Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 New York Guard to render final honors for 10,000 veterans by end of 2013 By Eric Durr
                New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs
 HUDSON, N.Y. - The New York Military Forces Honor Guard expects to have provided funeral services for just over 10,000 families in 2013 by the time 2014 arrives at midnight Dec. 31. For the New York Army National Guard team, this is slightly less than the 10,175 funerals the New York Military Forces Honor Guard conducted in 2012, and well below the peak of 10,752 military funerals conducted in 2011. This decline is not unexpected as the World War II generation, with its millions of service members, ages and passes, said Chief Warrant Officer Ryan Comstock, the honor guard officer-in-charge. The Honor Guard anticipates performing about 265 funerals before 2013 ends, said Staff Sgt. Erwin Dominguez, the operations sergeant for the Honor Guard. As of Dec. 23, 2013, the New York Military Forces Honor Guard has provided services for 9,735 ceremonies. During 2013, the Honor Guard also performed its 100,000th funeral since it first organized in 1999, Comstock added. Since 2000, federal law has mandated that any military veteran who did not receive a dishonorable discharge from the armed forces is eligible for military honors at his or her funeral. The ceremony must include the folding and presenting of the flag of the United States to the veteran's survivors and the playing of Taps. The New York Army National Guard Honor Guard employs 35 Soldiers on a full-time basis to man the funeral details and calls upon 135 other Soldiers on an as-needed basis to help, Comstock said. They operate from eight regional offices. About a third of the Honor Guard Soldiers are women. Doing the job is incredibly rewarding, said Pvt. Shelbi Vanderbogart, a member of the 206th Military Police Company who lives in Averill Park, N.Y. "This is a great privilege," said Vanderbogart, who has provided services at more than 150 funerals since he joined the Honor Guard in May, 2013. At least two members of the armed forces must be present for the ceremony. The New York Honor Guard normally sends two Soldiers to fold the flag and play Taps, Dominguez said. The federal law requires that at least one of the service members at a veteran's funeral must be from the deceased veteran's service. Veterans who served for 20 years or more and retired from the military, those who received certain medals for heroism for their service, general officers and Soldiers who have died in combat receive more elaborate services. A veteran in this category of "full military honors" can receive a nine-member detail which provides pall bearers who can also serve as the firing party for a final three-volley salute with rifles loaded with blanks, a bugler and Soldiers to fold the flag and present it to the next of kin, according to Army regulations. More members can be added to the funeral detail, which includes a military chaplain and separate pall-bearers and firing party if available. This is normally done for the funeral of a service member killed in action. The New York Honor Guard has been performing more than 10,000 funerals annually since the federal law in 2000 mandating military funerals for veterans. New York is home to 943,000 veterans, according to the most recent Department of Veterans Affairs statistics from late 2012. Of those veterans, more than 300,000 are age 65 and older. Originally the bulk of the veterans being buried by the Honor Guard were from the World War II generation, Comstock said. Now that is starting to shift to those who served in The Korean War (1950 to 1953) and the families of more and more Vietnam Era veterans are now asking for services from the Honor Guard, he said. The busiest Honor Guard office is on Long Island, Comstock said, which handled 3,518 military funerals as of Dec. 23. The office based in Horseheads, N.Y., handled the fewest military funerals at 607 during 2013. The large population in the New York City/Long Island region and the presence of the Long Island National Cemetery and Calverton National Cemetery accounts for the larger number, Comstock said. The New York Army National Guard Military Forces Honor Guard was launched in 1999 as a state-funded effort. Since 2000, the federal government has funded the program, with some state financial support in the past. Currently, the federal government covers the cost of the Honor Guard: $2.3 million in fiscal year 2013, with $1.95 million budgeted for fiscal year 2014, which began Oct. 1. All Honor Guard members must go through a week-long training program in drill and ceremonies to qualify as Honor Guard members, Comstock said. The New York Honor Guard normally provides services at the funeral of Army veterans, historically the largest of the services, but can provide services for any veteran if the veteran's service cannot provide a detail. Funeral home directors are responsible for contacting one of the Honor Guard's local offices when a deceased veteran's family requests military funeral honors. Families are asked to provide proof of the deceased service, normally the Department of Defense Form 214, known as a DD214, which service members receive when they leave the military, or an honorable or general discharge certificate. One of the most critical moments at any military funeral is the playing of Taps, the Civil War-era bugle call which has signified a dignified end to a service member's life since then. Taps at more than 90 percent of the funerals the New York Military Forces conduct each year is played on a ceremonial or electronic bugle, Comstock said. This is a bugle with an electronic device inside which plays the tune. More than 16,000 are in use across the country, although live human buglers are used when appropriate. Prior to this innovation, Taps at most Honor Guard funerals was provided as a recording with a boom box or other music device. Military Funeral services provided by New York Military Forces Honor Guard regional Offices for 2013 as of Dec. 23: New York City-1,404
    Long Island-3,518
    Hudson Valley-764
    Capital Region -779
    Southern Tier-607
    Western New York-1,211
    Rochester Area-739
    Central New York-713
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 North Carolina Guard Welcomes New Zambian State Partnership
 By Lt. Col. Ellis Parks,
  Vermont Army Guard Soldiers Attend Brazilian Mountain School
 By Sgt. Denis Nunez,
  Idaho Air Guard Conducts Panther Shadow Exercise
 By Senior Master Sgt. Joshua Allmaras,
  More
 Idaho Air Guard Conducts Panther Shadow Exercise5/3/2024Massachusetts Guard Helps Host Crisis Leadership Seminar5/2/2024Massachusetts Air Guard Airmen Test New Air Combat Tactics5/2/2024 View more Guard News »
 Vermont Army Guard Soldiers Attend Brazilian Mountain School5/3/2024
New York Army Guard Soldiers Heading to North Africa4/30/2024
Pennsylvania National Guard Members Deploy to Africa4/19/2024 View more Overseas Operations News »
 North Carolina Guard Welcomes New Zambian State Partnership5/3/2024

Guard Leaders Stress NCOs Role in State Partnership Program5/3/2024

Enduring Partners 2024 Begins with Thai-US Airmen Exchange5/2/2024 View more State Partnership Program News »
 Back-to-school tools for military families8/11/2015DoD sends blended military retirement proposal to Congress6/16/2015First employment symposium held for National Guard spouses5/11/2015 View more Family Programs News »
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil