What is the difference between an honor guard and a color guard?

Asked by: Danielle Tucker

Colors, or flags, are often carried by both, but the primary purpose of the Color Guard is to present the National Colors at a presentation or ceremony. The Honor Guard may present the Colors, but their main purpose is to present a contingent to bear honors at ceremonies or funerals.

What is color honor guard?

American Legion Post 216 designates a “Color Guard” as a unit that presents the colors at various public events such as parades, school activities, veteran functions, and patriotic programs. The color guard may be as simple as carrying the American, POW/MIA, and Legion flags.

What does the honor guard do?

The Honor Guard renders military honors to Air Force personnel and their families during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery. It also conducts military ceremonies at the White House, Pentagon and national memorials.

Does color guard salute?

Color guard salutes the flag and then returns to “attention.” Caller: Girl Scouts, honor your colors. Girl Scouts salute the flag. Caller: We will now say the Pledge of Allegiance. If you have a color guard, they should stand at attention and not participate, keeping their full attention on the flag.

Why do they call it color guard?

Color guard takes its name from soldiers responsible for guarding a regimental flag, or colors. That military origin accounts for the guards’ rifle-shaped wooden props and dull-edged sabers. But their military counterparts don’t toss their weapons high, spinning like jacks, and then catch them behind their backs.

What do color guards do at a funeral?

The first is the color guard, which presents or carries the national or state colors, or flags, at military ceremonies such as promotions and funerals. The second is the body guard, which escorts the person being honored, whether living or deceased, and carries the casket at a military funeral or burial.

What is an Honor Guard at a funeral?

What are the differences between the funerals services you provide? A- A full honors funeral has members from each unit of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard to render honors in honor of the servicemember, such as the colors flight, firing party, pallbearers, an armed escort and The U.S. Air Force Band.

How long does Honor Guard last?

six months

Q: How long will I be assigned to the honor guard? A: Rotations last six months. During that time you will be assigned solely to the Eglin Honor Guard.

How many honor guards are there?

The USAF Honor Guard officially became a separate squadron in 1972, and the unit remains at the base now known as Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. Now, the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard has evolved into a selectively manned unit with more than 210 ceremonial guardsmen and support personnel.

How do you become Honor Guard?

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN HONOR GUARD. To be a member of the base honor guard you must have high motivation and commitment, a desire to excel, approval from your commander, supervisor and first sergeant. You must have the ability to travel and go on TDY rotations to March ARB.

Is color guard female only?

Color guards consist of both male and female members. The band director may refer to the color guard section as the flagline or guard. The attire worn by the members of a marching band color guard may be military or a band uniform with colors of the team they represent.

Why is color guard not a sport?

“Color guard requires a lot of physical strength and endurance, as do most sports. It can compete, and it is technically physical activity. Not to mention, if I said otherwise, my color guard friends would kill me.” Color guard is an activity that requires a lot of time, practice and patience.

What’s another name for color guard?

Auxiliary: Another term for the color guard. This term is often used in the marching band setting to describe the visual ensemble which may include color guard but which also may include other visual performers such as a dance team, baton twirlers or pom poms.

Why does color guard use rifles?

“Color guard originated from the military and they use actual rifles to spin. In the military, it’s more of a form of respect,” junior color guard member Tia Strege said. “Since that’s it’s origin, we don’t spin actual rifles here, but we still incorporate them.”

What flags do the color guard carry?

When performing a Color Guard, these four cadets form a line. The cadets on the end carry rifles, while the middle-right cadet carries the US flag and the middle-right carries the Air Force flag.

Is color guard part of marching band?

In a marching band or a drum and bugle corps, the color guard is a non-musical section that provides additional visual aspects to the performance. The marching band and color guard performance generally takes place on a football field.

How heavy is a color guard flag?

Product information

Do you have to be flexible to do color guard?

Now, it is not required by most color guards that you are physically fit, but it will help you so much during all of the practices and games. Another thing to do is to strengthen your wrists.

What’s the difference between color guard and winter guard?

Winter Program



Winter guard is an indoor color guard activity derived from military ceremonies or veterans organizations ceremonies. Unlike traditional color guard, winter guard is performed indoors, usually in a gymnasium or an indoor arena.

What college has the best color guard?

10 of the Best College Marching Bands

• Ohio State University Marching Band.
• University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Band.
• University of Texas Longhorn Band.
• Purdue University “All-American” Marching Band.
• Ohio University Marching 110.
• Penn State Blue Band.
• University of Michigan Marching Band.

What are the color guard classes?

Regional A Class – Novice programs and performers. A Class – Beginning programs and performers. Open Class – The intermediate developmental level of performers. World Class – The most advanced programs and performers.

What is flag twirling called?

Colorguard is a mix between traditional militaristic color guard — which raises flags and spins real rifles — and ballet or modern dance. Some students might know them as “flag-twirlers,” to which many colorguard members roll their eyes.

Is colorguard a sport yes or no?

Color Guard is not officially recognized as a sport, but because of its strenuous physical demands and its competitive nature, it fits the definition of a sport. Color Guard is an activity that involves skill as well as physical exertion performed with a team that competes against others for entertainment.

What is a flag girl?

Flag girls are hired for NASCAR, Car Shows, and other racing events such as the Daytona 500, Budweiser Speedweeks and Coke Zero 400 to greet fans, pass out promotion materials, and wave race or company flags to trigger the start of a race.

Who created color guard?

The sport of color guard was invented by a lady named Peggy Twiggs. She came up with the move called the “peggy spin”. “Before the ‘peggy spin’, guard members would usually just show the flag at different angels, just like the military.

How are color guards judged?

– Judges are to rate the color guards by the comparative scores earned during the course of the contest. – Judges are to consider the “Impression, Analysis, Comparison” of each guard to all others.

How do you spin a flag for color guard?

You're going to take your left hand off of the pole. And you're going to bring the pole down into your left hand as you bring it down you'll notice your thumb is up toward the flag.