The U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Honor Guard is a prestigious cadet unit, drawing less than 2 percent of the cadet wing as its members. Steeped in tradition, the Cadet Honor Guard was founded in 1974 primarily to function as an exhibition drill unit. Since then, it has expanded its mission to perform such details as color guard, flag details, funeral honors, with the intent of honoring past and present cadets, graduates, and servicemembers.

While also serving full-time as the primary training cadre for the fourth-class cadets, the upper-class cadets on the team perform all ceremonial and funeral honors for the Cadet Wing as well as numerous ceremonies for local, national and sometimes international communities. In addition, upper class cadets maintain an exhibition drill unit to perform nationally while the fourth-class cadets are still learning the skills to properly represent the Academy.

As a fourth-class cadet on the team, the main duty is learning basic drill, leadership, and teamwork skills. At the end of the fourth-degree year new team members will choose which team function they would like to specialize in and be given the chance of competing and winning national competitions. The Cadet Honor Guard has won numerous titles for its excellence in military inspection, regulation drill, exhibition drill and sabre drill along with awards for outstanding fourth-class commanders. The Cadet Honor Guard also routinely performs in parades around Colorado and the United States, representing the Air Force Academy.

The Cadet Honor Guard is a unit with many service missions. The team serves the Cadet Wing by providing ceremonial detail support. Because of their precision and versatility, they are quickly gaining recognition in civilian as well as military circles by performing ceremonial details and winning exhibition drill competitions around the nation. They serve the local and national communities by providing an opportunity for the public to see the discipline and precision that cadets learn while attending the institution.

Additionally, the Cadet Honor Guard provides opportunities for high school and collegiate teams from across the nation to perform in drill competitions. For most of the team’s lifetime, the Cadet Honor Guard has annually hosted NIDM, the National Individual Drill Meet. NIDM events include armed and unarmed exhibition as well as commanding and color guard. NIDM is open to high school and collegiate drill teams from all branches.