Honor Guard Coffee was founded by two Marine Corps veterans Steven (me), a Staff Sergeant and Operation Enduring Freedom veteran, and John, a Sergeant and Operation Inherent Resolve veteran. Between us, we've logged 10 deployments and about 18 years of combined service. We met at Infantry Small Unit Leaders Course, where I was serving as a combat instructor and John was a squad leader with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines.
Neither of us planned to start a coffee company. But we both ended up with service dogs, and those dogs changed everything.
"Venus is my APL. She gives me a read on the room without ever saying a word. Because of her I can navigate the chaotic world we live in with confidence before her, I was struggling just in the grocery store."
John's dog is Woodrow F. Call. Mine is Venus. They are the reason this company exists.
What we saw was a gap: trained service dogs make a measurable difference in the lives of veterans dealing with PTSD, TBI, the weight of transition and loads more. and there weren't enough of them reaching veterans, the only reason either of have a service dog, as a matter of fact, is because we were forced to train them ourselves. Honor Guard Coffee was built to change that. Every bag of coffee directly funds the service dog placement program. The coffee is real. The mission is the point.
What veteran owned means at Honor Guard
Veteran-owned isn't a marketing badge for us. It's the operating logic of the company. Both of us founders served in the infantry. Both deployed with infantry units in high risk environments. Both found healing in service dogs. The mission of this company placing trained service dogs with veterans is drawn directly from our own lives, not from market research.
Honor Guard Coffee is registered as a veteran-owned small business operating out of Nampa, Idaho. We are pursuing B Corp certification as we grow. The revenue from specialty coffee subscriptions funds the service dog program, with a longer-term vision of a working ranch facility in Idaho that offers veterans housing, vocational training, and mental health support.
When you buy this veteran owned coffee, you are not donating to a cause adjacent to a product. You are the funding mechanism. That's the model, and we mean it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Honor Guard Coffee veteran owned?
Yes. Honor Guard Coffee was founded by two Marine Corps veterans Steven, a Staff Sergeant and OEF veteran, and John, a Sergeant and OIR veteran with a combined 18 years of service and 10 deployments between them.
Where is Honor Guard Coffee based?
Honor Guard Coffee is based in Nampa, Idaho, in the Treasure Valley.
What does Honor Guard Coffee's mission fund?
Revenue from Honorguard Coffee funds a service dog program for veterans, as well as peer to peer support in Heavy Hitters Project, and agricultural therapy with The Vital Roots Foundation. Both founders have service dogs and built the program around the firsthand difference trained dogs make for veterans navigating daily life after service.
What is Rare Ground?
Rare Ground is Honor Guard's monthly single origin coffee subscription. Each month features a single-origin coffee from a specific farm or cooperative, sourced from producing regions around the world. Subscribers receive the lot before it rotates out, along with the full origin story of where it came from and who grew it.
Is veteran-owned coffee a good gift?
A Rare Ground subscription makes a meaningful gift for veterans, military families, and specialty coffee drinkers alike. The purchase directly supports the service dog placement mission, which gives it weight beyond the coffee itself.
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