Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard Continues Operations at Barstow Base

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Lauren Griffin, stable keeper for the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard, fed Donnie at Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, on May 5, 2026.

The Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard is the service's sole remaining equestrian unit. It consists of one stable keeper and supporting personnel stationed full-time at MCLB Barstow, where it maintains its horses and conducts training for mounted color guard duties. The unit participates in ceremonies and public events across the country.

The photograph released by U.S. Central Command on May 12, 2026, documents routine daily care that sustains operational readiness. Prior to the unit's relocation and consolidation at Barstow, Marine Corps equestrian activities occurred at multiple installations; the current structure centralizes all horses, training, and logistical support at a single site in California.

The operational delta places all ceremonial horse care, feeding, veterinary needs, and rider proficiency training under one command at MCLB Barstow with immediate effect. No expansion or reduction in unit size is indicated. The release triggers no new funding obligations or regulatory deadlines but confirms continuity of the specialized program that supplies mounted honor guards to Defense Department events.

Downstream, military installations and commands scheduling formal ceremonies must continue routing requests through the Barstow-based unit. Public events that feature the Mounted Color Guard will draw from the same fixed pool of horses and Marines, maintaining consistency in ceremonial standards.

The Defense Department must sustain the logistical line for feed, stable supplies, and horse transport from the California desert base to event locations nationwide.

This release constitutes the latest routine documentation of the unit first established as the Marine Corps' permanent equestrian detachment. The CENTCOM daily release shows the Mounted Color Guard remains active more than two decades after other services phased out comparable horse-mounted formations.