National Guard Honor Academy returns to Gaston College

The National Honor Guard Academy, established in 2006, promotes ceremonial knowledge and reinforces pride in upholding traditions with precision.

For two years, the Florida-based organization has conducted training exercises at Gaston College’s Dallas Campus.

“The honor is truly ours to be in front of a class of people who ‘get it,'” said commanding officer and founder Doug Swartz during the NHGA’s April training exercises.

“We want to honor the fallen and respect the flag and recognize the sacrifice that’s woven into every stitch in that flag. It’s wonderful to see their respect grow when they do these drills over the week. The people that we’re fortunate enough to interact with recognize that public safety is a family.”

The NHGA aims to master the impressive and detailed performance seen in U.S. flag presentations at sporting events or military veteran funeral services. Whether they are called on to perform at sporting events, funeral services, parades, or other special events, the unit’s precision in performances stems from the NHGA’s rigorous training.

“About 20 years ago, I got out of the military and into the fire department service,” said Swartz, an Ohio native and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who retired in Clearwater, Fla. “As I went to public safety funerals, I noticed that there wasn’t a lot of training, and the performance wasn’t up to par. I thought we could do a lot better for our fallen officers. We’ve been putting together these training programs ever since the academy was founded in 2006 – and we’re trying to change the world one class at a time.”

Swartz said the NHGA conducts 10 to 12 classes annually across the country, similar to the one at Gaston College.

“We’re happy to be here again,” Swartz said. “We’ll be in Tennessee next week and were in New Mexico a couple of weeks ago.”