3rd United States Infantry Regiment (TOG)

The 3rd US Infantry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Three battalions of the regiment are currently active. The regiment is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard (TOG for short), as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not).

The regiment is the oldest active unit of infantry in the army, having been first organized as the First American Regiment in 1784.¹²

1st Battalion

All but one company of the 1st battalion are stationed at Ft. Myer, Virginia (Company 'A', the Commander in Chief's Guard, is stationed at nearby Ft. McNair, across the river in Southwest Washington, DC). The 1st Battalion, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) is under the umbrella command of the Military District of Washington (MDW). The Old Guard has a twofold mission: a ceremonial mission and a combat mission, in which the regiment serves as part of the National Capital Region's defense.

Mission statement

The 3rd Infantry Regiment's website lists its brigade combat team (BCT) mission statement as follows:

Ceremonial mission

The Old Guard is also known as 'Escort to the President.' The majority of the regiment is made up of marching, or 'line' companies, which, among other duties, represent the Army in military parades. The Old Guard is the only unit in the US Army that has an Act of Congress specifically providing it with orders to march with fixed bayonets and it is the sole remaining regular combat field unit to issue the standard M14 rifle to the ranks. There are several casket teams and firing parties in the line platoons; these participate in military funerals. Among the ceremonial tasks and honors the regiment carries out, the following duties are also included, each of which is assigned to a Specialty Platoon: the guarding of the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery; The Continental Color Guard (or CCG - see also Color Guards); The Presidential Salute Guns Battery, which serves at all Full Honors General officer (and State) funerals, as well as at arrivals and departures of foreign dignitaries; the US Army Caisson Platoon, which provides horses and riders to pull caisson (the wagon that bears a casket) in military and state funerals, as well as caparisoned horses in Full Honors funerals. Also part of The Old Guard, are the US Army Drill Team, which performs around the nation & 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 the Colonial red uniform -- to be "better seen through the smoke of battle"; the uniform also includes tri-corner hats and powdered wigs.

Combat readiness

The Old Guard, while performing primarily in a ceremonial role, is nonetheless an Infantry unit, which is required to maintain the same certifications of all Infantry units in the U.S. Army. In its combat role, the soldiers of The Old Guard train to standards as per their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty); these include: Rifle marksmanship; Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare preparedness training; operations in area security: and control of civil disturbances. Most of this training takes place at Fort A. P. Hill, Virginia. The Old Guard provides the principal body of garrison troops in Washington, D.C.

In 2003, in the regiment's first deployment since the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army reported that the Old Guard's Bravo Company was deployed to the Horn of Africa, where it established a forward base in rural Ethiopia.⁴⁵ The base and missions, intended primarily to train Ethiopian military personnel, were part of the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), a Global War on Terrorism operation.⁴ In 2007, the Army reported that the regiment's Delta company was deployed to Camp LeMonier, Djibouti as part of CJTF-HOA, supporting humanitarian missions and local military training in the region.⁶

2d Battalion

Stationed at Ft.Lewis, Washington, the 2d Battalion, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment, serves as one of three infantry battalions of the 3d Stryker Brigade Combat Team in the 2d Infantry Division ('Indian Head'). After a 31-year hiatus from service, the 2-3 was reactivated on 15 March 2001. 2-3 Infantry is part of the initial Stryker brigade combat team. Utilizing the new Stryker vehicle platform, this unit is part of the conversion to the Army's Future Force Unit of Action system. On April 23rd, 2008, the 2nd Battalion was awarded it's 7th Presidential Unit Citation, making the 2nd Bn the most decorated Infantry Battalion in the U.S. Army.

3d Battalion

3d Battalion, 3d Infantry was deactivated on 25 August 1994. It was one of the three light infantry battalions that made up the Army Reserve's 205th Infantry Brigade (Light)(Separate), which in turn was the round-out brigade for the Regular Army's 6th Infantry Division (Light), based at Fort Richardson and Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The 205th Infantry Brigade was headquartered at Fort Snelling, Minnesota until its deactivation. Should the Army see fit to do so, the 3/3 Infantry could be reactivated and allotted to the Regular Army from the inactive rolls of the Army Reserve, since the Army Reserve no longer fields formations that belong to the Army's combat arms (field artillery, armor, infantry, etc.).

4th Battalion

Medals of Honor

Oscar Burkard

Lineage

3rd Infantry Honors

Campaign Participation Credit

War of 1812

Mexican-American War

Civil War

Indian Wars

Spanish-American War

Philippine-American War

World War II

Vietnam

Decorations

Notes

^ Mahon, John K. and Romana Danyk. (1972.) "Army Lineage Series: Infantry: Part I: Regular Army." Office of the Chief of Military History, US Army: Washington, DC.
^ U.S. Army. (1999.) "Organizational History". U.S. Army Center of Military History, Army.mil website publication, page 29. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
^ U.S. Army. "Mission Statement". (U.S. military website.) 3d United States Infantry Regiment. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
^ ^a ^b McKeeby, Eric M. (2004-02-02.) "`Old Guard’ establishes forward base in Ethiopia." (U.S. military website.) Army News Service, U.S. Army Public Affairs, via army.mil. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
^ McKeeby, Eric M. (2004-07-15.) "Old Guard prepares to leave Horn of Africa." (U.S. military website.) Old Guard News, via army.mil. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
^ Van Der Weide, Nancy. (2007-04-27.) "Delta Dawgs Combat Extremism." (U.S. military website.) Old Guard News, via army.mil. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
^ Holbrook, Franklin Fisk. (1923.) "Minnesota in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection." Minnesota War Records Commission, page 111. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
^ United States War Department. (1901.) "General Orders and Circulars, Adjutant General's Office, 1900" Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, page 29. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
^ U.S. Army. "Medal of Honor: Oscar Burkard" (U.S. military website.) Office of Medical History, Office of the Surgeon General. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.

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