3rd Infantry Regiment (United States)


The 3rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It currently comprises three active battalions and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as its ceremonial role as Escort to the President. The regimental motto, Noli Me Tangere, reflects a longstanding tradition of discipline and vigilance. The regiment is a key component of the Military District of Washington and is the oldest active regiment in the Regular Army, first organized as the First American Regiment in 1784. It has served as the official ceremonial unit of the U.S. Army since 1948.

Mission

The regiment's mission is to conduct memorial affairs to honor fallen comrades and ceremonies and special events to represent the U.S. Army, communicating its story to United States citizens and the world. Although The Old Guard primarily functions in a ceremonial role, it is an infantry unit and thus required to meet standards for certification in its combat role. The unit also trains for its support role to civil authorities in a wide range of scenarios and for deployments in support of overseas contingency operations. On order, it conducts defense in support of civil authorities in the National Capital Region and deploys elements in support of overseas contingency operations.

Memorial affairs and ceremonial mission

The 1st and 4th Battalions perform a variety of ceremonial and honorary duties. Memorial affairs missions include standard and full honors funerals in Arlington National Cemetery and dignified transfers at Dover Air Force Base. Old Guard soldiers also perform all dignified transfers of fallen soldiers returning to the United States.
The Old Guard's ceremonial task list includes full honor arrivals for visiting dignitaries, wreath-laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and full honor reviews in support of senior army leaders and retiring soldiers. Special events include the Twilight Tattoo, a weekly performance in the adjacent Washington area on Wednesday evenings from May to July, and the Spirit of America, a historical pageant presented at three national venues in September. The Old Guard is the only unit in the U.S. Armed Forces authorized, by a 1922 decree of the War Department, to march with fixed bayonets in all parades. This was granted in honor of the 1847 bayonet charge by the regiment during the Battle of Cerro Gordo in the war with Mexico. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is protected round the clock by the 4th Battalion's Tomb Guard Platoon, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Specialty units

In addition to the marching platoons, there are also elements of The Old Guard that serve special roles unique both to the regiment as well as the U.S. Army. Among these include the sentinels of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, maintaining a twenty-four-hour watch over one of the nation's most sacred sites; the Continental Color Guard, which presents the nation's colors at special events across the Capitol Region; the Presidential Salute Battery, which renders honors to senior dignitaries at arrival and wreath ceremonies, reviews, and full honors funerals; and the U.S. Army Caisson Platoon, which provides horses and riders to pull the caisson in military and state funerals.
The Caisson Platoon also provides the riderless horses used in full honors funerals and supports wounded warriors participating in the Therapeutic Riding Program. Other elements of The Old Guard include the Commander-in-Chief's Guard, replicating the personal guard of General George Washington; wearing Colonial blue uniforms, powdered wigs, and cocked hats; and bearing Brown Bess muskets and halberds at ceremonies and special events; the U.S. Army Drill Team, which demonstrates its skill and precision around the nation, and Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, which plays traditional arrangements of marching music, dating back to the time of the Continental Army. The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps marches in Colonial style red-coated uniforms—to be "better seen through the smoke of battle"; the uniforms also include cocked hats and white powdered wigs. The drum major of the Fife and Drum Corps traditionally bears an espontoon in his right hand to direct and command his unit. As such, he is the only soldier in all the U.S. Armed Forces authorized to bear a spontoon and to salute with the left hand. Rounding out The Old Guard are the 289th Military Police Company, the 947th Military Working Dog Detachment, the 529th Regimental Support Company, two battalion headquarters companies, and the regimental headquarters company.

Unique badges">Badges of the United States Army">Unique badges awarded to specific members of "The Old Guard"

Escort Platoon

Escort Platoon is a term referring to a platoon of soldiers in the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment whose primary ceremonial mission is to march in ceremonies or military funerals. Generally, line infantry companies delegate the escort role to their 1st platoon. This platoon is generally composed of the tallest soldiers assigned to the unit. The regiment's Presidential Escort Platoon, Honor Guard Company, is based at Fort Myer. The platoon serves at presidential funerals, inaugurations, Pentagon retirements, state dinners and state visits at the White House, and during presidential speeches in the Rose Garden, among other duties.

Uniforms and insignia

When on duty, members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment wear the standard dark blue Army Service Uniform and the infantry shoulder cord. Prior to its introduction in 2008, it was known as the Dress Blue Uniform and worn only by units that required their wear, such as the 3rd Infantry. The 'blues' date back to the early 1950s, and were rarely worn by regular units, being an optional uniform along with the Dress Whites. Worn on the left shoulder is a black distinctive trimming, also known as a buff strap. On the shoulder of the Army Service Uniform, a blue tab with "HONOR GUARD" embroidered on it in white letters is worn. Nameplates are not worn for uniformity, and instead of ribbons, medals are worn. Pinned to the top right chest pocket is a badge unique to the Old Guard, bearing the shape of the Tomb and surrounded by laurels.

Current organization of the 3rd Infantry Regiment

Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Company

  • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
  • * Headquarters Platoon
  • * Coordinating Staff
  • ** RS-1
  • ** RS-2
  • ** RS-3
  • *** Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear
  • *** Operations
  • *** Drafters and Announcers
  • ** RS-4
  • *** Property Book Office
  • *** Ceremonial Equipment Branch
  • ** RS-6
  • *** Communications
  • *** IMO (Information Management Operations
  • * Legal Office
  • * Chaplains Office
  • * Public Affairs Office
  • * Regimental Recruiters
  • * The Old Guard Museum

    1st Battalion 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment

The 1st Battalion is composed of the following units:
  • HHC
  • * Battalion Staff Sections:
  • * Caisson Platoon
  • * Presidential Salute Battery
  • * Headquarters Platoon
  • Company B
  • * Escort Platoon
  • * Casket Platoon
  • * Firing Party Platoon
  • * Headquarters Platoon
  • Company C
  • * Escort Platoon
  • * Casket Platoon
  • * Firing Party Platoon
  • * Headquarters Platoon
  • Company D
  • * Escort Platoon
  • * Casket Platoon
  • * Firing Party Platoon
  • * Headquarters Platoon
  • Company H
  • * Escort Platoon
  • * Casket Platoon
  • * Firing Party Platoon
  • * Headquarters Platoon

    2nd Battalion 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment

Stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, the 2nd Battalion, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, serves as one of three infantry battalions of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 7th Infantry Division. After a 31-year hiatus from service, the 2nd Battalion was reactivated on 15 March 2001 as part of the U.S. Army's first Stryker brigade combat team. It served as part of the first deployment of a Stryker brigade combat team in 2003. It then served a 15-month deployment in 2006–2007. It deployed to Iraq again in 2009 and Afghanistan in 2011. From 1966 to 1970, the 2nd Battalion was part of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade and 23rd Infantry Division in Vietnam. The 2nd Battalion has the following units:
  • HHC
  • * Scout Platoon
  • * Mortar Platoon
  • * Medical Platoon
  • * Battalion Staff Sections:
  • Company A
  • * First Platoon
  • * Second Platoon
  • * Third Platoon
  • * Mortar Section
  • Company B
  • * First Platoon
  • * Second Platoon
  • * Third Platoon
  • * Mortar Section
  • Company C
  • * First Platoon
  • * Second Platoon
  • * Third Platoon
  • * Mortar Section
  • Company G
  • * Headquarters/Field Feeding Team Platoon
  • * Maintenance Platoon
  • * Distribution Platoon

    4th Battalion 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment

From 1966 to 1974, the 4th Battalion was part of the 11th and 198th Infantry Brigades and 23rd Infantry Division in Vietnam. The 4th Battalion was reactivated at Fort Myer in 2008.
The 4th Battalion is composed of the following units:
  • HHC
  • * Tomb Guard Platoon, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
  • * The United States Army Drill Team
  • * Battalion Staff Sections:
  • Company A
  • * Three Colonial Marching Platoons
  • Company E
  • * Presidential Escort Platoon
  • * Presidential Casket Platoon
  • * Presidential Firing Party
  • * Continental Color Guard
  • 289th Military Police Company
  • * Special Reaction Team
  • * 947th Military Police Detachment
  • The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps
  • 529th Regimental Support Company
  • * Headquarters Section
  • * Food Service Platoon
  • * Maintenance Platoon
  • * Transportation Platoon
  • * Medical Platoon

    Operational history

Background

At the conclusion of the American Revolution, the great majority of the Continental Army was discharged in November 1783. One regiment, composed mostly of soldiers from New England, remained in the army under the command of Brevet Brigadier General Henry Jackson of Massachusetts. This regiment was discharged on 20 June 1784 leaving a single artillery company, under the command of Brevet Major John Doughty, to guard military stores at West Point, New York and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Confederation Congress recognized the need for army to protect the frontiers of the new nation and authorized an infantry regiment for that purpose.