The Commander-in-Chief's Guard – also known as the CINC Guard but officially Company A, 4th Battalion,

3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is ' ...

– is a infantry unit of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

that also has public duties and

riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irratio ...

missions within the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

. Posted at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall in Arlington, VA, it is the nominal continuation of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's bodyguard. The Commander-in-Chief's Guard is designated by the U.S. Army as a "Special Ceremonial Unit" and is part of the

3rd Infantry Regiment The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is ' ...

, the United States' presidential escort regiment.

History and mission

The original Commander-in-Chief's Guard, from which Company A claims nominal lineage, was authorized on March 11, 1776 and organized the next day at

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

as the bodyguard and personal escort to Gen. George Washington. To the consternation of the revolutionary government in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, it came to be referred to as "His Excellency's Guard" and "Washington's Life Guard"; in April 1777 the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

warned that the use of such monikers in official communications was prohibited. The Commander-in-Chief's Guard had a fluctuating strength that normally hovered between 180 and 250 men and was disbanded on November 15, 1783. The 3rd Infantry Regiment, of which Company A is part, was activated on June 3, 1784 and deactivated in 1946. In 1948 the regiment was reactivated and tasked with the military defense of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

. The former "ceremonial detachment" of the

Military District of Washington The United States Army Military District of Washington (MDW) is one of nineteen major commands of the United States Army. Its headquarters are located at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. The missions of the units in the Military Distr ...

, a company-sized public duties unit, was reassigned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment as Company A, 4th Battalion. In December 1973, in preparation for celebrations of the U.S. bicentennial, Company A was designated the Commander-in-Chief's Guard and took its current form. In its public duties role, the Commander-in-Chief's Guard supports general officer retirement ceremonies, state arrivals, and the presidential inauguration. 349jfdkdjf9894

Uniform and equipment

Posted at Fort Myer, the CINC Guard is a " Special Ceremonial Unit," a U.S. Army designation for units authorized uniforms other than the

Army Service Uniform The Army Service Uniform (ASU) is a military uniform worn by United States Army personnel in situations where formal dress is called for. It can be worn at most public and official functions. Over history, a number of different non-combat servi ...

when executing public duties. Its ceremonial uniform consists of blue greatcoats and white coveralls. Cover consists of black tricorn hats and white powdered wigs. It is equipped with muskets modeled on the Brown Bess (a design first developed in 1722 for service with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

), instead of the M14 rifle issued to the rest of the regiment for public duties. The CINC Guard advances a flag that is a modified version of the personal position standard of George Washington.

References

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External links

CINC Guard Facebook page
Military in Washington, D.C. Ceremonial units of the United States military Military units and formations established in 1948

History and mission

Uniform and equipment

See also

References

External links