The death of my uncle brought this to mind. He was a war vet and got a 3 gun salute from the VFW at his funeral. I retrieved one of the 30-06 spent cases as another way to remember him. The honor guard used a walnut and blued steel semi-auto rifle. Whether an M1 or M14, I didn't get that close to see. But now as I type this I guess the M14 is out as it was 7.62 NATO only.

But it got me to thinking. So I've kept special lookout at occasions where a military honor guard is front and center. Things like the Memorial and Independence Day parades. The start of NASCAR races and major league baseball games. WV senator Byrd's interment at Arlington National Cemetary.

And the one thing missing in any of them was the M16 rifle. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen one used in any ceremonial occasion such as the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. Why?

It, or one of its many iterations, has been the US's battle rifle since 1964. Surely there must be derelicts around in all those intervening years to turn into non-firing parade display weapons.

What is it about the ubiquitous black rifle that makes it unsuitable or undesirable for ceremonial use?

Does its very menacing looks scare off women and young children?

Does its 5.56mm ammo not give off a loud enough report?

I'm stumped at any plausible answer.

I'd welcome your thoughts.

If you picked up spent 30-06 cases from a semi-auto, then the local VFW must have been using M1 Garands.

I've seen M-16 (or variants) used at funerals as my soldier-son was posted at Arlington for a couple years after being WIA in Iraq.

My readers digest take on it would be Vets being honored by VFW committees would most likely be equipped with M-1 Garands, whereas ceremonies for KIA active duty troops being honored by active duty personnel would encounter M-16 type firearms. They certainly make a 'bang' therefore they work fine at a funeral.

The M-16 type firearms have been around for ~50 years and are now rather common in local police vehicles. They are listed on sale in most weekend newspaper sporting good store flyers. I don't think that many people are shocked by them.

It all depends on who is providing the Honor Guard. There have been so many calls for military funerals in the last few years that non-military organizations like the VFW have been asked to fill in. They use whatever ceremonial weapons they have. We owe them our thanks.

Military Funeral Honors Homepage - OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defence)

How about the fact that you need a BFA (Blank Firing Attachment) on the end of the rifle which
looks butt ugly - as well as normally being painted Red or Yellow (at least here in Aust).

Just my HO.

.

There are BFAs made for the M16/M4 that replace the flash suppresor. They are the same color as the barrel and have a single small hole drilled through them.

However, both the M14 and M16 are usually cycled between shots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la2gKLUbD4g

I notice, the other side, still seems to predominantly use the SKS, for ceremonial occasions. Better handling qualities?
Grizz

IMO it comes down to visuals: Formal occasions demand the wearing of dress uniform rather than combats & wood/blued rifles have a similarly more "ceremonial" look.
Here in the UK the L85 A2 is carried & its "modernistic" appearance clashes with historical uniforms to my mind.

I used to go to a lot of military funerals. All we used were m16's. The only time I've seen garands was when the VFW or Americal Legion does the honors. M16's don't shoot blanks reliably.

A lot of Garands have been made avialable to Honor Guard groups over the years.

Over the years my PD used 38 S&W's, Remington 870's and Garands for Honor Guards.

I have been on Honor Guards, using all 3, for friends that have been killed in the Line of Duty...

AR's will work with Blanks IF you get Blank Firing Adapters [BFA's, I have shot hundreds of blanks in training as a bad guy with a BFA with no malfunctions], or you can do the Hollywood "thing" and restrict the barrel with the proper "orifice" placed between the flash hider and the barrel.

Maybe I am "Old School" but I think an Honor Guard with Garands IS the most classy of all.

onefunzr2

We would always pick up what ever spent "brass" from what ever firearm we used for the 21 Gun Salute, and make sure that ever member of the family could have some if they so desired.

That was most often my Duty....

The British use the SA80 for cerimonial drill and to be honest it looks a bit crap.

Most ceremonial or No1 Uniforms have a strong histrical styling to them ie the scarlet tunics of the Guards outside Buckingham Place..

Personally I would prefer to see the drill done with "blued wood and walnut" but the argument goes that these are modern soldiers and are guards to the Queen, so they should use the current issue weapon of the day..

Yesterday some 280 odd British and Australian soldiers KIA in the Great War were finally laid to rest in France. Both British and Australian soldiers were in the firing party. The Brits used the SA80, and the Aussies used their SLR variant. I must say that, shoulder to shoulder, the long Aussie rifle looked more fitting for the occaision.

I have done several military funerals over my career in the Army. If the funeral detail is compsed of active or reserve unti soldiers they will use the M16 - even seen the M4 used a few times because that is what the unit had. A lot of time it is not possible to have soldiers perform the ceremony - even though every base has a funeral detail standing by at all times. Most of the times that they are not available is due to a conflict where they are already scheduled for a funeral. In those instances they local VFW usually performs the funeral detail. Most of the time they have Garands but on more than one occasion they had 1903's or 1917's.

M1Tanker speaks the truth. Units that I was in during the Cold War and through the present wars used what was in their arms rooms to conduct funeral details, from M16A1 to the A2 and yes, sometimes M4's. I have seen VFW and Legion use M1 Garands and M14s. What was a change was when I was on recruiting duty and set to perform honor guard missions; we had no weapons (besides our telephones), so I had to go down to Camp Joe T. Robinson and sign out M1903A3's from the ARNG there. Chrome plated metal and all.

Years ago our AG attended a military funeral and was not impressed with the report from the "black rifle". He immediately ordered the use of M-14 rifles at all funerals. I think this may have changed but the M-16/M-4 don't make a lot of sound.

Nothing quite looks like a Garand, with high gloss walnut stocks and polished brass trigger guards ect.

The honor guard from our base here in ID uses M16's with blanks! Local VFW when they stand in use M1 Garrands!

I always thought the Manual of Arms was easier with a longer, thin, mostly in-line rifle like a Garand or M-14, as opposed to the M16 with grips & carrying handles and other things sticking out at odd angles!

Plus I'm an old fart and to me the old guns just LOOK better (but I USMC'ed with the M16, go figure)!

if you want to see M1 Garands in a ceremony watch this video
http://sorisomail.com/email/16...culo-imperdivel.html