The “Magic White Glove Effect”

It’s truly amazing. One minute you are doing your job in your department or unit and then supervision comes in and chooses you and a couple of others “to be an honor guard” for an upcoming event. You have no idea what that means, but you have complete faith in your leadership as they hand out the white gloves that will go really well with your Class A uniform.

The day comes, you arrive a few minutes early for a briefing for the event, and then it happens. You don’t know exactly what has come over you but, as you slide your hands into your gloves, all of the sudden, you know every ceremonial detail that is required of you and your “voluntold” colleagues. You are now more knowledgeable than ever before and can perform your duties flawlessly. You can now proudly say that you can stand “Sharp, Crips, and Motionless” for whatever ceremonial requirement that comes your way. Because of your white gloves you are now a Ceremonial Guardsman!

Reality. During the ceremony, you don’t have a clue as to the technicalities of what you are supposed to do, you feel, and most likely look, awkward and what you and your team are doing is probably an embarrassment to your department/unit. The list is endless as to how mistakes can be made and unforeseen problems arise.

Please get training; learn how to now make mistakes and seamlessly handle those unforeseen problems. Even a DrillMaster three-day Advanced Honor Guard Clinic will give you a good idea of the what and how of each ceremonial element. For more complete training, a DrillMaster US Certified Ceremonial Guardsman Academy in the 40- and 80-hour versions, offers certification in the three ceremonial elements (colors, pallbearers, and firing party). It is going to be the best way for you and your team to create an educational and training foundation. At least get The Honor Guard Manual, Second Edition, and read, read, read.

Or, you can rely on those awesome Magic White Gloves and their incredible ability to transform an every-day Joe into a Ceremonial Guardsman Joseph! The choice is yours.