Posted on Oct 1, 2019
What is the day to day like as a PL or XO in Old Guard?
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I am looking for someone that has had experience in the 3D INF REG. What is the day to day like for a IN PL or XO? What is the train-up like? Is family time a thing? Thanks in advance!
Posted in these groups: 
11A: Infantry Officer
Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (JBM-HH)
Chief of the Guard
Sergeant of the Guard
11A: Infantry Officer Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (JBM-HH) Chief of the Guard Sergeant of the Guard
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 4
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Its a duty station where u really get time to go to mil schools and college education as well.
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Assuming you end up in 1/3 at B C D or H company you’ll be in the ANC (A and E have different missions and don’t really go in the cemetery).
We did 4 week rotations if I remember correctly, Primary (a week doing funerals) Recovery, Training (Infantry stuff) and Backup (being on standby if one of the other companies can’t complete a mission for whatever reason.
Before you ever go into the cemetery you’re going to have to train up, I don’t remember if Officers go through ROP (teaches the D&C for the Old Guard it’s about 3 weeks) as there weren’t any that I could think of that went through with me.
Officers for sure have to do sword training which seems to me like a more pain in the ass version of ROP. They’re about the same length but, many many people repeat sword as the job is a little more difficult and more eyes are on you. It could be 4 weeks or 2 months.
There’s plenty of other things we do but for the funerals themselves you’ll lead the Escort element (usually a couple platoons), a single platoon in the escort element or you’ll be NCOIC where you’ll be passed the flag by the Casket guys and you’ll give it to the next of kin.
As far as family time you’ll have a decent amount, we don’t really deploy (C co did once in 2009ish but no one has since that I know of) and like I mentioned before, you’ll have at least an idea of what you’re schedule will be like for at least a month out.
Take this with a grain of salt, my experience was 90% in a Firing party platoon and I’m just telling you things I saw or picked up on that my own PL or the other Officers in my company did during their time. I can’t really go into detail as to what they do behind the scenes because I don’t really know all the little things that are happening in the offices.
We did 4 week rotations if I remember correctly, Primary (a week doing funerals) Recovery, Training (Infantry stuff) and Backup (being on standby if one of the other companies can’t complete a mission for whatever reason.
Before you ever go into the cemetery you’re going to have to train up, I don’t remember if Officers go through ROP (teaches the D&C for the Old Guard it’s about 3 weeks) as there weren’t any that I could think of that went through with me.
Officers for sure have to do sword training which seems to me like a more pain in the ass version of ROP. They’re about the same length but, many many people repeat sword as the job is a little more difficult and more eyes are on you. It could be 4 weeks or 2 months.
There’s plenty of other things we do but for the funerals themselves you’ll lead the Escort element (usually a couple platoons), a single platoon in the escort element or you’ll be NCOIC where you’ll be passed the flag by the Casket guys and you’ll give it to the next of kin.
As far as family time you’ll have a decent amount, we don’t really deploy (C co did once in 2009ish but no one has since that I know of) and like I mentioned before, you’ll have at least an idea of what you’re schedule will be like for at least a month out.
Take this with a grain of salt, my experience was 90% in a Firing party platoon and I’m just telling you things I saw or picked up on that my own PL or the other Officers in my company did during their time. I can’t really go into detail as to what they do behind the scenes because I don’t really know all the little things that are happening in the offices.
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SGT (Join to see)
Day to day for an enlisted person was roughly
600 first call
630 formation
630 - 730/800 PT
800-900 breakfast
900-1130/1200 is whatever training or tasks we have for the day. In my case it could be at the squad level doing during party training, or rehearsals for larger events like retirement ceremonies.
1130-1300 lunch
1300- COB is usually finishing up whatever we were working on before chow. COB was usually before 1630 I can count on two hands how many times I stayed at work passed 1830 usually everyone was gone by 1900 to include CO and 1SG but joes are usually out by 1700 give or take a half hour.
In your case I would assume you’d be doing sword training for the first couple months so that you can lead an element for funerals, retirements, and wreath layings among others.
That schedule was the average day to day but on Primary weeks you’re be at work an hour earlier to task out responsibilities for the funerals that week. There are at most 4 full honors funerals which is where you’ll be in most cases, the standard missions are usually NCO lead.
Once you find out what times you’re in the cemetery you’ll just be doing some brush up training prior to a mission and you’ll spend your free time straightening out your uniform. On primary weeks it’s all you’re really going to be doing and you’re off soon after the last mission of the day is once rifles are accounted for at turn in.
There’s roughly 20 funerals across the services everyday, all of the full honors missions start at 0900, 1100, 1300, 1500 and they usually last about 90 minutes give or take. If you have a full day your gonna be on a bus for all of your downtime aside from the 15 minute stop back at the company around 1230 so the unmarried guys can get sack lunches.
600 first call
630 formation
630 - 730/800 PT
800-900 breakfast
900-1130/1200 is whatever training or tasks we have for the day. In my case it could be at the squad level doing during party training, or rehearsals for larger events like retirement ceremonies.
1130-1300 lunch
1300- COB is usually finishing up whatever we were working on before chow. COB was usually before 1630 I can count on two hands how many times I stayed at work passed 1830 usually everyone was gone by 1900 to include CO and 1SG but joes are usually out by 1700 give or take a half hour.
In your case I would assume you’d be doing sword training for the first couple months so that you can lead an element for funerals, retirements, and wreath layings among others.
That schedule was the average day to day but on Primary weeks you’re be at work an hour earlier to task out responsibilities for the funerals that week. There are at most 4 full honors funerals which is where you’ll be in most cases, the standard missions are usually NCO lead.
Once you find out what times you’re in the cemetery you’ll just be doing some brush up training prior to a mission and you’ll spend your free time straightening out your uniform. On primary weeks it’s all you’re really going to be doing and you’re off soon after the last mission of the day is once rifles are accounted for at turn in.
There’s roughly 20 funerals across the services everyday, all of the full honors missions start at 0900, 1100, 1300, 1500 and they usually last about 90 minutes give or take. If you have a full day your gonna be on a bus for all of your downtime aside from the 15 minute stop back at the company around 1230 so the unmarried guys can get sack lunches.
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deleted my comment as I misread your profile and just saw that you were a tank platoon leader and thought you were an armor officer.
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