Military uniforms grew out of fashion preferred by French Nobility of the 17th Century
Joint Service – Separated
I received a great question the other day. Why are the color guards at the Pentagon and sometimes at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier carrying the American and a foreign national flag with guards and what dictates the order of the manning for both teams? Joint Service A full joint service arrival ceremony for a foreign dignitary at the …
The Firing Party Timing
Forensic Experts Galore What you hear and what you see can be two different things. A firing party fires so quickly that it can be impossible to hear that a single shot fired by all seven team members is not at exactly the same split second. We hear perfection, but a photo or still from a video can show a …
The 21-Gun Salute
Let us get this out of the way: a firing party does not fire the 21-gun Salute. The 21-Gun Salute is fired on land or at sea, and only by cannons, which are called guns. I know we call a rifle a gun, but it’s a rifle. The Firing Party fires the Three Volley Salute. Click here to read Fire Team, …
The Personal Color
Definition -Personal Color For the US government and military, a personal color is a flag that represents an individual’s rank and/or office. This is where the term Flag Officer comes from. General Officers (GOs), Generals and Admirals, are Flag Officers because they have a flag with 1, 2, 3, or 4 stars on it. The sample GO PCs above are …
The DrillMaster Response
While a massive majority of readers understand exactly what I do, there a tiny few who feel that I need to be told how to do what I do. However, those few are very few and are disrespectful, arrogant, selfish, prideful, vulgar, and many times childish.
Wreath Laying Ceremony Protocols eBook
It took a couple of months of writing and editing and my colleagues gave some great feedback during that time (thank you, Jari, Mike, and DeVaughn!) and now it’s finally here. An eBook that covers every possible (well, as much as I can conceive) wreath laying ceremony and how to accomplish it. You can purchase the eBook here.
Presenting the Colors at a Sporting Event
In 2017 I was talking with one of the JROTC instructors at one of the local high schools where I have taught in the afternoons and he was relaying the story of their color guard presenting the colors for a professional ball club and how the training I gave the team really helped since it provided the cadets and the …
Flag Fringe and Finial Theory
Let’s have a look at the theories that surround the flag: fringe on the flag, the finial, and the flag’s size.
Folded Flag Salute Protocol
Yes, we want to honor our flag and we should, but…