The Honor Guard is a highly trained and decorated team of F.O.P. members specially selected for their dedication to the law enforcement profession and the F.O.P.  The Washington State F.O.P. Honor Guard is one of only three in the nation that solely represents the Fraternal Order of Police and is administered by a State Lodge.

The main purpose of the Honor Guard is to honor and stand watch over law enforcement officers who have paid the ultimate price.  Our Honor Guard takes pride in the law enforcement profession and strives to set a positive image with the general public. The Honor Guard's professional commitment and dedication makes us all proud.

Training

The Fraternal Order of Police Honor Guard training is supported by the three pillars, Honor, Pride and Commitment! We start each training off with an inspection of each team member and his uniform, rifle and physical standard to ensure the highest Honor and Pride is being kept.

It takes a lot of Honor and Pride to ensure that your uniform is spotless, buttons are shined, shoes are polished and the rifle is maintained. This is what sets the team up for success. Each member must have these traits so when it is time to train they are focused and dedicated to the task at hand.

Then we begin the drill portion of practice which starts off with the basics, "Unarmed Close Order Drill" (C.O.D.) to get the unit in the right frame of mind. Then the team advances to the armed C.O. D. "The marching manual." The basics are what this unit was founded on and the basics are what we will stand on.

After the basics, "the foundation", have been completed and everyone is moving and marching as one unit, we move on to basic spins. The FOP Honor Guard uses th M1903A1 rifle. These rifles weigh close to 9 pounds and when a bayonet is attached it feels like 15 pounds. You must venture out of your comfort zone when learning to spin a rifle. Each member of the guard is expected to know the basics of rifle spinning, marching , posting of colors and burial detail, insuring each member can do any job that is asked of them. At each practice you will learn a different spin, a different routine.

You must have a high level of Commitment to perfect the spins and different routines on your own time. Each team member must be prepared to demonstrate them at the next practice. Every move you're taught, every spin you learn, will be used in a routine. Four months of preparing + four of perfecting routines = an 8 minute, gold medal performance. We work as a team. We leave the start line at the same time, and we will get to the finish line at the same time.