The Sanger High Honor Guard is a staple to Sanger High School. The Honor Guard’s purpose is to respectfully represent the American flag while also showing respect for the United States Military. The Honor Guard at Sanger High is led by the Cadet Training Officer (CTO) for the Military and Public Service Academy, Douglas Bolton.
Bolton has had previous law enforcement experience and has been leading the Honor Guard for four years. At our high school, the Honor Guard is in charge of these same things while also getting to attending their community and school events.
“We attend both school and community events such as football games, parades, opening ceremonies for events such as the farmer’s market or the blossoms trail opening ceremony as well as the graduation ceremony. While we do events for Sanger, we also attend events outside of our city, such as the trek to the tree,” says 12th grade Honor Guard Captain Gerardo Guerrero.
At these events, the Honor Guard, while not being in charge of the event itself, still have their own important duties to attend to.
“Planning is usually done once we arrive and have an idea of the venue and what the organizers would like us to do if there is a pledge of allegiance, National Anthem, or both,” says Bolton.
The Honor Guard attends these events to show their respect and honor their military. To be able to be a part of these events, students have a step by step process they must complete.
“Toward the end of their sophomore year a cadet can express interest, attend Honor Guard practices to see if they are a good fit with the team
and learn what the team does as well as participate in an interview process,” says Bolton.
Once the process is complete, a student can become an Honor Guard member. While being in the Honor Guard, there are many times where the group must work together.
“As captain of the Honor Guard, I mainly take charge of leading my team with the American flag, calling our commands. While I am not always the one to lead, I am still responsible for making sure the rest of my team is prepared with the right equipment. There are no roles nor ranks in the Honor Guard besides captain, we are all one team, none better than the rest, meaning it is 100% all teamwork,” says Guerrero.
“It’s based on teamwork where we show each other what we need to do and if we need to refresh our minds from what we do then we teach each other. We switch off roles of who may be flags, rifles or even giving command,” says 12th grade student Nemesio Alvarez.
Throughout these students’ years in the Honor Guard, they achieve useful skills that will help them throughout their future. With these skills they are able to understand more about their military and even use these skills outside of the Military and Public Service Academy.
“The cadet learns to maintain military bearing while presenting colors and honoring the heritage of the Honor Guard. They achieve the ability to perform ceremonies amid highly respected state and national leaders, as well as the families of highly decorated fallen heroes,” says Bolton.
“I’ve earned a few skills while being in the Honor Guard, such as discipline, maintaining composure under pressure, and to improvise when things don’t go according to plan. Being in the honor guard helped me connect with very important people, such as our Mayor, and get us into contact with people such as our congressmen and senators,” says Guerrero.
“Some skills I’ve earned being in the honor guard are definitely leadership, social skills, quick thinking, and patience. Honor guard helped me be involved in my community and school by providing us many opportunities to attend to, to represent and honor the colors,” says Alvarez.
The students who joined Honor Guard joined so that they could be able to show respect to their community and gain their own personal experience from it as well.
“I joined the honor guard because it was recommended to me by a senior who needed a new honor guard team. I volunteered to participate in practices. From there I stayed for the people and the program to represent it well,” says Alvarez.
“I wanted to join the Honor Guard because I wanted to be more included in my program. I wanted to set an example of what’s expected in terms of behavior and performance in events. All while wanting to be more connected with my community, especially our first responders,” adds Guerrero.
Honor Guard is and will remain a tradition that honors and celebrates the U.S. military. Being involved in this Honor Guard throughout high school helps the students learn great skills they could use in the future as well as giving them future work opportunities. Our high school’s honor guard stands as a shining example of dedication, discipline, and pride, embodying the true spirit of excellence and service in everything they do.
