Event Instructions for Bagpipers and Horn Players EchoTaps Worldwide 2007 Fort Snelling National Cemetery Saturday ~ May 19, 2007 PAGE 1
These instructions are for... -- All bagpipers and horn players -- Patriot Guard Riders who will be participating as musicians during the Cascade of Taps should refer to the separate Event Instructions prepared for the PGR. Patriot Guard Riders (Group B) who will be escorting the musicians during the Parade of Colors and then standing among the musicians during the Cascade of Taps should refer to the separate Event Instructions prepared for the PGR SCHEDULE 08:00 AM - Main Gate opens 08:15 - Project Director and Logistics Team arrive 09:30 to 09:55 Bagpipers and horn players arrive (Patriot Guard musicians will arrive at about 10:15) 10:05 - Minnesota Patriot Guard arrives The column of PGR motorcycles and their support vehicles may take as long as 15 minutes to clear the Main Gate of the Cemetery. City streets approaching the Main Gate and side roads within the Cemetery will be blocked as the Patriot Guard Riders make their way to their designated areas. ALL PARTICIPANTS SHOULD BE INSIDE THE CEMETERY BY 10:00 AM. 11:00 - Ceremony begins 11:45 (approximately) - Cascade of Taps begins 12:45 to 1:00 PM - Ceremony concludes when the final Bugler finishes rendering Taps PARKING Enter Cemetery through the Main Gate. Take first left turn. Take next left turn. Go past the Flagpole and turn right onto Colvill Drive. Veer right onto Petersen Street. Park on the RIGHT SIDE of the street. The Patriot Guard Riders will be parking on the left side of the street. No vehicles should be parked within 500 feet of Peck Avenue. PAGE 2
STAGING POSITIONS Musicians should assemble on the RIGHT SIDE of the street in the order you registered to participate. All musicians will receive the positioning sequence via e-mail several days before the event. Please stay as far to the right of the street as possible to allow adequate room for the Patriot Guard Riders to drive past on the other side of the street as they enter the staging area. Exact positioning will begin after PGR members have arrived and parked. PRE-CEREMONY SALUTE TO THE MINNESOTA PATRIOT GUARD (Please see Page 6 for additional information) Please be prepared to salute PGR members as they enter the staging area about 10:10 am. Once the PGR has passed, units should form in the proper sequence, using the entire width of the street, and facing Peck Avenue. POSITIONING FOR THE PARADE OF COLORS Arlington Senior High School NJROTC Cadets will position musicians and Patriot Guard Riders in two columns, facing Peck Avenue. The two columns should be positioned approximately 10 feet apart. The RIGHT-HAND column will begin with two PGR flag-bearers standing side-by-side. Bagpiper #2 will be 10 feet behind the PGR flag-bearers to allow adequate room for flags to be fully extended in the event a strong breeze is blowing. Bagpiper #2 will be followed by two PGR flag-bearers standing side-by-side, and so on. When the last available bagpiper has been positioned in the RIGHT-HAND column, the first appropriate Horn Player will be inserted. The LEFT-HAND column will begin with Bagpiper #1. Two PGR flag-bearers, standing side-by-side, will be 10 feet behind Bagpiper #1. Bagpiper #3 will be positioned 10 feet behind the two PGR flag-bearers, and so on. When the last available bagpiper has been positioned in the LEFT-HAND column, the first appropriate Horn Player will be inserted. In summary, all musicians will be separated from the next musician in their own column by a row of two PGR flag-bearers and will also have a row of two PGR flag-bearers beside them in the parallel column. PAGE 3
THE PARADE OF COLORS ASHS NJROTC Cadets will lead both columns forward when the band begins playing The National Emblem March. Maintain 10-foot clearance between each row within each column. Stay in the middle of the street when crossing Peck Avenue and entering Assembly Area 3. As you enter Assembly Area 3, ASHS NJROTC Cadets will direct the lead personnel in each column to leave the column and take positions in the street and along the curb. Both columns should be facing the middle of the street, so that the LEFT-HAND column is facing the RIGHT-HAND column. Personnel should be positioned as shown below so that every musician has two PGR flag-bearers to their side and two PGR flag-bearers directly across from them, and facing them, on the other side of the street... Personnel will be positioned beginning at Peck Avenue and continue all the way along Assembly Area 3 to Kraus Avenue. The same formation should be used on Kraus Avenue once Assembly Area 3 is full and personnel are required to make the 90-degree turn. Musicians and PGR flag-bearers must stay on the Stage Side of the island of monuments along Krause Avenue. Once in position, personnel in the LEFT-HAND column will be facing the Stage and personnel in the RIGHT-HAND column will be facing the island of monuments. PAGE 4
PLEASE NOTE... If less than 60 musicians appear, there will be extra PGR flag-bearers at the end of one or both columns. The extra flag-bearers may either remain at the end of the column or you can move around into Assembly Area 4 and form another row at the rear of the PGR flag-bearers positioned behind the Color Guards. CASCADE OF TAPS Immediately after the Fort Snelling Memorial Rifle Squad fires a three-volley rifle Salute, a NJROTC Cadet will salute Bagpiper #1. That is the cue for him/her to begin rendering Taps. Another NJROTC Cadet will be in position to salute Bagpiper #2 (on the other side of Assembly Area 3) within seconds after the previous musician has played the 24 th note of Taps. After the last bagpiper has rendered Taps, the same process will begin with the horn players. PLEASE NOTE... The audience will be invited to enter Assembly Area 3 shortly after the Cascade of Taps begins. An announcement will be made during the Project Director s remarks that audience members walking among the musicians as they render Taps should try to be as quiet as possible, however, all musicians should be prepared for some disruption as you play. In addition, musicians should be prepared to play through jet engine noise from aircraft landing and departing at the nearby Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. When the musician after you has finished playing, you and the PGR flag-bearers directly across from you are dismissed and free to do as you please. The ceremony will officially end when the last horn player has finished rendering Taps. PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY if you choose to leave the grounds while the Cascade of Taps is still underway. Please use the designated exit route shown on the map on Page 2 so that traffic bottlenecks are averted. ATTIRE PGR flag-bearers and PGR musicians are encouraged to wear the attire you normally wear for an Honor Mission. Every PGR flag-bearer should have a 3 X 5 American Flag. All other musicians are encouraged to wear your group, band, or organization's uniform. Musicians who are not members of any group, or are members of a group that does not use uniforms, should dress as if you were attending a funeral. Males should consider wearing a jacket and tie. Females should consider wearing a pantsuit. Active-duty Military personnel, including Reservists and National Guard members, are encouraged to wear your seasonal dress uniform. Honorably-discharged Veterans of America's Armed Forces are allowed by law to wear the uniform of the branch you served in, including the rank/rate insignia you had at the time of your discharge. You can wear either a dress uniform or a "work" uniform. Both are acceptable protocol. Veterans who do not wish to wear a Military uniform are encouraged to wear a baseball-style cap with the official Military seal (and/or name) of the branch you served in so that you can salute when appropriate during the event. A baseball-style cap that displays something like "Proud Vietnam Veteran", "WW II Vet", etc., is also considered to be acceptable protocol. Veterans who belong to Service Organizations, and non-veterans who belong to auxiliary units of Service Organizations, are encouraged to wear the uniform of your group, even if that means "only" a cap or a cover. Civilians who have not served in the Military, and are not members of any Military-related group, patriotic organization or other related group, should be mindful that it is inappropriate, and a violation of Federal law, to wear a Military uniform. THANK YOU!!! On behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration, Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Bugles Across America, and the Military Salute Project, THANK YOU for participating in EchoTaps Worldwide 2007. Jeff Seeber Project Director PAGE 5
PRE-CEREMONY SALUTE TO THE MINNESOTA PATRIOT GUARD EchoTaps 2007 at Fort Snelling National Cemetery represents a rare opportunity for a number of groups to come together in a ceremony other than a Military funeral. These groups include Servicemembers and Veterans from all of the Branches of America s Armed Forces; representatives of Federal and State government; First Responders who protect, serve and come to our aid here at home; and, civic and patriotic groups that support our Nation s Military, past and present. One of those groups is the Minnesota Patriot Guard. Patriot Guard Riders are all volunteers. Most ride motorcycles; many do not. Their membership includes men and women from all of the groups mentioned previously. The common bond that unites PGR members is an unwavering respect for those who risk their lives for America s freedom and security. They have earned the respect of those who wear, and have worn, the uniforms of a wide variety of organizations, Military and civilian. The following information was taken from the Minnesota Patriot Guard website at http://www.mnpatriotguard.org... The Minnesota Patriot Guard is the Minnesota-based arm of the Patriot Guard Riders national organization. The Minnesota Patriot Guard is a diverse group of riders and individuals with one thing in common: we all have tremendous respect for those who risk their lives every day, whether on American soil or abroad, in securing our nation's freedoms and liberties. We encourage those who share this respect to join us in support of all those who have served. The Patriot Guard welcomes those who do not ride motorcycles, those who are not Veterans, and those who come from different states. We only require Respect. Our primary mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. We do this to accomplish the following... Show respect and honor to our fallen heroes; support their families and their communities Ensure an atmosphere of dignity and respect for those in mourning Other missions undertaken by the Minnesota Patriot Guard include... Honor Missions for Veterans as requested by families Visits to VA Medical Centers and Minnesota State Veterans Homes Welcome Home and Deployment Send-Off Missions Special Missions requested by Veterans Organizations In order to show our gratitude to the Patriot Guard Riders for standing in support of the families of fallen Servicemembers and Veterans, we respectfully request participating groups to render a Salute as the Minnesota Patriot Guard makes its way through the Cemetery on the way to their staging areas before the ceremony begins. Members of participating groups are asked to render a Salute as the PGR column passes. Color/Honor Guard units and Musicians are asked to Salute the PGR as they arrive in the respective staging areas. Guests and the public are invited to stand in the grass along either side of Labelle Drive and Peck Avenue. Guests and the public are respectfully asked to avoid the staging areas on either side of, and parallel to, Mallon Road to avoid disrupting preparations for the Parade of Colors. The flag of the Patriot Guard Riders national organization will be carried by the Arlington Senior High School Navy JROTC in a Special Color Guard unit during the Parade of Colors. On behalf of all of the participating groups, the Project Director extends a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of the members of the Minnesota Patriot Guard for your support of the families of our fallen brothers and sisters. PAGE 6