WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Staff Sgt . Cody Reeves has survived harrowing conditions and stared down enemies on the battlefield during two tours in the military hotspots of Iraq . Staff . Sgt . Cody Reeves works out with his fellow Old Guard soldiers . Now he is stationed near Dover Air Force Base in Delaware , trained to carry the remains of fellow soldiers who perished in that same conflict . Before , '' it was all about catching the bad guy , '' Reeves said . `` When you come here , it 's all about honoring your brothers who are fallen for catching the bad guys , for their service . '' Reeves serves in the Army 's Old Guard , a tight-knit group of soldiers of similar height and size who physically bear the weight of the Army 's fallen veterans . The Old Guard conducts a 15-minute ceremony called a dignified transfer . A recent decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates gives families the choice to allow media to film the solemn event . It 's the first time in 20 years the ceremony has been open to the press . Watch members of the Old Guard in action » . Every detail of the transfer is precise . When an American soldier dies overseas , the Old Guard is called into action . They travel from their base to Dover , where they meet the aircraft carrying the soldier 's body . The six men receive the flag-draped casket , which can weigh 500 pounds , and carry the soldier 's body to a waiting vehicle . Women serve as officers in charge on the Army transfer teams , but do not carry the caskets . For Air Force transfers , which use eight people , women help carry the coffin . Despite the cold or the heat , the late hour when the planes often arrive and the physical and emotional strain of their job , the soldiers keep their faces blank . `` There 's definitely times where your mind goes off , even in the ceremony , '' said Spc . Wilbert Steinborn , another member of the Old Guard . `` You say , 'This guy might have a wife or kids or mother or father who 's never going to see him again . ' `` You ca n't let it show . Inside you might feel it , and definitely a human 's going to feel that -- they 're going to feel that emotion . But you ca n't show that on the outside , '' Steinborn said . The men stifle sneezes , learn to yawn through their noses and betray no sign of the burden they carry . And -- what they say makes keeping their composure even more important -- the team performs its duties in front of the soldiers ' families . `` We 're soldiers too . We 're infantrymen . We could easily be in their place , '' Steinborn said . `` It 's hard because you honestly think you see your wife or your girlfriend sitting where the next-of-kin is . You can imagine yourself being there ... . So I think that 's why we try to be as precise and exact , and look as good , and make them look as good as possible . '' Some of the Old Guard choose to learn about the lives of the soldiers they 've carried . Reeves asks for information about the fallen after having participated in the ceremonies , but never before he greets the soldier 's body . `` It 's 'take care of business ' and then afterwards I like to know a little bit about the soldier , '' he said . `` That way you can keep emotions at bay and you 're just focused on doing the soldier part . '' Strikingly , the men , who head to their barracks ' gym for intense weight training twice a day and take five-mile runs as a team , seem to be able to communicate without speaking . After drilling for countless hours on the base 's grounds , they can feel if another man is even minutely out of step in the ceremony . Sometimes they 'll whisper corrections so discreetly no onlooker would ever notice . The nature of their job means the men also share a tighter , unspoken bond . `` When I was walking through the aircraft and saw the transfer case with the American flag draped over it , it was -- it was very emotional , '' Steinborn said . `` I do n't know if it sadness or pride or what , but -- it was honestly the most difficult and touching thing that I have ever done . ''
` ` It 's all about honoring your brothers who are fallen , '' Reeves says . Army 's Old Guard transfers families of soldiers who died in combat . The Guard performs duties in support of the soldiers ' families . The nature of their job means the men have a tight , unspoken bond .