Digital bugles tested at US vets funerals

By Gerry J. Gilmore
The US Department of Defense is studying the use of a digital bugle to render taps at veterans’ military funerals.

The digital unit won’t replace trained buglers but is an alternative to the audio tapes and compact discs that have been used at many military funerals in recent years.

It consists of a standard bugle that has a special electronic device inserted into its bell.

The department has shipped 50 of these ceremonial bugles to military units and veterans’ groups in Missouri for six months of testing, Senior Policy Adviser on Casualty and Mortuary Funeral Honors Mark Ward said.

He said the National Defense Authorisation Act authorised the playing of Taps at veterans’ military funerals – however, the entire US military has only about 500 buglers, while more than 1800 veterans pass away each day.

When the sound quality of cassettes was found to deteriorate quickly with repeated use, a higher quality compact disc recording was pressed into service in late 1999. The CDs were issued to military units, US embassies and consulates, veterans’ groups and funeral directors.

“But a recorded version of Taps, no matter how good the quality, did not give our family members the visual image of a live bugler,” he said.

This led, he said, to the development of the digital unit. The cone-shaped device looks like a trumpet mute, but it fits snugly deep in the bugle’s bell and plays a high-quality rendition of Taps.

“The device has a volume control and is powered by two nine-volt batteries. It is water-resistant and usable in all types of weather.”

– American Forces Press Service