United States Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard

The United States Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard is a unit of the United States Coast Guard responsible for the performance of public duties. Stationed in Alexandria, Virginia, the unit was activated in 1962.

U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard
Active1962 – Present
Country United States
Branch U.S. Coast Guard
Typehonor guard
Rolepublic duties
Part ofU.S. Coast Guard Telecommunication and Information Systems Command[1]
Garrison/HQAlexandria, Virginia, United States
Colors     Coast Guard Blue
Decorations
Coast Guard Unit Commendation
Websitehttp://www.uscg.mil/honorguard/
Commanders
Commanding OfficerLCDR Chris Kimrey[2]
ChiefSKC Danny Underwood[2]
Executive OfficerLT Kyle Maxey[2]
Operations OfficerENS Kasey Blowe[2]
Insignia
Coast Guard Honor Guard Badge

History

The U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard was activated on March 5, 1962 to support Coast Guard ceremonial missions and provide a Coast Guard presence during state occasions, such as the presidential inaugural parade and state and official arrival ceremonies. Prior to this, ad hoc units raised from the Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey performed these functions. Initially stationed in Baltimore, Maryland, the Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard was redeployed to its current station in Alexandria, Virginia in 1965.[2]

Organization
Queen Elizabeth II inspects the U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard during the state visit of the United Kingdom in 2007.

Mission

The U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard provides – along with similar units from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force – marching platoons for state and official arrival ceremonies at the White House and the Pentagon, for the quadrennial presidential inaugural parade, for annual Independence Day observances in Washington, D.C., as well as for public events (recently including New Orleans Mardi Gras and the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven, Michigan). It also provides elements for military tattoos, change of command ceremonies, ship commissioning ceremonies, and its personnel serve as pallbearers, color guards, and firing parties at the funerals of Coast Guardsmen at Arlington National Cemetery.[3][4]

According to the Coast Guard, most personnel assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard serve a two-year tour of duty with the unit and are selected directly from recruit training.[5]

Uniforms

The unit wears the Coast Guard "full dress blue" uniform augmented with the service identification badge, white belt with embossed brass buckle, white aiguillette, and white gloves.[6]

Notable members

See also
  • U.S. Coast Guard Band
  • U.S. Coast Guard Pipe Band

References
  1. "$140M to General Dynamics for US Coast Guard IT Support". Defense Industry Daily. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  2. "History of the Coast Guard Honor Guard". uscg.mil. U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  3. Ostrom, Thomas. The United States Coast Guard and National Defense: A History from World War I to the Present. McFarland. p. 227. ISBN 0786488557.
  4. "Inaugural Parade". gwu.edu. George Washington University. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  5. "Training". uscg.mil. U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  6. Uniform Regulations. U.S. Coast Guard. 2012. p. 4-2.
  7. Banks, Jeffrey (2013). Perry Ellis: An American Original. Rizzoli. p. 26. ISBN 0847840700.
  8. "A VERY PERRY BIRTHDAY: 5 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT PERRY ELLIS". perryellis.com. Perry Ellis, Inc. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  9. Carnes, John (1999). American National Biography: Dubuque-Fishbein. Oxford University Press. p. 446. ISBN 0195127862.
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