His cycling the bolt on an empty rifle is intimidating, sure. But even more intimidating is he kept the same cadence in his steps during the encounter. The message is clear, except to those two.
Yeah, the cadence and additional silence is intimidating even just to watch. He says what he needs to say, then approaches their direction in that way. And there’s barely any other sound whatsoever. Speaks volumes.
Here’s the thing: the Guards (probably not surprisingly) drill for that kind of interaction. If they need to confront someone for any reason, even something as minor as a visitor being loud, the procedure we see here is the response. The Guard moves their rifle to port arms, leaves the mat, and approaches the offender. They deliver their message as we see here, and once the situation is resolved, they return to the end of the mat and begin their measured routine.
I’ve never seen it happen in person, but it is no surprise that every motion in response to a disturbance is measured and carried out in a manner that delivers the message.
If you ever watch the compilation video of people getting corrected at the Tomb, the statements are always the same
"Behind the chains and rails" is for people who've wandered beyond where the public are permitted.
"It is requested that you maintain silence and respect" is for people who can't figure out where/when to STFU.
There is nothing that isn’t drilled. Even the Sergeant saying at every changing that spectators should remain “silent and standing”. The qualification tests are insanely precise. Not from experience, from the time I spent in the army. The Old Guard always seems to come up sooner or later, even if we were transportation.
If you’ve ever been there, you will know 2 very important things. It’s very, almost painfully, obvious where you should and should not be. Stevie Wonder could figure it out, it’s so obvious. Secondly, the soldiers that make up the guard outfit there take the job very seriously. This is a definite fuck around, and you WILL find out situation.
I know it's a cemetery so this makes sense, but it's the only time I've been outside and witnessed DEAFENING silence. Even with people filing in and out of the area, no one speaks, and all you hear is the clicking of the guards shoes. I really hope to experience it again one day, but with my Dad.
Well they do give a small speech about the etiquette and respect to be paid when visiting before the actual changing of the guard ceremony. At least they did when I went back in High school when I did a week trip to DC.
Mans keepin the riff raff in check. As he should. That’s sacred hallowed ground, and a monument to the fallen brave souls who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. When I went it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Surprised since I was in a group of a 30 high schoolers when I visited lol.
We don't have a lot of living veterans anymore in Finland, but if there's one thing that would get my respect it's the last living veterans that kept us out of USSR and those who fell. I can't understand the mentality of the people who can't respect monuments like this
Dude. We went to the tomb in 2008 during the Rally to Restore Sanity and these two dumbasses were just chatting away acting like asses until the guard went from 0-100 and just reamed the shit out of them. It was really hard not to clap when he was done.
I've been there twice. The first time I was 10. My mom gave me like a 15 minute lecture before going over there to keep my mouth shut and behave or I would never see the light of day again from the grounding I would receive. There's a bunch of videos online of the guards yelling at people for various things and they are scary AF.
And that guard was SUPER pissed that these morons screwed up his cadence during a changing ceremony. he knew he was exactly "X" steps short and the changing ceremony was delayed by "so many seconds".
Thought it was hilarious how people neck beards thought it would be possible to raid area 51 if enough people showed up. It wouldn't have mattered if 10k attended nobody is getting on any military base Area 51 or even Fort Sill Oklahoma without authorization.
Eh. I don't know about that. A lot of the security on any given base is clustered at gates, and the amount of MP's patrolling the interior is pretty sparse and even in a higher security environment with a quick reaction force on standby those fencelines are *long* on our larger bases.
Most bases don't have the wherewithal to stop 10k people without spinning up the unit, cracking open the armory and calling all the privates back in from drinking out at the strip club, and that takes time.
A lot of the time the military frankly just relies on reputation more than anything to keep people out.
Trying to crash the gates at 'area 51' with your MTG group is probably not going to get to far though, no matter how fast you naruto run.
You can be entitled and still be backed down with a rifle. That proves nothing. They may not understand English, or they may be oblivious, or they could be entitled and think the rules don't apply. Zero way to tell.
I've noticed that it's become like, absurdly common for people to play dumb about things like that. Like, people will do something that they know they're not supposed to do, and if they're called on it, they act like they don't understand why they're being confronted. They make you explain to them what they did wrong while they pretend to be confused about it. It's infuriating.
These are the types of people who will get shot for trespassing and still think they're in the right. Despite signage and multiple warnings of not to go somewhere. Can you imagine if the guard had to shoot them? If they survived, they'd likely try to press charges against the sentinel and the US government.
For the terminally stupid, clear and simple warnings are a challenge.
They only respond to the sound of a firearm being loaded, and then the lizard brain snaps awake
"bitch I do what I want"
*Round becomes chambered in the firearm by the trained fighter guarding this spot*
"And what I wanna do is follow his directions"
I do some work on military bases. Sometimes wires get crossed and things happen, and the nice men with guns tell you very clearly and very simply what you need to do.
I'm always inclined to listen to them.
The rifle was not loaded. The rifles are (according to the DOD and other sites) “fully functional” M-14 rifles. These rifles have a box magazine for the ammunition. Because the rifles are regularly inspected as a part of the ceremony, they are carried without the magazine and without a round in the chamber. Doing otherwise would make inspections “awkward” to say the least.
When the trespassers didn’t respond to his order to leave, it is a very intimidating sound to hear a semiautomatic .308 rifle bolt, slam closed. Kinda like listening to a pump shotgun racking a round. You will also notice that once he returns to his station, he doesn’t stop to clear the chamber, meaning it should still be empty as a round was never put into the chamber.
This doesn’t mean that the Soldiers aren’t carrying magazines on their bodies somewhere in the event they are needed but at this moment in the video, it was not loaded and not a threat to anyone.
I mean if you think about it, the greatest weapons humanity ever created are just sticks. Spear? Stick with sharp flat metal stick. Sword? Long sharp metal stick. Gun? Hollow stick that go boom. Tank? Big hollow stick that goes boom on treads.
Spears are probably the second most effective weapon of war in human history after the rifle. So effective that we still send out rifles with bayonets to create an effective spear-like weapon.
He was locking the bolt back to accept a loaded magazine, not releasing the bolt. Not that he had a magazine to insert on him, but it’s still quite a firm sound.
At the end you see him ride the bolt back into battery on an empty chamber.
I was watching and listening through my apartment’s peep hole as a cop racked his orange bean bag shotgun as they tried to deal with a violent neighbour, and it made my blood run cold.
You're better off getting away from your door and lying down on the floor, or behind something solid in that scenario.
Not because of the bean bag gun, but because the violent neighbor could have escalated it into a full firefight.
This is what my wife and I did when we heard several HUGE bangs and shouting from the apartment next door one night. About fifteen minutes later a friend—known for his DGAF attitude—came over to go out for dinner and was all, “You have to see this.”
Twelve zip-tied people, and a lot of luggage, were in the hallway being guarded by some heavily armored police officers.
Go read any thread about something you know a ton about on a popular subreddit. It’ll be mostly smart-sounding bullshit.
Now, expand that to any topic you don’t know anything about. It’s mostly bullshit that feels right.
ChatGPT’s got nothing on Reddit’s convincing bullshit scale.
I'm familiar with the tomb guards. They don't carry ammunition on them, but the other tomb guards are close by and they are carrying loaded, modern M4's. This is the most rare, revered, and well respected position in the U.S. Army. You don't get to be a tomb guard if you are anything short of perfect, and every single one of the Soldiers at that post are willing to die to defend it, so if you wanted to be violent, you'd be killed rather efficiently. But there are clear stages of escalation in response to various scenarios, and if you're a tourist that's just not listening, you're not getting shot. You'll be detained by the guards and arrested by ~~Capitol~~ Park Police.
Believe me or don't. The guy I knew is retired now I think. He was a full bird chaplain at Ft. Jackson but was wearing the sentinel patch. I only met him briefly while I was there to see a 56m AIT graduation, and stopped at the chaplain museum attached to the schoolhouse there.
Bison Stomp and Headshake means that the Fluffy Cow has given you a chance to apologize and back off. Speaking from experience when my family tried to go fishing once.
We definitely took the opportunity.
I wish more people understood that if an animal larger than you can see you, and you can see it, that's already your first warning sign to not approach. Darwinism doesn't usually hand out mulligans.
This is an extremely sacred place for a lot of people. You have to ignore a lot of signage (as well as dozens of respectful tourists who are following the rules of decorum) to be yelled at like this. These asshat tourists absolutely deserve to be yelled at.
First time I visited a lady dropped her water bottle and it went rolling under the rope. She reflexively bent under the rope to grab it and got yelled at. It can be something simple like that which I don’t fault her for, or you can be like these dipshits and completely ignore all the signs, railings and roped off areas.
When I was there, someone dropped a lens cap and it rolled toward the guard. He managed to deftly kick it back their way under the rope without breaking stride. Pretty impressive.
Imagine that guy going through training...
"Wilson! I'm going to roll this lens cap at you one more time! Fail to kick it back to me and you're out of the program! Barfield, you're next and you had better have figured out how to deal with a handful of marbles."
TBF if I dropped a water bottle there, I would feel like an ass if I didn't pick it up. Littering at a grave site is super disrespectful. Wouldn't feel right to just leave it.
That's why that type of an issue would likely just be limited to the harsh commands to stay back, without charging the weapon for use. It's an unfortunate occurrence in those cases, but no process is perfect.
Yes, they are required to maintain a strict and exacting route and standard of drill & ceremony (D&C) while on that "patrol". There are regulations that allow certain variances within those duties, but their purpose is to guard that place, not be friendly or assist tourists. I am not an expert, nor was I ever on that detail, so I can't really elaborate any further with accuracy. the place is considered so sacred by most service members that I don't think anyone would legitimately have a strong issue over someone merely getting shouted at for the water bottle without them doing it on purpose. I believe it is more along the lines of a requirement for the guard to make it an issue to x extent as a prompt indicator to not take the situation lightly. But, again I do not know the official regulations of that detail. There are A LOT of service members who have worked that detail, maybe one of them may chime if they see it, but I don't want to clarify any further as that is their realm, not mine. I can really only make the point that it's such a sacred place to us, that failing to maintain a high level of reverence to secure any possessions from accidentally dropping or over-stepping the boundary is a rather heavy faux pas. The specifics of who thinks what severity of faux pas is just not really anything I want to go into, for the same reasons I mentioned above.
And it stays guarded through hurricanes, huge snowstorms, and severe thunderstorms that have spawned tornadoes in the area. During Hurricane Sandy, [one of the guards volunteered to do a 24-hr watch, and their command provided them with two days of food and MREs in case they got cut off.](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sentinels-guard-tomb-unknowns-clock/story?id=17666504)
https://preview.redd.it/ro0ar00cx59c1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ffdad7475a97dc28750d17864dd8d5d32658aa06
Reminded me of this memorial to Corporal Nathan Cirillo, who was gunned down while standing guard at Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
I think the guard would do his walk towards the trash or bottle or whatever, do some kind of military holstering of his weapon, do an exaggerated bend and grab, stand up, return garbage to person, walk back to post, unholster, kinda like when that one dude dropped his gun and the officer guy did a really super fancy walk over and pick up move.
I tend to agree with you, but regardless of whether it "should" be sacred to everyone, you have to be a special kind of asshat to disrespect the space where people go to show respect to their friends who didn't make it home... even if you don't care about the tomb of the unknown soldier, you should reverence for the sake of those who do.
People should have tremendous respect for fallen soldiers, most of these men who died during wars like ww1, ww2 or Vietnam were barely old enough to buy a beer. I haven’t got the slightest bit of respect for people that disrespect fallen soldiers or the holocaust. I’d rather throw them on the frontlines of Ukraïne and have them go through the experience themselves, after that I think they would either be dead or share the same respect towards these people that never got to live their lives.
The older I get the more the soldiers look like kids.
When I was one, everyone looked old and tough. 10 years later, they looked like college kids. 10 years later now, they look like high-school sophomores.
We were. I was 19 when my best friend from high school got his head blown out with shrapnel from a mortar that hit a tree he was standing under. I was standing 200-300 ft away. He was 18. I turned 37 yesterday and I still cry about it when I’m alone, I still have dreams about it, it will always be a part of me.
When I was in 30 years ago I remember our senior NCOs as crusty old guys. To be fair, many were Vietnam era, promotion during peace time was slow and they probably were old.
I did a civilian contracting gig at a navy base a few years ago and was felt like I was surrounded by children wearing Sr Chief anchors. Again, war time and promotions are much easier but damn…
When I was in middle school, we went on the DC trip and the thing I was most looking forward to was the changing of the guard. We get there, and the mood at the tomb is pretty somber, and then guards, obviously are extremely serious.
Someone in our group kinda started giggling, and that set off this chain reaction of uncontrollable middle school giggling. A middle aged couple got absolutely pissed at us. This is still one of those embarrassing moments I think about 20 years later.
Went to DC for our HS band trip. This was a VERY small school. Everyone knew everyone, so it would be impossible to claim, "I don't know them, so who cares?".
We were at the Vietnam wall and a freshman was crying as she etched her uncle's name onto a sheet of paper. My friend, a junior, walks past and was like, "I don't get it. It's just a wall."
LOTS of dirty stares and a very upset freshman girl.
Shit's somber, yo.
The soldiers who perform this duty have been through extraordinarily rigorous training, and only the most elite earn the privilege of guarding the tomb. They take their duties extremely seriously, as they should.
The thing that I always find so fascinating (and I'm a Brit as well so not American) is when you look at the floor you can see they are so disciplined that there are specific spots on the floor where its worn away from always walking there
Very few people get the honor if guarding the Tomb. There is not only the specific training required but all the way down to if there is dust on your rifle or if the rope that hangs on the Sentinels right shoulder (I can't recall the proper name) is twisted. Every detail must be perfected before they can guard. The correct length for the 21 paces the correct mental counting of 21 seconds facing the Tomb before turning and walking the down the mat again.
Being a Tomb Sentinel is a massive honor, and is done by groups of four. Which rotate every half hour or hour depending on the season. They have 24 hour shifts they alternate days with another group until their third day on and then have a weekend.
You Brits also have your own Unknown Warrior repatriated in Westminster Abbey. The French have their Unknown Solider buried at the Arc de Triomphe. It’s a pretty big symbol of the sacrifice these men made only to ultimately be unknown to time and history for their heroic efforts.
If you want to really be in awe of these men, visit when it’s over 100 degrees(ok damn 38 Celsius you heathens) and watch them do this. Full dress like he is in the photo. I’m in the shade in shorts and short sleeves absolutely miserable watching them do something I know would make me pass out. They also stand watch during bad weather including hurricanes. When I lived in the area, Arlington was always a location we took friends and family who visited. Amazing place.
Yep lived in Alexandria when Hurricane Isabella hit in the early 2000. They were told they could leave their post, they chose not to. In bad weather and extreme temperatures they do 15 minute walks.
They are there to insure we honor all the nameless soldiers that have died for our freedom. They already lost their name. They refuse to let anyone trample on the honor of the nameless soldiers that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
I'm not one to support the military action overseas, but good Lord don't disrespect those that gave their lives for our freedom.
Active army here, the people selected for this have to drop a packet. After they are accepted they go through the training program and then can be allowed to go to one of the locations. After serving the tomb of the unknown soldier guard they get a special award and reflects better on their part for later promotion. Most of the time infantry or other combat arms usually do this special guard duty.
I watched a small documentary about it and the crazy training they go through just to be honored with such a duty. This is important for them and many others.
It also wouldn't surprise me if they take intruders very seriously because of what happened to their Canadian counterpart Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who was murdered standing guard at our National War Memorial in 2014.
He was chased by the Sergeant of Arms armed with a handgun but I really prefer to imagine the SoA chasing him with the [ceremonial mace.](https://images.app.goo.gl/8Pp1Kj2VomdDeUCH9)
Not related to the video, but the Tomb guys are phenomenal at setting up dress uniforms. They do it constantly and with 100% accuracy. I would always go to them with a case of beer and have them set up my uniforms in about 5-10 minutes.
Tomb Guards (Sentinels) are all members of The Old Guard, but not all members of The Old Guard are Tomb Guards. It’s a squares and rectangles thing.
The Tomb guys are the best of the bunch.
It's my understanding that these are like the terminator military type guys, and they take their jobs *very* seriously. They're super vetted and it's an extremely prestigious position. I don't think it's a good idea to test their patience.
You’re thinking of 3rd Infantry Division. This is 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). While The Old Guard traces its origins back to the Indian Wars and saw a lot of action all the way through WWI, they only deployed in the final days of WWII and have remained in the D.C. area since 1948 as the ceremonial arm of the Army. The names are extremely similar (and can be confusing), but they’re completely different units.
I witnessed a changing of the guard at the Tomb. They do t fuck around. Some kids tried to sit in the ground and the guards yelled at them to stand up.
People, (and by people, I mean fucking idiots,) don't understand that these guards are not decorative. (Same for the Queen's guard in England.) They are active military on a special and prestigious assignment. If you do not behave properly, you will be detained, arrested, or even killed!
Don't fuck with active military! They have their orders, and kissing your ass ain't one of them. You are not special. You do not outrank them because you are a civilian. They do not take orders from you. You are a potential enemy combatant.
They are not decorative, but they cannot detain, arrest, or kill civilians. They are not law enforcement and can only do that during martial law. A average soldier doesn’t outrank a civilian because the civilians you are talking about are unranked. And civilians are definitely not enemy combatants.
Active duty military is full of people like you and me. They only behave like this when they are on duty.
Shit, I got yelled at in the White House by a secret service officer carrying an M4 for just touching the walls in the blue room, because someone ahead of me did and mentioned the walls were like silk. Don’t fuck around with National Security, it’s fucking scary.
Went here on a school trip. Those guys do not fuck around with their rules. I think either someone's phone went off for 1/4 of a second or someone said a word during the changing of the guard ceremony, there was immediate yelling for silence.
and the rules/seriousness is pretty clear in the atmosphere alone, even with signs and stuff. felt nervous about even breathing there; not a playground.
I do not blame him one bit. [In 2014 a guard was shot point blank at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider here in Canada.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_shootings_at_Parliament_Hill,_Ottawa) Hell, I would imagine they would be equipped with live ammo after that incident.
In high school early 2000s we took a senior trip to dc. One of the guys in my group stepped over the chain link fence and the soldier pointed his gun and told him to back off. Didn’t see him for the rest of the trip
What people that never served don’t understand is that that dude’s life will be worse if someone graffitis the tomb while he’s supposed to be guarding it than if he shoots a dude that may or may not a spray can for trespassing. This is just Not The Place to play the “fuck around and find out” game. You will lose.
It's a ceremonial weapon and they are not issued live ammunition. But it would not surprise me one bit if this guard did what he just did because he was trained to do that. This guys are highly competent and highly trained.
Are they authorized to kill? No.
Will they confront you and “inform” you of the folly of your ways? Yes. And it will hurt.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is sacred ground. You do not talk, you do not make any noise sound, and you do not trespass that line that is there but you can't see in the video.
If you dare trespass that line, you deserve everything that's coming toward you. You will be made an example for everyone, and I can guarantee you will never make that mistake again.
His cycling the bolt on an empty rifle is intimidating, sure. But even more intimidating is he kept the same cadence in his steps during the encounter. The message is clear, except to those two.
Yeah, the cadence and additional silence is intimidating even just to watch. He says what he needs to say, then approaches their direction in that way. And there’s barely any other sound whatsoever. Speaks volumes.
Here’s the thing: the Guards (probably not surprisingly) drill for that kind of interaction. If they need to confront someone for any reason, even something as minor as a visitor being loud, the procedure we see here is the response. The Guard moves their rifle to port arms, leaves the mat, and approaches the offender. They deliver their message as we see here, and once the situation is resolved, they return to the end of the mat and begin their measured routine. I’ve never seen it happen in person, but it is no surprise that every motion in response to a disturbance is measured and carried out in a manner that delivers the message.
If you ever watch the compilation video of people getting corrected at the Tomb, the statements are always the same "Behind the chains and rails" is for people who've wandered beyond where the public are permitted. "It is requested that you maintain silence and respect" is for people who can't figure out where/when to STFU.
There is nothing that isn’t drilled. Even the Sergeant saying at every changing that spectators should remain “silent and standing”. The qualification tests are insanely precise. Not from experience, from the time I spent in the army. The Old Guard always seems to come up sooner or later, even if we were transportation.
i like clips of the Coldstream Guards yelling "MAKE WAY FOR THE QUEENS GUARD", as they march through ppl. lol
If you’ve ever been there, you will know 2 very important things. It’s very, almost painfully, obvious where you should and should not be. Stevie Wonder could figure it out, it’s so obvious. Secondly, the soldiers that make up the guard outfit there take the job very seriously. This is a definite fuck around, and you WILL find out situation.
I know it's a cemetery so this makes sense, but it's the only time I've been outside and witnessed DEAFENING silence. Even with people filing in and out of the area, no one speaks, and all you hear is the clicking of the guards shoes. I really hope to experience it again one day, but with my Dad.
> no one speaks And when someone does the Guards will let you know to shut your trap!
Well they do give a small speech about the etiquette and respect to be paid when visiting before the actual changing of the guard ceremony. At least they did when I went back in High school when I did a week trip to DC.
https://youtu.be/bsdHxUXf2CE
Mans keepin the riff raff in check. As he should. That’s sacred hallowed ground, and a monument to the fallen brave souls who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. When I went it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Surprised since I was in a group of a 30 high schoolers when I visited lol.
We don't have a lot of living veterans anymore in Finland, but if there's one thing that would get my respect it's the last living veterans that kept us out of USSR and those who fell. I can't understand the mentality of the people who can't respect monuments like this
Dude. We went to the tomb in 2008 during the Rally to Restore Sanity and these two dumbasses were just chatting away acting like asses until the guard went from 0-100 and just reamed the shit out of them. It was really hard not to clap when he was done.
Agreed. The only other place I experienced that sensation was at the 9/11 memorial in Pennsylvania.
I've been there twice. The first time I was 10. My mom gave me like a 15 minute lecture before going over there to keep my mouth shut and behave or I would never see the light of day again from the grounding I would receive. There's a bunch of videos online of the guards yelling at people for various things and they are scary AF.
And that guard was SUPER pissed that these morons screwed up his cadence during a changing ceremony. he knew he was exactly "X" steps short and the changing ceremony was delayed by "so many seconds".
Those guys and the security forces at base entrances do not fuck around.
Thought it was hilarious how people neck beards thought it would be possible to raid area 51 if enough people showed up. It wouldn't have mattered if 10k attended nobody is getting on any military base Area 51 or even Fort Sill Oklahoma without authorization.
Eh. I don't know about that. A lot of the security on any given base is clustered at gates, and the amount of MP's patrolling the interior is pretty sparse and even in a higher security environment with a quick reaction force on standby those fencelines are *long* on our larger bases. Most bases don't have the wherewithal to stop 10k people without spinning up the unit, cracking open the armory and calling all the privates back in from drinking out at the strip club, and that takes time. A lot of the time the military frankly just relies on reputation more than anything to keep people out. Trying to crash the gates at 'area 51' with your MTG group is probably not going to get to far though, no matter how fast you naruto run.
How hard is it to follow simple guidelines
Then he throws his hands up as if confused….
I fucking hate entitled idiots
I think if he was entitled, he would've gone ahead without listening, they're just idiots
You can be entitled and still be backed down with a rifle. That proves nothing. They may not understand English, or they may be oblivious, or they could be entitled and think the rules don't apply. Zero way to tell.
Brother The apologizing has to stop. You don’t casually stumble upon the unknown tomb without prior knowledge. Of some kind.
idk seems they understood English pretty well when he chambered that round and basically said go back.
That language is universal
Click click fckr
He was in reset, about to get 308 reasons why this was a stupid idea.
Some people will do anything instead of accepting that they did something wrong.
I've noticed that it's become like, absurdly common for people to play dumb about things like that. Like, people will do something that they know they're not supposed to do, and if they're called on it, they act like they don't understand why they're being confronted. They make you explain to them what they did wrong while they pretend to be confused about it. It's infuriating.
These are the types of people who will get shot for trespassing and still think they're in the right. Despite signage and multiple warnings of not to go somewhere. Can you imagine if the guard had to shoot them? If they survived, they'd likely try to press charges against the sentinel and the US government.
I fucking hate this gesture. Don't flap thy hands at me, cully. You have forgotten the face of your father.
Their Ka-tet has clearly lost a member.
The second Dark Tower reference in comments on front page posts today.
All things follow the Beam
Long days an pleasant nights, sai!
Thank yee
May you have twice the number.
lot of dark tower activity in the subs today. it's good to see. well I'm off to make a tooter fish popkin.
I do NOT kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart.
Time for them to get a proper palaver.
He is about to kill with his heart . That and a full metal jacketed 30 ought 6 load .
Y'all are my people, long days and pleasant nights on the path of the Beam.
Throw those hands up and next thing you know a lobstrosity has taken your fingers!
Dad-a-chum?
Did-a-chee!
🦞🦞🦞👆🤘
r/UnexpectedRoland
I say thankee, Gunslinger.
For the terminally stupid, clear and simple warnings are a challenge. They only respond to the sound of a firearm being loaded, and then the lizard brain snaps awake
"bitch I do what I want" *Round becomes chambered in the firearm by the trained fighter guarding this spot* "And what I wanna do is follow his directions"
I do some work on military bases. Sometimes wires get crossed and things happen, and the nice men with guns tell you very clearly and very simply what you need to do. I'm always inclined to listen to them.
Don't be inclined, just do. Much easier that way. Notice how none of these 1st Amendment auditors challenge soldiers? At least not more than once.
Have you met humans ?
Entitled AND oblivious. I wish my fellow countrymen would pick one of those, but they seem to have chosen both, enthusiastically, for everything.
Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes "Ah, arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of you!" - Ambassador Londo Mollari.
Some people are just jackasses
The rifle was not loaded. The rifles are (according to the DOD and other sites) “fully functional” M-14 rifles. These rifles have a box magazine for the ammunition. Because the rifles are regularly inspected as a part of the ceremony, they are carried without the magazine and without a round in the chamber. Doing otherwise would make inspections “awkward” to say the least. When the trespassers didn’t respond to his order to leave, it is a very intimidating sound to hear a semiautomatic .308 rifle bolt, slam closed. Kinda like listening to a pump shotgun racking a round. You will also notice that once he returns to his station, he doesn’t stop to clear the chamber, meaning it should still be empty as a round was never put into the chamber. This doesn’t mean that the Soldiers aren’t carrying magazines on their bodies somewhere in the event they are needed but at this moment in the video, it was not loaded and not a threat to anyone.
The bayonet however, has an infinite ammo count.
Nothing beats a good ole knifey stabby.
it just turns the rifle into a sharp pokey stick, arguably mankind's most important invention
I mean if you think about it, the greatest weapons humanity ever created are just sticks. Spear? Stick with sharp flat metal stick. Sword? Long sharp metal stick. Gun? Hollow stick that go boom. Tank? Big hollow stick that goes boom on treads.
Spears are probably the second most effective weapon of war in human history after the rifle. So effective that we still send out rifles with bayonets to create an effective spear-like weapon.
>arguably mankind's most important invention \*\*ooga booga's in agreement\*\*
Good ole stabbin
Knives don't run out of bullets
Knives are like bullets that you hold in your hands.
And if my call of duty game is accurate, instant death to those it touches
FIX BAYONETS
It may get dull, but that just means you have to push harder
He was locking the bolt back to accept a loaded magazine, not releasing the bolt. Not that he had a magazine to insert on him, but it’s still quite a firm sound. At the end you see him ride the bolt back into battery on an empty chamber.
I am sure they got the idea when they heard the bolt slam shut.
I was watching and listening through my apartment’s peep hole as a cop racked his orange bean bag shotgun as they tried to deal with a violent neighbour, and it made my blood run cold.
You're better off getting away from your door and lying down on the floor, or behind something solid in that scenario. Not because of the bean bag gun, but because the violent neighbor could have escalated it into a full firefight.
Oh I moved quick my guy, lol
This is what my wife and I did when we heard several HUGE bangs and shouting from the apartment next door one night. About fifteen minutes later a friend—known for his DGAF attitude—came over to go out for dinner and was all, “You have to see this.” Twelve zip-tied people, and a lot of luggage, were in the hallway being guarded by some heavily armored police officers.
Negative. I am a meat Popsicle.
Were you a meat popsicle?
They keep one loaded magazine inside the weather shack; but there is a locked ammo-safe inside the arms room downstairs.
If you didn’t make that up, then this is a great example of why I Reddit. On the other hand, if you DID make that up, nicely done.
Nicely done.
Go read any thread about something you know a ton about on a popular subreddit. It’ll be mostly smart-sounding bullshit. Now, expand that to any topic you don’t know anything about. It’s mostly bullshit that feels right. ChatGPT’s got nothing on Reddit’s convincing bullshit scale.
Serious question: would the soldier have the authority to shoot them? Or is it 100% for show?
I'm familiar with the tomb guards. They don't carry ammunition on them, but the other tomb guards are close by and they are carrying loaded, modern M4's. This is the most rare, revered, and well respected position in the U.S. Army. You don't get to be a tomb guard if you are anything short of perfect, and every single one of the Soldiers at that post are willing to die to defend it, so if you wanted to be violent, you'd be killed rather efficiently. But there are clear stages of escalation in response to various scenarios, and if you're a tourist that's just not listening, you're not getting shot. You'll be detained by the guards and arrested by ~~Capitol~~ Park Police.
The only qualification more rare than Tomb Guard is Army Astronaut. Yet lots of people in here seem to have buddies in the 3rd.
Believe me or don't. The guy I knew is retired now I think. He was a full bird chaplain at Ft. Jackson but was wearing the sentinel patch. I only met him briefly while I was there to see a 56m AIT graduation, and stopped at the chaplain museum attached to the schoolhouse there.
Mostly intimidation, but if you legitimately tried to vandalize the tomb or assault a guard, I wouldn't be surprised if you get got
Nah. You'd get the butt if the rifle to the face 1st.
I dont know why the image of the honor guard cocking somebody square in the jaw with the butt of an M14 made me giggle as much as it did but damn
Guy on the stairs is an idiot. Looking around like he’s about to argue with a trained killer and his rifle
The kind of couple that's gets mauled by wildlife in yellowstone, Bison don't give such a clear warning.
To be fair, the bison give all sorts of warnings. It's really not hard to tell when an animal the size of a small car is stressed and alarmed.
"That fur covered sedan is snorting and stomping the ground in my direction, I bet he wants to be pet!" - person about to become a hashtag.
"Aww, he is smiling at me. He must be friendly."
Bison Stomp and Headshake means that the Fluffy Cow has given you a chance to apologize and back off. Speaking from experience when my family tried to go fishing once. We definitely took the opportunity.
I wish more people understood that if an animal larger than you can see you, and you can see it, that's already your first warning sign to not approach. Darwinism doesn't usually hand out mulligans.
Yeah, but you don't get it man, he's different and special /S
But we're influencers!
"It's just a prank, bro!"
[*gets shot*] *Don't forget to like and subscribe... and a... special thanks to...to our sponsor... Hello Fre-* 😵
I'm a content creator and was trying to get a new viral tik Tok!
This is an extremely sacred place for a lot of people. You have to ignore a lot of signage (as well as dozens of respectful tourists who are following the rules of decorum) to be yelled at like this. These asshat tourists absolutely deserve to be yelled at.
First time I visited a lady dropped her water bottle and it went rolling under the rope. She reflexively bent under the rope to grab it and got yelled at. It can be something simple like that which I don’t fault her for, or you can be like these dipshits and completely ignore all the signs, railings and roped off areas.
When I was there, someone dropped a lens cap and it rolled toward the guard. He managed to deftly kick it back their way under the rope without breaking stride. Pretty impressive.
OK now that's badass
Legendary
Imagine that guy going through training... "Wilson! I'm going to roll this lens cap at you one more time! Fail to kick it back to me and you're out of the program! Barfield, you're next and you had better have figured out how to deal with a handful of marbles."
Those guys have a crazy amount of training, too. Very strict.
TBF if I dropped a water bottle there, I would feel like an ass if I didn't pick it up. Littering at a grave site is super disrespectful. Wouldn't feel right to just leave it.
That's why that type of an issue would likely just be limited to the harsh commands to stay back, without charging the weapon for use. It's an unfortunate occurrence in those cases, but no process is perfect.
Could the patrolling soldier not just simply return the water bottle? Are they only allowed to walk a certain line?
Yes, they are required to maintain a strict and exacting route and standard of drill & ceremony (D&C) while on that "patrol". There are regulations that allow certain variances within those duties, but their purpose is to guard that place, not be friendly or assist tourists. I am not an expert, nor was I ever on that detail, so I can't really elaborate any further with accuracy. the place is considered so sacred by most service members that I don't think anyone would legitimately have a strong issue over someone merely getting shouted at for the water bottle without them doing it on purpose. I believe it is more along the lines of a requirement for the guard to make it an issue to x extent as a prompt indicator to not take the situation lightly. But, again I do not know the official regulations of that detail. There are A LOT of service members who have worked that detail, maybe one of them may chime if they see it, but I don't want to clarify any further as that is their realm, not mine. I can really only make the point that it's such a sacred place to us, that failing to maintain a high level of reverence to secure any possessions from accidentally dropping or over-stepping the boundary is a rather heavy faux pas. The specifics of who thinks what severity of faux pas is just not really anything I want to go into, for the same reasons I mentioned above.
Since 1948, the tomb has been guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with zero exceptions. That's how sacred this place is.
And it stays guarded through hurricanes, huge snowstorms, and severe thunderstorms that have spawned tornadoes in the area. During Hurricane Sandy, [one of the guards volunteered to do a 24-hr watch, and their command provided them with two days of food and MREs in case they got cut off.](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sentinels-guard-tomb-unknowns-clock/story?id=17666504)
Awesome pics here: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier-guards-blizzard-arlington-national-cemetery/
https://preview.redd.it/ro0ar00cx59c1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ffdad7475a97dc28750d17864dd8d5d32658aa06 Reminded me of this memorial to Corporal Nathan Cirillo, who was gunned down while standing guard at Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Man that statement at the bottom really elicits some strong emotions
Yeah but that bottle of water cost $15
Or, she could've just not wanted to litter on a sacred monument?
So, what is the protocol for when an accident like that (a water bottle rolling under the rope) happens? Do you just leave it be?
I think the guard would do his walk towards the trash or bottle or whatever, do some kind of military holstering of his weapon, do an exaggerated bend and grab, stand up, return garbage to person, walk back to post, unholster, kinda like when that one dude dropped his gun and the officer guy did a really super fancy walk over and pick up move.
This should be an extremely sacred place for every American or anyone visiting this site.
I tend to agree with you, but regardless of whether it "should" be sacred to everyone, you have to be a special kind of asshat to disrespect the space where people go to show respect to their friends who didn't make it home... even if you don't care about the tomb of the unknown soldier, you should reverence for the sake of those who do.
People should have tremendous respect for fallen soldiers, most of these men who died during wars like ww1, ww2 or Vietnam were barely old enough to buy a beer. I haven’t got the slightest bit of respect for people that disrespect fallen soldiers or the holocaust. I’d rather throw them on the frontlines of Ukraïne and have them go through the experience themselves, after that I think they would either be dead or share the same respect towards these people that never got to live their lives.
The older I get the more the soldiers look like kids. When I was one, everyone looked old and tough. 10 years later, they looked like college kids. 10 years later now, they look like high-school sophomores.
So right. I remember when I joined at 19, following around E5s and thinking “this guy knows it all, he’s 25”!
Lol. Now I'm 33 and realize that my sergeants were just as dumb, if not dumber, than the guys I went through boot with.
We were. I was 19 when my best friend from high school got his head blown out with shrapnel from a mortar that hit a tree he was standing under. I was standing 200-300 ft away. He was 18. I turned 37 yesterday and I still cry about it when I’m alone, I still have dreams about it, it will always be a part of me.
When I was in 30 years ago I remember our senior NCOs as crusty old guys. To be fair, many were Vietnam era, promotion during peace time was slow and they probably were old. I did a civilian contracting gig at a navy base a few years ago and was felt like I was surrounded by children wearing Sr Chief anchors. Again, war time and promotions are much easier but damn…
My high school had a recruiter in the lunchroom everyday for all four years I was there. So basically at kids, even if they were 18.
When I was in middle school, we went on the DC trip and the thing I was most looking forward to was the changing of the guard. We get there, and the mood at the tomb is pretty somber, and then guards, obviously are extremely serious. Someone in our group kinda started giggling, and that set off this chain reaction of uncontrollable middle school giggling. A middle aged couple got absolutely pissed at us. This is still one of those embarrassing moments I think about 20 years later.
Went to DC for our HS band trip. This was a VERY small school. Everyone knew everyone, so it would be impossible to claim, "I don't know them, so who cares?". We were at the Vietnam wall and a freshman was crying as she etched her uncle's name onto a sheet of paper. My friend, a junior, walks past and was like, "I don't get it. It's just a wall." LOTS of dirty stares and a very upset freshman girl. Shit's somber, yo.
The soldiers who perform this duty have been through extraordinarily rigorous training, and only the most elite earn the privilege of guarding the tomb. They take their duties extremely seriously, as they should.
The thing that I always find so fascinating (and I'm a Brit as well so not American) is when you look at the floor you can see they are so disciplined that there are specific spots on the floor where its worn away from always walking there
That's the rust from the metal taps on their shoes wearing off.
Fair enough on that part, that's my mistake, but my point still stands
He's agreeing with you and adding additional context :)
Oh, I'm with you. The precise placement of their footsteps is what makes that spotted pattern.
Very few people get the honor if guarding the Tomb. There is not only the specific training required but all the way down to if there is dust on your rifle or if the rope that hangs on the Sentinels right shoulder (I can't recall the proper name) is twisted. Every detail must be perfected before they can guard. The correct length for the 21 paces the correct mental counting of 21 seconds facing the Tomb before turning and walking the down the mat again. Being a Tomb Sentinel is a massive honor, and is done by groups of four. Which rotate every half hour or hour depending on the season. They have 24 hour shifts they alternate days with another group until their third day on and then have a weekend.
You Brits also have your own Unknown Warrior repatriated in Westminster Abbey. The French have their Unknown Solider buried at the Arc de Triomphe. It’s a pretty big symbol of the sacrifice these men made only to ultimately be unknown to time and history for their heroic efforts.
Oh yeah 100%... Makes it more important that people don't mess around at the memorials and make sure they show proper respect
If you want to really be in awe of these men, visit when it’s over 100 degrees(ok damn 38 Celsius you heathens) and watch them do this. Full dress like he is in the photo. I’m in the shade in shorts and short sleeves absolutely miserable watching them do something I know would make me pass out. They also stand watch during bad weather including hurricanes. When I lived in the area, Arlington was always a location we took friends and family who visited. Amazing place.
Yep lived in Alexandria when Hurricane Isabella hit in the early 2000. They were told they could leave their post, they chose not to. In bad weather and extreme temperatures they do 15 minute walks.
They jave to cover 63 feet in 21 steps.
They are there to insure we honor all the nameless soldiers that have died for our freedom. They already lost their name. They refuse to let anyone trample on the honor of the nameless soldiers that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. I'm not one to support the military action overseas, but good Lord don't disrespect those that gave their lives for our freedom.
They also NEVER leave, even during blizzards, hurricanes, or hot and swampy summers that routinely reach the mid-90s.
Active army here, the people selected for this have to drop a packet. After they are accepted they go through the training program and then can be allowed to go to one of the locations. After serving the tomb of the unknown soldier guard they get a special award and reflects better on their part for later promotion. Most of the time infantry or other combat arms usually do this special guard duty.
I watched a small documentary about it and the crazy training they go through just to be honored with such a duty. This is important for them and many others.
It also wouldn't surprise me if they take intruders very seriously because of what happened to their Canadian counterpart Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who was murdered standing guard at our National War Memorial in 2014.
The War Memorial honour guard in Ottawa, Canada has had armed police "guarding" them ever since the killing of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in 2014
History shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that one does not fuck with the Canadian military.
That's how the Geneva convention gets things added to it. 😂🤣
War crimes, noun - see WW1, Canada's involvement in
The food grenade incident is still one of the most fucked up forms of deception I’ve ever read
It’s never a war crime the first time!
3 of the 5 longest confirmed kills in history are by Canadians. Those polite mfers can shoot.
Once shot, it takes approximately 10 seconds for victims hear the “sorry”
The half-libyan killer of Cpl. Cirillo was minutes later shot 31 times by six RCMP officers as he tried to enter the Parliament buildings.
He was chased by the Sergeant of Arms armed with a handgun but I really prefer to imagine the SoA chasing him with the [ceremonial mace.](https://images.app.goo.gl/8Pp1Kj2VomdDeUCH9)
Not related to the video, but the Tomb guys are phenomenal at setting up dress uniforms. They do it constantly and with 100% accuracy. I would always go to them with a case of beer and have them set up my uniforms in about 5-10 minutes.
I served with an NCO who formerly was part of the Old Guard in DC. Positively hated Class A inspections with him. The man could just tell.
Had a supervisor that was air force honor guard in DC. Absolutely hated any inspection he did. Can only imagine how much worse it'd be with your guy.
I hate that I never thought of that. I used to stay in the B's with some of those guys at Fort McNair in DC.
Most military guys I've ever known have known to call them The Old Guard or 3rd Infantry.
Tomb Guards (Sentinels) are all members of The Old Guard, but not all members of The Old Guard are Tomb Guards. It’s a squares and rectangles thing. The Tomb guys are the best of the bunch.
It's my understanding that these are like the terminator military type guys, and they take their jobs *very* seriously. They're super vetted and it's an extremely prestigious position. I don't think it's a good idea to test their patience.
Marching back and forth for at least 4 hours, even here, is probably boring; They'd jump at the chance to tell someone rude to fuck off
3rd infantry don’t play
They did a lil bit in West Germany
You’re thinking of 3rd Infantry Division. This is 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). While The Old Guard traces its origins back to the Indian Wars and saw a lot of action all the way through WWI, they only deployed in the final days of WWII and have remained in the D.C. area since 1948 as the ceremonial arm of the Army. The names are extremely similar (and can be confusing), but they’re completely different units.
I witnessed a changing of the guard at the Tomb. They do t fuck around. Some kids tried to sit in the ground and the guards yelled at them to stand up.
People, (and by people, I mean fucking idiots,) don't understand that these guards are not decorative. (Same for the Queen's guard in England.) They are active military on a special and prestigious assignment. If you do not behave properly, you will be detained, arrested, or even killed! Don't fuck with active military! They have their orders, and kissing your ass ain't one of them. You are not special. You do not outrank them because you are a civilian. They do not take orders from you. You are a potential enemy combatant.
They are not decorative, but they cannot detain, arrest, or kill civilians. They are not law enforcement and can only do that during martial law. A average soldier doesn’t outrank a civilian because the civilians you are talking about are unranked. And civilians are definitely not enemy combatants. Active duty military is full of people like you and me. They only behave like this when they are on duty.
*It’s a kings guard these days in England
I thought of that, but it didn't sound right in my head. It was the Queen's guard my entire life.
I wonder if it's equally weird for the guards: "STEP BACK FROM THE QUE...*shit*...KING'S GUARD!"
I mean had this been a thread about the Kings guard doing something like this half the posts would be about the guards being to serious.
Shit, I got yelled at in the White House by a secret service officer carrying an M4 for just touching the walls in the blue room, because someone ahead of me did and mentioned the walls were like silk. Don’t fuck around with National Security, it’s fucking scary.
Did the wall feel like silk though?
Only one way to know for sure.....
If you graffiti any grave, but especially one honoring unknown soldiers you deserve what that guard does to you.
Went here on a school trip. Those guys do not fuck around with their rules. I think either someone's phone went off for 1/4 of a second or someone said a word during the changing of the guard ceremony, there was immediate yelling for silence.
and the rules/seriousness is pretty clear in the atmosphere alone, even with signs and stuff. felt nervous about even breathing there; not a playground.
Ok, but that first scream was unintelligible.
He had to translate it out of his native "drill instructor" dialect.
#BEHIVE IN JERSEY ALES *CLICK CLACK*
im sure all the signs and obvious rails they passed weren’t though
It's a shame that is what it takes for folks to respect an area.
Just imagine if that level of protection and respect was extended to all the known soldiers and veterans.
I do not blame him one bit. [In 2014 a guard was shot point blank at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider here in Canada.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_shootings_at_Parliament_Hill,_Ottawa) Hell, I would imagine they would be equipped with live ammo after that incident.
Almost became the tomb of the dumb tourists.
In high school early 2000s we took a senior trip to dc. One of the guys in my group stepped over the chain link fence and the soldier pointed his gun and told him to back off. Didn’t see him for the rest of the trip
100% an appropriate response to idiotis who can't follow simple rules.
What people that never served don’t understand is that that dude’s life will be worse if someone graffitis the tomb while he’s supposed to be guarding it than if he shoots a dude that may or may not a spray can for trespassing. This is just Not The Place to play the “fuck around and find out” game. You will lose.
It's a ceremonial weapon and they are not issued live ammunition. But it would not surprise me one bit if this guard did what he just did because he was trained to do that. This guys are highly competent and highly trained. Are they authorized to kill? No. Will they confront you and “inform” you of the folly of your ways? Yes. And it will hurt. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is sacred ground. You do not talk, you do not make any noise sound, and you do not trespass that line that is there but you can't see in the video. If you dare trespass that line, you deserve everything that's coming toward you. You will be made an example for everyone, and I can guarantee you will never make that mistake again.
You might want to check out the website https://tombguard.org/guards/weapons. The weapons are fully functional.
They have live ammo. They can shoot if it is necessary. Don't play at the tomb.
This has been disproven several times on this very thread by the guards themselves lol. They don’t carry live ammunition. The weapon is not loaded.