Army Staff Sgt. Derrick Brooks of Fayetteville, N.C., has the honor of filling in for President-Elect Barack Obama during a rehearsal for the upcoming inaugural ceremony Sunday, January 11, 2009 at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. At right, representing Michelle Obama, is Navy Yeoman 1st Class LaSean McCray of Miami, Fla. (Leo Shane III / S&S)
WASHINGTON — Army Staff Sgt. Derrick Brooks was sworn in Sunday as the 44th president of the United States.
OK, maybe he was only a stand-in for President-elect Barack Obama. And maybe Sunday’s event was only the military’s practice run for next week’s actual inauguration. And so what if his entire acceptance speech was “My fellow Americans, God bless America.”
For Brooks, it was a chance to be a small part of history.
“It was a beautiful site, looking out from the Capitol,” he told reporters after his fake oath of office was finished. “I’m just proud I got a chance to do this.”
On Sunday, members of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee ran through every song, step and salute expected from the military during next week’s presidential ceremony.
Maj. Andra Higgs, spokesman for the inaugural committee, said the goal was to make sure all of the military units involved knew all the ins and outs of what could be the most-watched inauguration in history.
Hundreds of band members, honor guard members and logistics experts from each of the services marched around the Capitol, down Pennsylvania Avenue and up to the White House. Crowds gathered along the route, cheering on the fake president and his fake family and clapping along with “Hail to the Chief.”
Higgs said the 17 military stand-ins for the day — nearly every high-level dignitary was covered, including two daughters of troops who played Obama’s young girls — were all selected from the committee staff based on their height, weight, and how busy they were in the days leading up.
Army Sgt. Bruce Cobbeldick, who got to play President George W. Bush, called the job an honor and noted that his co-workers are already worried the role will go to his head.
Army Spc. Nicholas Rupple, who was Vice President-elect Joe Biden for the morning, called the opportunity “a great honor” but admitted he didn’t know if he made a good Biden. Other than sharing the same height and build, the 24-year-old said, he didn’t know if they had anything in common.
Brooks actually got a chance to meet his counterpart — last week, Obama met with members of the committee and asked to shake hands with the man who would be playing president-elect for a day.
“He told me my ears don’t stick out as much as his,” Brooks said, laughing. “But other than that, he didn’t have a lot of advice to give me.”
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