Civil Air Patrol

Honor Guard

Hey y'all! I'm glad you're all back for another chapter! So, I did an HG (Honor Guard) event not long ago, and so I want to just do an introduction to HG and hopefully spark some interest in some of y'all for HG stuff. Let's go!

So what is Honor Guard? We are often called 'Ambassadors in blue'. We help with recruiting and retention, because honestly when Honor Guardsmen are in ceremonials and we are doing rifle and flag maneuvers in a professional manner, people look at that and it sparks their interest. We also post the colors at celebrations, church services, and sporting events. We help with ceremonies like funerals. We also do a lot of drug free awareness.

As an Honor Guardsman you will be held to a higher standard. In fact, the HG motto is: "Not to set the standards, but to exceed them!" As CAP Cadets, we are held to a higher standard than most of the people our age, but as an Honor Guardsman, you are held to a higher standard than regular cadets. You are expected to be more professional, hold your self with more dignity, and have a neater appearance in both uniform and grooming standards. Remember, as an Honor Guardsman you are representing the USAF and CAP, so you must represent well.

There are four elements of the HG program. There is the Ceremonial/Demonstration Element, which mostly consists of rifle drill but they also do such things as help with memorials, VIP escorts and change of command and retirement ceremonies. There is the Colors Element, which is stuff like parades and presenting/posting colors at events. There is the Funeral Element, which is pretty self explanatory, we do flag folds and presentation to next of kin, wreath laying, and standing guard at somewhere like a funeral home. Lastly, there is the Drama Element, this one is hardly ever used(unfortunately) so if you ever see or do one please let me know, but basically they write and preform skits, speeches, and videos encouraging people to avoid drugs. 

Ok, I've mentioned the Ceremonial Uniform many times, so let's briefly go over that. The Honor Guard gets to wear a special uniform that looks really good, and I mean really good. It consists of the blues pants(for females who like to wear the skirt,), the white undershirt, white ascot with the honor guard patch on it, the blue's class A jacket with the silver cord, the blue's officer cover(the wheel cover) with a chin strap and an officer cover device, and white gloves. If that was confusing there are pictures online and the regulations for the HG uniform are on page 111 of CAPR 39-1.

I want to wrap up this chapter by sharing with y'all the Honor Guard Creed:

I am a proud member of a Civil Air Patrol Honor Guard. My Standards of Conduct and high level of professionalism show the respect for and dedication to my craft and those with whom I serve. 

I have earned the right to wear the Ceremonial Uniform, which is steeped in rich tradition and history. 

I am superbly conditioned to perfect all movements in every drill or ceremony.

Neither the type of ceremony, severity of temperature, nor the size of the audience will ever dictate the level of quality of my performance. 

I am constantly driven to excel by a strong sense of dedication, patriotism, love for my fellow man, God, Country, and Civil Air Patrol.

While performing, I stand sharp and crisp; motionless by choice, for I have voluntarily chosen to represent every member, past and present, of the United States Air Force Auxiliary ~ Civil Air Patrol.

I am a Ceremonial Guardsman. 

Ok so that is just about it. I hope some of you want to do HG now. If you do HG I would love to hear stories about events that you have done. I will tell you, HG isn't always easy. We practice things over and over and over again until we get it, and then do it a few more times. In some situations you are standing at attention for long periods of time. The uniforms are thick and you might get too hot. You have to keep perfect bearing at all times. You are constantly having to adapt to the space before and during the ceremony. But, after a performance when you hear people talking about how well you all did, or you hand a folded flag to a grieving family member of the deceased, all the work you put in is suddenly worth it. In conclusion, HG is fun, hard sometimes, but fun and worth it, and I hope some of you try HG. For those of you that already do HG, keep up the good work! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and that it was helpful. If you want to do more research on the subject, CAPP 52-8 is the place to find all things HG. If you have any comments, questions, concerns, mental outbursts, animal sacrifices, addendums, or aspirations that will change the world, please comment or message me. Stay safe and soar high!