VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Two Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers and two North Carolina Army National Guard Soldiers trained on the basics of military funeral honors during a course hosted by the Virginia National Guard Funeral Honors Program Dec. 9-13 at the State Military Reservation.

The five-day Military Funeral Honors Level 1 course prepares Soldiers to conduct professional military funeral honors in accordance with service tradition.

“This course is very rewarding,” said Spc. Wercleyson Alves, a North Carolina Army National Guard Soldier assigned to the 694th Maintenance Company, 113th Special Troops Battalion, 113th Sustainment Brigade. “I’m glad they sent me here because I can learn a lot of new things and improve. It’s all about repetition and improvement.”

Alves, a native of Brazil, has been in the Army National Guard for three years. He found out about the funeral honors program from a fellow Soldier and has been a part of the program for a year.

“The challenging part is not physical, it’s mental,” he explained. “It’s keeping your composure for so long.”

“The whole course and the whole group has been great,” said Virginia National Guard Sgt. Celeste Casillas, assigned to the Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment. “I’m learning a lot of new things as far as performing full honors.”

With only four students, the class allowed members of the Virginia Guard Funeral Honors Program to participate and gain refresher training, according to Staff Sgt Jason Cain, senior instructor for the Virginia National Guard Funeral Honors Program.

It also made it easier to communicate with classmates and instructors, Casillas said.

“Staff Sgt. Cain takes the program seriously, and we can see in his eyes how he loves the program, and he makes us have a passion for it, too,” Alves said.  

Casillas has performed more than 50 services.

“This is the best part of our career because we get to go and give back to the families for what their family served,” she said. “My uncle was a first sergeant and I did his service. It was rewarding to give back to my own family for what my great uncle did.”

Begun in January 2007, the Virginia National Guard Military Funeral Honors Program includes four teams throughout the state that provide funeral details to National Guard Soldiers and active Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard veterans.

They have performed more than 26,000 funeral services throughout the commonwealth and an average of 150 services each month.

The Level 1 course is conducted quarterly with Soldier trainers from Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Virginia also annually hosts the Level 2 National Training Course and the Level 3 National Recertification Course with Army National Guard Soldiers from around the country.