Earlier this week a video titled “Hilarious Rifle Inspection With Sound Effect Added” went viral.
The original video was recorded during a rifle inspection at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetary.
This solemn ceremony takes place when the relief commander conducts a detailed white-glove inspection of the weapon before the retiring sentinel and relieving sentinel pass orders. Calling the ceremony “precise” is an understatement. The relief commander’s inspection appears almost mechanical, so much so that an unknown video editor decided to add robotic sound effects.
Unsurprisingly, viewers cannot agree if the video is harmless or offensive.
Air Force veteran Mike Naravas wasn’t amused. “This is At the tomb of the unknown soldier. And insulting as hell,” he wrote on Facebook. “There is nothing to joke about here. People need to show some respect.?”
Brian Porter, a retired Air Force helicopter crew chief, shared this video with a friend who served as a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown. “I just showed this to a friend who is an ex tomb guard, I’ve never seen him laugh so hard,” he said on Facebook.
Army veteran Brandon Clark doesn’t see what all the fuss is about. “As a servicemember I assure you most of us find this hilarious,” he wrote on Facebook after another viewer said the video was in poor taste.
Navy veteran John Westley saw the argument from both sides. “As a vet as well, a video online isnt really going to bother me,” he wrote. “Obviously if i was AT the tomb, different story. BUT if those sounds happened during an inspection, id lose my shit.”
What’s your opinion? Is this video funny, disrespectful, or both?
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