I get that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a place of honor and highly regarded. In that sense I would suppose those soldiers who get to guard it would consider it a very honorable thing to do (and it is).
That said it seems like it would be a deadly dull task that is often exacerbated by bad weather. Marching endlessly, unable to go to the bathroom or scratch an itch or talk and often in uncomfortable weather…it does not seem something most people would want to do. Honorable or not.
So, are there soldiers competing for the honor or is someone “volunteered” for the job?
That makes a huge difference. Marching up and down the square for an hour may be boring but it’s only an hour and very doable without going out of your mind from boredom.
Considering what soldiers have to do to earn they right to walk those 21 steps, Yeah, I’d say they really want it. Nobody is getting “volluntold” to do this.
I know people volunteered for it back in the 80s and you had to have an impeccable record to qualify. Its not for everyone but there are people who want to do it.
Operation Deep Freeze was also strictly volunteer.
It’s only temporary for coming on and off duty though - mostly for preparing their uniforms after coming in for duty and catching a few Z’s in between the 30 or 60 minute turns. Recruits who’ve passed the initial tests to become guards, but haven’t been sufficiently trained to do so, will actually help the guards out with their uniforms before going on duty, like dressers for a Broadway show. (The uniforms are unique to that particular duty.) The guards normally live in barracks at the base, or in houses with their families, like most soldiers.
No idea. The video that was linked above did mention that their serious composure must be maintained in the barracks on-site (can’t even smile). So downtime is not especially great either as a means to unwind.
Sounds like they all take great pride given the near insane levels of perfection demanded but that is a lot to maintain non-stop. I hope they get some real downtime in there somewhere. That said they have been doing this for over 80 years and so far they seem to have it under control.
No; it’s only sought-after if people do in fact apply. And it’s only notably sought-after or much sought-after if lots of people apply. The fact that very few places are offered tells us zero about how many people apply for those places.
Regimental Sergeant Major: Today we’re going to do marching up and down the square. That is unless any of you got anything better to do? Well, anyone got anything they’d rather be doing than marching up and down the square?
You’re talking about the pretty boys. The Old Guard. The Third Infantry Regiment.
For every hour they are on display, they probably spend 3 getting ready.
Long ago when I was in the infantry, there were two units I never wanted to be assigned to: the Old Guard and the Berlin Brigade. I don’t think I was tall enough and definitely not pretty enough to be in the Old Guard. And the Berlin Brigade use to smear baby oil on their armored vehicles so they would shine brighter than those on the other side of the wall. They both spent a lot of time marching up & down looking good.
I preferred the snow/rain/swamp/jungle/sand–as did many others I served with. But to each their own.
I worked the same schedule when I was in the Navy, it was a temporary assignment to a communication outfit. Did it for about 3 months. Destroyed my marriage and made it difficult to live a normal life.