A walk occurs between Guard changes, every half hour during the summer and one hour during the winter. During the walk, soldiers take exactly 21 paces to both ends of a black mat. The Sentinels then pause for 21 seconds facing the Tomb. The 21 seconds is symbolic of the 21-gun salute, which is the highest military honor given. New soldiers learn not only the history of the cemetery, but also the location of nearly 300 veterans' grave sites throughout the cemetery.
Soldiers also learn to keep their uniform and weapon in immaculate condition.
The soldier is then tested to earn the privilege of wearing the silver Tomb Guard identification badge after several months of duty. After soldiers are tested on their manual of arms, uniform preparation and their walk, it's time for the Badge Test. The test is 100 randomly selected questions of the 300 items memorized during training on the history of the cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknowns. The would-be badge holder must get more than 95 percent correct to succeed. Only 479 Tomb Guard Badges have been awarded since it was created in 1958.