Introducing the Updated Training Framework
For years, I have provided guidance, manuals, and critiques to help Honor Guard programs improve their performance. Departments across the country—and internationally—have used these resources to build teams, correct procedures, and elevate their ceremonial standards.
However, one consistent issue has remained:
Most programs do not struggle because they lack information.
They struggle because they lack structure.
Over the past several months, I have taken everything I have developed—training methodology, evaluation systems, instructional materials—and organized it into a complete, integrated framework.
That framework is now available.
The Problem: Information Without Structure
I routinely receive emails from departments asking:
- “Where do we start?”
- “What should we be training?”
- “How often should we train?”
- “How do we know if we’re doing it right?”
These are not simple questions—and they cannot be answered with a single document.
Many teams attempt to:
- piece together procedures from different manuals
- rely on prior experience that may not apply
- train inconsistently or infrequently
- operate without a measurable standard
The result is predictable:
- inconsistent performance
- conflicting methods
- gradual degradation of standards
The Solution: A Complete Training System
The updated framework solves this problem by organizing Honor Guard development into three connected components:
How to use the DrillMaster Honor Guard Training System: This is a guide for the beginner and will also help those with more experience.
1. Master Task List (MTL)
Defines what must be trained. The Honor Guard Master Task Listing and Master Training Plan
This is the foundation.
Every task required for ceremonial performance is identified and standardized.
2. Master Training Plan (MTP)
Defines how and when to train. Honor Guard Ceremonial Element Performance Critique
This provides a repeatable structure for:
- initial training
- weekly, monthly, and quarterly sustainment
- balanced development across all ceremonial elements
3. Performance Evaluation System
Defines how performance is measured. Honor Guard Ceremonial Element Performance Critique
The 12-point evaluation system provides:
- objective scoring
- clear performance levels
- identification of strengths and deficiencies
These documents are always available under the Honor Guard tab at the Resources page.
Bridging the Gap: Making the System Usable
One of the most important additions to this update is not just the documents themselves—it is the ability to use them effectively.
To address this, I have added:
- A Quick Start Guide for new programs
- A Training Execution Checklist for instructors
- A Trainer Responsibilities framework
- A Common Training Failures guide
These documents remove confusion and provide a clear path from:
- “We need a team”
to - “We have a functioning Honor Guard program”
What This Means for Your Program
This system allows departments to:
- build a program from the ground up
- train personnel consistently
- maintain standards over time
- evaluate performance objectively
It also provides something most programs lack:
continuity
Even as personnel rotate in and out, the system remains.
What This System Does Not Do
This framework provides structure—but it does not replace:
- professional instruction
- experienced correction
- hands-on training
Documents can guide a program.
They cannot see errors, correct movement, or enforce standards.
That is where formal training becomes critical.
Moving Forward
If you are currently:
- building an Honor Guard
- restructuring an existing team
- struggling with consistency or standards
this system will give you the structure you need.
If you are ready to move beyond structure and into professional-level execution, then formal training and certification programs are available.
Final Thought
Honor Guard performance is not improved by chance.
It is built through:
- structure
- repetition
- discipline
This system provides the structure.
What you do with it determines the outcome.
Comments 5
We are an American Legion Honor Guard team that will be competing at the National convention in August. Many of us retired or separated from military service 15+ yrs ago. We would appreciate your assistance
Also, is it appropriate to post the POW/MIA flag when we post the National & American Legion flags?
Author
Hello Sir/Ma’am,
Thank you for your question, and best wishes to your team at the National Convention.
I watched one of the recent National Convention competitions and provided a brief critique of each team here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL57WAvTLLA
Since American Legion drill and ceremonies is intended to be based on Army standards (TC 3-21.5), I recommend carefully studying the colors section of the manual and understanding where adaptation is appropriate. One example is the competition layout itself. The course is a large squared “U”, with the team beginning at one end and posting at the opposite end. While it works for judging purposes, it is not representative of a typical colors presentation in the field.
Regarding your question, TC 3-21.5 provides the doctrine for military color guards. The color guard is designed to present official national, state, territorial, and organizational colors. While the POW/MIA flag is an important government-recognized commemorative flag, it is not one of the colors authorized for a military-style color guard.
One important distinction is that American Legion color guards are civilian teams, not military units. Only Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve units conduct military color guards. Veteran organizations may adopt military standards, but doing so means adopting those standards consistently. In practical terms, that means:
1. Use light ash wood guidon staffs with silver hardware and the flat silver Army spearhead (“spade”) finial.
2. Use either the 8-foot or 9-foot 6-inch guidon staff. Both military color sizes are authorized on the longer staff.
3. Do not use the spread eagle or historical spearhead finials.
4. Civilian-sized flags (4’×6′ or 3’×5′) are perfectly acceptable since military colors (4’4″×5’6″ and 3’×4′) are considerably more expensive.
5. All flags carried should have fringe.
6. Carry only the National Color and the American Legion organizational color.
7. Service colors should not be carried because those colors belong to the military services and are carried by military organizations.
8. The POW/MIA flag should not be included in the color guard.
9. Historical impression teams (for example, World War I) are an exception, provided every aspect of the presentation—including uniforms, equipment, flags, and weapons—is historically accurate.
Based on those standards, I recommend posting only the National Color and the American Legion organizational color.
If you have any additional questions as you prepare for the competition, I’d be glad to help.
DrillMaster
Our Honor Guard has been in existence for over forty years. Those of us who have been part of the civilian component of the Honor Guard were trained by the Army in firing of the volleys and assisting in folding of the flag. We are now being told by some of our members that this is explicitly prohibited by Federal law. We want to be correct when we perform honors, but it would be extremely helpful to allow civilians such as the auxiliary and/or SALS to fill in. If you have anything in writing or downloadable, it would be greatly appreciated.
Author
Hello Ma’am,
Thank you for the question. The statement that civilians are “explicitly prohibited by Federal law” from assisting with military funeral honors is not correct. If it was, then whoever is saying this would be able to point to the law, but whoever it is cannot.
Federal law requires that, at a minimum, a military funeral honors detail for an eligible veteran consist of at least two members of the Armed Forces, with at least one member representing the veteran’s branch of service. That requirement may not be replaced by civilians.
However, the same law also allows the remainder of the detail to consist of members of the Armed Forces, including retirees, members of veterans organizations, or members of other approved organizations. This is the basis for Veterans Service Organizations and Authorized Provider Partnership Program (AP3, of which I was a member for my three years at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany) participants assisting with funeral honors.
That means civilian members, Auxiliary members, SAL members, and similar approved or properly trained participants may augment (the key word here) the military detail. They may assist as part of the firing party, serve as pallbearers, participate in color guard or escort duties, and assist with other appropriate honors when coordinated with the responsible military honors office and performed according to the standards and procedures of the service involved.
The key point is this: civilians may augment, but they do not replace the required military funeral honors detail. The minimum statutory requirement remains two uniformed military members, including one from the veteran’s branch of service who presents the folded flag.
For documentation, see 10 U.S.C. §1491, the Military OneSource Military Funeral Honors FAQ download, the VA National Cemetery Administration Military Funeral Honors page, and DoD Instruction 1300.15 regarding the Authorized Provider Partnership Program.
Ma’am, what you and your team are doing, minus those who made up the forbiddance, is a valuable service for our men and women in uniform. I appreciate your efforts very much, as do many, many others.
DrillMaster
This is a great resource. I have started 2 Police Department Honor Guards and utilized the USAF Base Honor Guard as the basis for both of them. I am currently working on the professionalizationof the Texas State Guard’s Honor Guard Program. There was never really a program just a bunch of units doing what they thought was right…and they weren’t.
My goal is to train and certify SMEs that will go out and train teams for certification in both Funeral Honors and Colors, based on the federal standards for both.
I have followed you for years and believe that your posts have assisted me in the development of the TXSG Unit Honor Guard Program, which is currently in the final stages of development.