Every day, 24 hours a day, since the 1930s, the sentries of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetary (badgeholders, as they are called) have honored their command to protect and defend that tomb. Regardless of circumstances, they have been ordered to hold their watch, and never abandon their post. Yet, on September 19, 2003, as Hurricane Isabel barraged the Nation's Capital with driving rain and nearly 100mph winds, the sentitels charged with guarding that sacred space were granted permission, for the first time in its history, to stand down to seek shelter.Yet that was not a permission they were willing to act on. NBC news reported at that time:

“They told us that. But that’s not what’s going to happen,” said Sgt. Christopher Holmes, standing vigil on overnight duty. “That’s never an option for us. It went in one ear and right out the other.” ...

With the fierce storm bearing down Thursday night, cemetery officials decided to let the guards move indoors if they felt they were in danger. Cemetery Superintendent John Metzler said he believed it was the first time they have been allowed to do so.

“We certainly didn’t want to put these guards in jeopardy unnecessarily,” Metzler said. ...

Holmes’ group was on duty for 24 hours, from 6 a.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Friday. They took turns patrolling the tomb in hourly shifts. ...

“Once you become a badgeholder, it’s like you’ll do whatever you have to do to guard the unknowns,” [Staff Sgt. Alfred] Lanier said. “For one, it’s my job. And for two, that’s just how much respect I myself have for the unknowns. That’s just something we cherish.”

Famed Christian author and speaker, Dennis Rainey, had this to add:

In 2003, Hurricane Isabel slammed into the East Coast of the United States, lashing North Carolina and Virginia, then moving northward all the way to Canada, leaving 16 dead and cutting power to six million homes. The edges of the hurricane passed through Washington, D.C., prompting the president and members of Congress to find safer quarters.

That was not the case at Arlington National Cemetery, where guards have relentlessly stood vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns every hour of every day since July 1, 1937. When the hurricane hit, the soldiers remained at their posts even though they were given permission to seek shelter.

That’s what a soldier does. He acknowledges the storm, but he doesn’t give in to it. He stands firm. As a friend told me, 'If these men can stand guard over the dead, how much more important is it that I stand guard over the living—my wife and children?'

Like these soldiers, we are called to stand and do our duty while staring down the very storms that seek to rob us of courage, taunting and tempting us to neglect our duty and abandon our posts. ...

PennLive reports:

A Pennsylvania drug rehab founder and CEO is accused of selling heroin and fentanyl to the addicts the facility was designed to heal.

Federal officials say 65-year-old David Francis was dealing those deadly drugs to clients and throughout McKees Rocks, a borough near Pittsburgh.

The Next Step Foundation that Francis operated is listed as providing recovery housing to drug addicts and alcoholics.

Instead of providing the housing, education, support and services to help them recover from addiction, as the organization's mission states, federal agents say Francis was acting as their drug dealer.

Federal authorities on Friday raided his home and the rehab facility amid charging him with intention to distribute fentanyl. His detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in federal court.

A person who bought drugs from him in May died of a fentanyl overdose, investigators said.

Federal officials began investigating in July after multiple overdoses were reported in McKees Rocks and nearby Ingram. 

Sheep played an integral role in the culture and economy of the ancient peoples of Bible lands. The were highly prized and used for everything from their skin and wool for clothing, to their meat and fat for cooking. Just as importantly, they were bred to fulfill the sacrificial requirements as prescribed by God for his people, Israel.

As such, the job of the shepherd was critical. It was his role not only to tend the sheep, but most importantly, to protect them (with his very life, if necessary).

By day, the sheep might graze openly under the shepherd’s watchful eye. By night, however, they would have to be gathered into sheepfolds (i.e., “pens”) for protection from thieves and a variety of animal predators. The shepherds would construct their enclosures by loosely stacking rocks and stones or by piling jagged limbs and sticks and topping them with layers of briers for extra protection. A doorway, or gate, a few feet in width, would be left as the only opening to the fold. Therein the shepherd would lay himself down, effectively making himself the very door or gate by which anyone or anything should either exit or enter. Any thief or predator would either have to scale the jagged, thorny rocks and sticks, or would have to try to actually step over the watchful shepherd himself.

Often times, shepherds would pool their resources and build a single, enlarged fold for their collective flocks to gather. They would then take turns watching or laying in the doorway to protect the sheep.

Come morning, explains bible-history.com, when it was time for the sheep to return to grazing, “One shepherd after another will stand up and call out: ‘Tahhoo! Tahhoo!’ or a similar call of his own choosing. The sheep lift up their heads, and after a general scramble, begin following each one his own shepherd. They are thoroughly familiar with their own shepherd's tone of voice. Strangers have often used the same call, but their attempts to get the sheep to follow them always fail.”

Click here for images of both ancient and modern sheepfolds.