Honor Guard

For many years, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard was a loose band of brothers and sisters within the Sheriff’s Office that would serve whenever the need arose and in many cases under difficult and emotional circumstances. The unit made up of both law enforcement and detention deputies became certified in 2004 when its first members attended and were honored by the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association’s (L.E.M.A.) Honor Guard at their annual training camp. Deputy Jon Strum, a Marine Corp veteran, was decorated as the camp’s “2004 Top Gun”.

The Honor Guard’s mission is to serve Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office members and families, the communities in and around Olmsted County and the State of Minnesota at law enforcement and military memorial services and funerals, as well as at schools and other local events.  Each member is aware of the great significance they bear while representing the Olmsted County deputies killed or died in the line of duty, law enforcement deputy Jack Werner in 1977 and detention deputy Mark Anderson in 2021. The Honor Guard seeks to provide the highest level of services they can render when asked to perform and its members are reminded of the Minnesota LEMA Honor Guard’s motto, “The Best we can do is the least we can do.”