A promotion ceremony at Fort Lawton scheduled for 2 p.m. on July 10 will include the participation of Joint Base Lewis-McChord's field artillery honor unit, the Salute Battery.
Rehearsals for the ceremony will take place throughout the day. Blank rounds fired by the cannons will be heard in the Magnolia, Ballard and Discovery Park areas.
The rounds, which sound like large fireworks, pose no danger to the area.
The ceremony is being held to commemorate the promotion of Col. Jonathan G. Ives, commander of the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, to the rank of brigadier general.
According to Army tradition, general officers are entitled to cannon salutes upon arrival at an installation or during a review. They are also common during promotion ceremonies. A brigadier general receives an 11-gun salute, rendered by cannons firing blank cartridges.
Additionally, the officer being promoted is given the honor of firing the first shot, and is presented with the empty cartridge as a memento of the occasion of being promoted to general, or "flag," rank.[[In-content Ad]]
