The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a historic funerary monument dedicated to deceased U.S. service members whose remains have not been identified. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States. The World War I "Unknown" is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross, and several other foreign nations' highest service awards. The U.S. Unknowns who were interred are also recipients of the Medal of Honor, presented by U.S. presidents who presided over their funerals. The tomb is watched over by a military sentinel, with a regular changing of the guard ceremony taking place at the tomb. The monument has no officially designated name.
In some militaries, foot guards are senior infantry regiments. Foot guards are commonly responsible for guarding royal families or other state leaders, and they also often perform ceremonial duties accordingly, but at the same time are combat soldiers.
Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate and precisely choreographed. They originated with peacetime and battlefield military drills introduced to enhance unit cohesion and effectiveness in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of either an Infantry or Special Forces unit of brigade size or smaller at any time after 6 December 1941. For those soldiers who are not members of an infantry, or Special Forces unit, the Combat Action Badge (CAB) is awarded instead. For soldiers with an MOS in the medical field they would, with the exception of a Special Forces Medical Sergeant (18D), receive the Combat Medical Badge. 18D Special Forces Medics would receive the Combat Infantryman badge instead.
The Coast Guard Honor Guard Badge is a qualification badge of the United States Coast Guard which recognizes those personnel who are/have been permanently assigned to the Ceremonial Honor Guard Unit at the U.S. Coast Guard Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Cyber and Intelligence Service Center (C5ISC), Alexandria, Virginia. The badge was inspired by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Guard Identification Badge.
The Recruiter Badge is a decoration of the United States uniformed services that is awarded to personnel who have performed recruitment duties as service recruiters. The Recruiter Badge is issued by every branch of the U.S. uniform services except for the Marine Corps and the NOAA Commissioned Corps. With the exception of the U.S. Army, a Recruiting Service Ribbon is also awarded to those personnel who have completed successful tours as recruiters.
The U.S. military issues instructor badges to specially training military personnel who are charged with teaching military recruits the skills they need to perform as members of the U.S. Armed Forces or teach continuing education courses for non-commissioned officers and officers in the military. With the exception of the U.S. Army and U.S. Coast Guard, these badges are considered temporary military decorations and must be surrendered upon completion of one's duty as a military instructor. Because of this, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps award Drill Instructor Ribbons as a permanent decoration to recognize service members who have qualified and performed as military instructors.
The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is Noli Me Tangere. The regiment is a major unit of the Military District of Washington (MDW). The 3rd Infantry is the oldest regiment still active in the Regular Army, having been first organized as the First American Regiment in 1784. It has been the official ceremonial unit of the U.S. Army since 1948.
The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings", is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. Some services, such as the Marine Corps, officially refer to it as an insignia instead of a badge. The United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard are the only branches that do not award the Parachutist Badge, but their members are authorized to receive the Parachutist Badges of other services in accordance with their prescribed requirements. The DoD military services are all awarded the same Military Parachutist Badge. The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force issue the same Senior and Master Parachutist Badges while the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps issue the Navy and Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia to advanced parachutists. The majority of the services earn their Military Parachutist Badge through the U.S. Army Airborne School.
Identification badges of the uniformed services of the United States are insignia worn by service members conducting special duties, many of which can be awarded as permanent decorations if those duties are performed successfully. There are a few identification badges that are awarded to all services, others are specific to a uniform service. The Office of the President and Vice President and department/service headquarters badges are permanent decorations for those who successfully serve in those assignments. Some of the service level identification badges can be permanent decorations and others are only worn by a service member while performing specific duties, such as the Military Police Badge.
Badges of the United States Army are military decorations issued by the United States Department of the Army to soldiers who achieve a variety of qualifications and accomplishments while serving on active and reserve duty in the United States Army.
Gardens of Stone is a 1987 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on a novel of the same name by Nicholas Proffitt. It stars James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones, D. B. Sweeney, Dean Stockwell and Mary Stuart Masterson.
Leo J. Meyer was a soldier in the United States Army, one of only three hundred and twenty-four men who have been awarded three Combat Infantryman Badges out of more than the twenty-three million men who served in the US Army between December 1941 and December 2007. Colonel Meyer was inducted into the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in 2009.
In the United States Army, tabs are cloth and/or metal arches that are worn on U.S. Army uniforms, displaying a word or words signifying a special skill. On the Army Combat Uniform and Army Service Uniform, the tabs are worn above a unit's shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) and are used to identify a unit's or a soldier's special skill(s) or are worn as part of a unit's SSI as part of its unique heritage. Individual tabs are also worn as small metal arches above or below medals or ribbons on dress uniforms.
The Military Horseman Identification Badge recognizes United States Army soldiers who complete the nine-week Basic Horsemanship Course and serve as a lead rider on the Caisson team within the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. The badge was first awarded on September 29, 2017, to soldiers during a ceremony held at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia. According to Salute Uniforms, "the Military Horseman Identification Badge might be the most elusive skill badge a Soldier can earn."
The SIG Sauer M17 and M18 are service pistols derived from the SIG Sauer P320 in use with the United States Armed Forces. On January 19, 2017, the United States Army announced that a customized version of SIG Sauer's P320 had won the Army's XM17 Modular Handgun System competition. The full-sized model was designated the M17, and the shorter length carry model, the M18. The guns have subsequently been adopted by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force. The Coast Guard is the only military branch that will not be receiving the M17 and M18, they will be replacing their SIG Sauer P229R DAK with the Glock 19 Gen5 MOS. The M17 and M18 will be replacing the Beretta M9, as well as several other handguns across five of the six service branches. There are two color variants, coyote brown and black, for both the M17 and M18, though almost all have been produced in coyote brown.
William L. Zana is a retired United States Army major general from the Army National Guard who served as the commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa from May 15, 2020 to May 14, 2022. He previously served as Deputy Director for J-5 Politico-Military Affairs (Africa) on the Joint Staff and, as a brigadier general, led CJTF-HOA from May to June 2018.
Fred Moore is a former U.S. Army soldier and former member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, best known as the prestigious "The Old Guard” or Honor Guard Company sentinel of Company E, 4th Battalion.
Danyell Elaine Wilson is a former U.S. Army soldier and former member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, best known as "The Old Guard”. She is the first-ever African American female tomb guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Heather Lynn Johnsen is a former U.S. Army soldier and former member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, best known as the highly prestigious "The Old Guard" or Honor Guard Company sentinel of Company E, 4th Battalion.
