DOD Committee Moves Into High Gear

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DOD Committee Moves Into High Gear
December 31, 2008
Air Force Print News|by Donna Miles

WASHINGTON - Exactly three weeks before inauguration day, the buzz of activity at the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee here is a notable exception to the traditional holiday lull that settles over the nation's capital between Christmas and New Year's Day.

More than 400 Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen -- active duty, reservists and National Guardsmen -- are busy preparing for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20. Another 300 will report for duty after New Year's, bringing AFIC to full strength with about 700 servicemembers.

"We're spinning up for the full dress rehearsal Jan. 11," said Navy Lt. Mike Billips, a reservist from Atlanta serving as an AFIC spokesman. The rehearsal will kick off in the dark at about 3 a.m., when participants go through two full iterations of the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, then parade down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House.

"The curtain goes up on Jan. 20, and everything has to be locked down perfect before then," Lieutenant Billips said. "So it's a lot of rehearsal, a lot of coordination and a lot of training for the people who are coming in."

The incoming servicemembers will get intensive training for the ceremonial support they'll provide at the inauguration ceremony and 10 official inaugural balls, Lieutenant Billips said. Some will be in the midst of the fanfare, serving as honor guards, drivers, ushers or escorts for distinguished visitors, or participating in marching bands, musical units, or salute batteries. Others will work behind the scenes, helping to ensure the events go off seamlessly.


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