The Arkansas National Guard announced Friday that it had suspended one of its members from military funeral honors duty after he was identified as one of several soldiers photographed while mugging in front of an empty, flag-draped coffin.
The soldier is the first Arkansas Guardsman and third Guardsman overall to be suspended after the photograph, taken earlier this month at a national training center based at Camp Robinson inNorth Little Rock, was posted on a social-media site.
Citing an investigation and concern for his safety, the Arkansas soldier isn’t being identified, Arkansas National Guard spokesman Maj. Matt Snead said in a statement.
Two Wisconsin National Guard members also have been suspended. Both of those soldiers have been identified, and at least one of them received death threats.
The photograph originally posted on Instagram shows 14 soldiers clowning around a coffin draped in a flag. Several hug playfully. One flashes a peace sign. Another has his back turned and is pointing off in the distance.
The caption reads, “We put the FUN in funeral - your fearless honor guard from various states.”
The photograph was posted from an account belonging to Spc. Terry Harrison of the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment, based in Madison, Wis., according to the National Guard.
That account has been closed, but others have re-posted the picture and Harrison’s comments on multiple social-media sites.The National Guard said it was taking steps to protect the soldier who posted the photograph after she received death threats through social media and other means.
The second Wisconsin soldier, Sgt. Luis Jimenez, was suspended because of comments he posted on social media defending the photo. Jimenez’s comments have been taken down, but in a screen shot confirmed by Guard officials he defended the guardsman who originally posted the photo.
“She isn’t disrespecting anyone,” Jimenez wrote of Harrison. “It’s actually a selfless commitment she has made. These practice sessions are very long. It’s good to let loose a little.”
Jimenez was Harrison’s task leader, or supervisor, in her unit, according to the Wisconsin National Guard.
The Arkansas National Guard is conducting its own investigation, joining separate investigations by the Wisconsin National Guard and Army National Guard, a branch of the National Guard Bureau, based in Arlington, Va.
“As members of the military community we take this matter very seriously,” Snead said in the statement. “The soldier has been suspended from military funeral honors duty and an investigation is underway.”
The 14 soldiers pictured in the photograph came from various states to attend military funeral honors training at the Professional Education Center, which is part of the National Guard Bureau and a tenant of Camp Robinson. Guard soldiers from all over the United States undergo training at the facility.
The photograph has caused an uproar, especially among family members of fallen soldiers and members of the military, since it went viral, which the adjutant general for Arkansas, Maj. Gen. William D. Wofford, acknowledged in a statement apologizing for the photograph.
“I echo the sentiment of my fellow adjutants general with soldiers involved, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau, when I say this photograph is deplorable,” Wofford said. “I am a veteran, my father was a veteran and this is personally offensive to me.
“To all Arkansans, veterans, military members and especially our families who have lost loved ones, I extend a heartfelt apology for the pain caused by the participation of the soldier under my command in this disgraceful photograph. I have directed an investigation into his involvement, and we will take actions to ensure this never happens again.”
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 02/22/2014