JANUARY 9, 2025 – Joint Ceremonial Honor Guard members representing each military service are participating in the state funeral events honoring former President Jimmy Carter. The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Honor Guards have all participated in state funerals previously. However, this is the first state funeral for the newest U.S. military service – the Space Force.
Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died Dec. 29, 2024. His state funeral began Jan. 4, in Georgia, and continues in Washington, D.C., through Jan. 9. While some Honor Guard members were in Atlanta supporting the funeral events there, other members were in the nation’s capital, rehearsing for the local events.
The U.S. Space Force celebrated its fifth anniversary in December, and standing up its Honor Guard was an important part of creating its heritage. The first Guardians graduated from nine-week technical training with the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard in August 2024, and the Space Force Honor Guard currently has 43 Guardians assigned. Though the U.S. Space Force Honor Guard has some new recruits, some of the team transferred over from the Air Force, bringing years of knowledge and experience to share with the newer members.
Although the unit is new, the Guardians are as well-trained as their counterparts from other services. They’ve been involved in other high-profile events like the Super Bowl, and funerals for late First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and Senator Dianne Feinstein.
The Honor Guards from each service train together year-round, to ensure readiness and the Defense Department holds several state funeral training events each year to ensure its ready to respond at any time.
“While the state funeral seems like a quick turnaround, the reality is that all Joint Forces execute year-round training together with a validation exercise to show that our forces are ready for any state funeral that comes,” said Senior Master Sgt. Matthew Massoth, U.S. Space Force Honor Guard senior enlisted leader. “We constantly rotate people in to ensure wide-spread knowledge and practice the task during daily operations too.”
Though the Honor Guard members were preparing for the presidential inauguration scheduled for Jan. 20, they quickly pivoted to include state funeral events.
“The [U.S. Space Force Honor Guard] is about 17 months old and we are faced with two of the largest ceremonies possible, a state funeral and presidential inauguration, all within a 20-day window,” Massoth said. “This is an amazing opportunity to represent all Guardians to the American public and world as we perform two historic events.”
A snowstorm hit Washington the day before Carter’s funeral procession was scheduled to arrive in the city. However, the Honor Guard didn’t let snowy, icy weather conditions stop them. Massoth said physical fitness, nutrition, and proper rest are stressed throughout the year to ensure service members are able to perform their duties in a variety of weather conditions. They train constantly in heat and cold weather and teach members to layer clothing properly. Although most of the city was still shut down Jan. 7, the state funeral continued without missing a beat.
A state funeral is a national tribute held for current or former presidents, or other officials as directed by the president. Joint Task Force-National Capital Region, on behalf of the Department of Defense, is supporting the funeral. Members of the public were invited to pay their respects during public viewings in Atlanta and Washington, during the funeral procession or along motorcade routes.
By Amy Christopherson
Air Force News Services