The Patriot Guard will stand guard for the Fallen Hero's military
funerals, law enforcement and firefighters funerals to show honor and
respect to our country’s fallen heroes, their families, and their
communities, and to shield them from protesters. A Fallen Hero is
defined as a military KIA or Casualty of War of the current war
conflicts and law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the
line of duty. The Patriot Guard uses American Flags to create a shield
at the funeral service and a perimeter around the cemetery service. We
attend the funeral as invited guests of the family.
1. Leadership
The Patriot Guard leadership team consists of State Captain(s), Area
Ride Captains, Staging Squad Captain, Road Guard Captain, and
Chaplain.
The staging squad handles the line-up of the motorcycle flag honor
guard columns at the staging areas, and directs the flag lines at
the funeral services.
Road guards help lead the processions to the funeral sites and help
control traffic.
Volunteers drive the flag truck and haul water and snacks for the
flag line participants.
The flag truck driver transports the 10 foot poles with the 3 by 5
foot American Flags.
The Chaplain offers prayers at the staging area and on request
elsewhere during missions.
2. Mission
Planning
State Captain and/or Ride Captain will
perform the following tasks to plan the mission:
Contact the family and the military Casualty Assistance Officer.
Contact Law Enforcement Officers and funeral directors.
Maintain ongoing contact with the family, CAO, LEO, and funeral
directors.
Perform a recon mission to scout the church and cemetery before
funeral date.
Choose appropriate staging areas that provide fuel, food, and
restroom services. Obtain permission from the staging area owners
for The Patriot Guard to use the site.
Work with LEO to choose a safe procession route.
If
requested, arrange and provide escort from airport to funeral home.
Arrange for flag line participation for funeral home visitation.
Create the “ride itinerary” that is posted on the website and
emailed to members.
Plan for line-up at the funeral site no less than 1.5 hours prior to
start of the funeral service.
Arrange for flag truck to transport flags to cemetery after funeral
service starts.
3. Mission
Staging Area
All participants must arrive at the designated final staging area
prior to the mission briefing. During the briefing the procedures
will be explained.
Staging Squad will direct participants to the correct parking area.
Motorcycles – two-wheel and three-wheel – will be lined up in
columns of two.
Motorcycles with flagpoles will be placed at the front.
Motorcycles without flagpoles will be placed in the middle.
Three-wheel trikes follow the two-wheel motorcycles.
Automobiles will bring up the rear.
Each motorcycle will fly only
one 3x5 flag for safety purposes and uniformity.
Any deviations from this line-up will be handled by the Staging
Squad Captain.
4. Mission
Participants:
Please sign the flag and “In Memory Of” certificate that we give to
the Fallen Hero’s family.
Listen closely to the Mission briefing that is delivered by the Ride
Captain.
Questions will be answered at the staging area. The intent is for
everyone to know what to do and where to go so that the mission runs
smoothly.
Bear in mind that the best-made plans can fall though, so we will
remain flexible and deal with any obstacles that arise.
5. Ride
Procession to the Funeral Site
The procession to the funeral site will be led, in most cases, by
Law Enforcement.
The Patriot Guard Road Guards will follow them, and lead the Patriot
Guard flag honor guard. It is their job to read the traffic and
help the LEO keep us safe.
Motorcycle processions travel in columns of two, staggered.
Automobiles are single-file.
Road Guards will have their flashers on.
All others will have their headlights on.
Automobiles will have lights on, and the last vehicle will also have
flashers on.
This alerts the LEO and Road Guards that the last vehicle is the end
of the procession.
6. Mission
Parking
We
will line up our motorcycle color guard and all motorcycle columns
in front of funeral/memorial building, and/or line the street and
parking area.
7. Shielding the
Family at the Funeral and Graveside Service
We
will stand shoulder to shoulder holding the American Flag, forming a
shield between the funeral/memorial service and the protesters to
protect the family of the fallen soldier.
We
will turn our backs on protesters and maintain silence unless
otherwise directed. If requested, we recite patriotic slogans,
pledges, sing patriotic songs, or play patriotic music.
Under no circumstances should anyone speak to or have physical
contact with the protesters.
The flag line must maintain a solemn, reverent demeanor. No loud
talking. Turn cell phones off. No smoking. If you need to do these
things, please ask someone to relieve you so that you can take a
break away from the flag line.
After the funeral service starts, the flag truck and most of the
Patriot Guard will depart for the cemetery to create the avenue of
flags at the graveside.
A
motorcycle honor guard with flags will escort to the graveside.
8. Flags
displayed during Processions and Escorts
The
motorcycle Flag Honor Guard will be displayed in the following order as
prescribed by DoD Directive 1005.8:
American flags, State flags, Military Academies (if present), Army,
Marine, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, POW/MIA, Guard and/or Reserve (if
present), Military Divisions
Other flags, if present, must follow the military service flags. This
includes Veterans Service Organizations first, followed by any other
flags, based on birth date of the organization.
We
comply with military procedure for flag display because these are
military funerals. High-ranking military officers and military
veterans attend and expect to see the proper flag protocol observed.
9. Thunder
The only thunder heard will be the
Patriot Guard arrival and departure at the funeral or memorial site.
Engines will be turned off and will not be restarted until we leave.
If the family requests thunder at the service, we will run motors at
idle because 100-500 motors will provide plenty of thunder.