Cadets adopt daily Reveille, Retreat duties

Cadets adopt daily Reveille, Retreat duties

Patti Hiegel Staff writer Sgt. 1st Class James McGuire WY ARNG Public Affairs
Posted 9/11/18

Cadets in the Wyoming Cowboy ChalleNGe program have picked up the reins on a long-standing tradition in military circles by conducting daily dReveille and Retreat at Camp Guernsey's main flagpole.

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Cadets adopt daily Reveille, Retreat duties

Cadets adopt daily Reveille, Retreat duties

Posted

On Wednesday, September 6th, the senior class of the Wyoming Cowboy ChalleNGe Academy successfully completed their final flag detail on Camp Guernsey.  A ceremony also referred to as Reveille, is performed everyday on military bases all over the world.  It requires precision, dedication and discipline, all of which the cadets displayed beautifully due to hard work, daily training and guidance from WCCA staff members and Cadre.

Since reinstating Reveille and Retreat ceremonies at Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center a few months ago, the cadets have taken on the honor of raising and lowering the flag each day.

The traditional military ceremonies are used to show respect to the flag and to the music that initiates the events. Reveille signifies the start of the duty day and is initiated with a bugle call followed by the playing of “To the Colors.”

Retreat signifies the end of the duty day and is a signal to pay respects.

It is initiated with the playing of “Retreat” followed by the national anthem.

David Husted, who retired from the Wyoming Army National Guard earlier this year, is the Information Technology Specialist at WCCA.

He has also taken the reins as the Color Guard Club coordinator, and is very proud of the cadets who have stepped up to fulfill the flag ceremony duties. He wanted their last ceremony before graduation to be memorable.

“I went to the camp staff and asked if we could use the cannon for Reveille,” Husted said. “’Sure,’ was the reply.”ˇ

With a little extra training on the morning of Sept. 6, Brendan Diede, from Aladdin, Wyoming, was selected to pull the lanyard on the ceremonial cannon, stationed at the flag pole in front of the Training Center Command headquarters. At the same time, his fellow color guard members raised the flag at 7 a.m. The last time the cannon was fired was May 2016, when Col. Richard Knowlton, the camp’s former commander, retired.

The WCCA cadets not involved in the ceremony stood in formation along with staff and members of the 84th Civil Support Team who were conducting training at the camp that week.

“They’re doing what soldiers do and they take it very seriously,” Husted said of the club’s performance. “They did a phenomenal job.”

Husted said the club will continue to fire the cannon at the last ceremony before graduation, now that the precedent has been established. The next graduating class, Class 38, will have the opportunity to start clubs following their week-long home pass, which is between week 12 and 13 of the 5 1/2 month residential phase of the program.

WCCA Deputy Director David Salazar said, “Mr. Husted has taken the best of the best and has been doing colors and Retreat for a couple of months. This culminating event really instills a lot of pride and respect for the cadets.”

“This was my first time training cadets on flag detail, and like I told them, I couldn?t be more proud. Not only did they meet my expectations, they exceeded them,” stated Husted.

The respect shown by these young cadets for this ceremony was inspiring.  It is a reminder that there are many things in history that need to be repeated.