Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Heather Langston on January 21, 2008 at 10:36am

Our unit started out with simple long sleeved white dress shirts, dark pants, white hats, and gold badge/brass. We also used shoulder chords and white gloves and ascots.

We later purchased Marine Corp style uniforms with a belted jacket and black pants. While the uniform looks sharp, it is expensive and is virtually impossible to adjust if the individual's weight changes. With such a custom fit, its difficult to re-issue the uniform when people leave the unit.

I just got approved to outfit the unit again with the long sleeved shirts/pants uniform so that we have a summer weight uniform as an alternative. You can get away with jazzing up a dress uniform with the ascots and gloves if you are on a tight budget.

Permalink Reply by Greg on January 23, 2008 at 7:46pm

Thanks for the info. We are currently using a jazzed up style, but are looking to expand. We have found some of the same problems wih the custom fit thing. Again, thanks for the info.

Permalink Reply by Ashley on August 17, 2008 at 8:33pm

Check out my page, I have a picture of our group in uniform. Basically we were thinking of the future when we did this uniform because there was and still is talk of forming a county honor guard. We are kind of the leaders on the honor guard for the county department. But as far as uniforms we only have our department patch that does not say honor guard on it so we can blend in with the chiefs of our department for a function that is more department related.

Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on September 4, 2008 at 9:06am

We went to the National Memorial and took pictures of the different uniform ideas. Then we looked at the protocols and came up with ours.

Modified department Class A
Red band added to hat
Red strip added to pants
Red ascot full details
Black tie for less formal details
Different badges


When not doing honor guard duties, we wear the same as everyone else.

Permalink Reply by Jesse Boyle on March 19, 2009 at 11:42am

We are also creating an honor guard, and along with our presentation, we are aiming to differentiate our uniform. Does any one have any knowledge regarding shoulder cords? We have decided we want to add them, but we can't find out what they signify, or which color is appropriate.

Permalink Reply by Scott on March 19, 2009 at 3:13pm

Used to differentiate between Honor Guard and those members that have Class A uniforms that are not part of the guard.
Color is generally red but we have in the past used white for weddings and funerals. We have dropped the white and use only red now. I have seen some that use silver or gold for the honor or color guards.
It's really a decision for your unit to make. You get to set your own traditions and significance to the items that are part of your uniform as a new guard.
We have members on the department that have Class A's but are not part of the guard. Guard members have read stripes on the pants and wear the read shoulder cords as well as collar pins. Our Class A's are Navy pants & double breasted coat, white shirt, black tie and "stove pipe" hat (traditional FF/conductor style hat) We wear all dept issued badges and rank insignias but Rank is not carried to the Honor guard. I am an LT on the dept but hold no position of authority on the guard. The Guard has a Commander, Secretary/treasurer and Sgt at Arms.

Permalink Reply by Jose P. Gainza, Jr on March 29, 2009 at 5:04pm

Here is a uniform one of my guys designed. We used Light House in California to produce it for us.

Jose Gainza
Orange County Fire rescue Department
Orlando, Florida

Attachments:

• colorado trip 143.jpg, 625 KB

Permalink Reply by Capt./Chaplain Mike Petrosky on July 17, 2009 at 7:51am

Greg, Our Honor Guard has a completely seperate uniform to differentiate us from the rest of the dept. Our HG uniform consists of A Class "A"-single breasted ( one row of buttons ) jacket with a red ascot underneath and red cords on the left arm. We also purchased HG badges and above our dept patch on each shoulder we had custom HG rockers made. Mike.

Permalink Reply by Brent Jones on September 16, 2009 at 10:30am

Here is a picture of our uniform.(the one on the right) It costs a little more, but you can wear a tshirt under it, or a couple long sleeve shirts if its cold, and no one knows the difference. There are only 1 or 2 companies that make it and it takes about 6-8 weeks to arrive. let me know if you would like more info.

Brent Jones
Honor Guard Commander
Milwaukee Fire Department

Attachments:

• me and dave.jpg, 2.1 MB

Permalink Reply by Oldman on September 28, 2009 at 6:37pm

Being a member of my unit is an honor and a privilege. As such, we have our own uniform which is different from the rest of the department, and we wear it exclusively at any department function. Being the elite, we want to stand out from the rest of the department. It it meant to inspire other members in striving to meet our standards and become a part of the unit.

We opted for a uniform without the jacket because of the heat/humidity in Houston. The standard department dress is; Lt. Blue dress shirt (white for Chief's), navy pants, black shoes, silver badge/brass for FF, gold badge/brass for line officers.

My Honor Guard is Slate Grey shirt, black pants (bloused) and black jump boots with spit shine and taps. Our cover is a black military beret with flash. We utilize different color ascots and cords (red, white or blue) depending on event. Our patch is similar to the department patch except a silver background and Honor Guard instead of fire rescue.

Permalink Reply by Robert Mccarraher on June 7, 2010 at 11:26pm

check out my profile photo