with the people that have fallen so it's a very emotional thing that we have to isolate, so we can get the job done. There have been times at a viewing where we're standing guard and we have family and friends coming up that are absolutely breaking down. Those are our family and friends too and so you have to really focus outside of that. Then when you do get a break, you have to decompress and process your emotions and depend on your fellow team members to get you through it.”
In a way, being on the honor guard is a volunteer job that requires the team to always be ready. Deputy Roblee says, “We're always on call for a worst case scenario. Anytime something comes up, I get notified and I send a message out to the team and when something is needed they all are willing to step up immediately. They step away from their families, change plans, and they know what's important at that time.”
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