The U.S. Army Caisson Platoon of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) will be among the Army units leading the way in Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 presidential inaugural parade.

Members of the regiment, based at Fort Myer, Va., have marched as the official “Escort to the President” in every procession since the 1953 inaugural parade of President Dwight D. Eisenhower after President Harry Truman officially bestowed that title on the unit in 1952.

Other Army units confirmed for the procession include the 1st Cavalry Division’s Horse Cavalry Detachment from Fort Hood, Texas, and the 1st Infantry Division Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard from Fort Riley, Kan.

The Army leads every inaugural parade procession for two reasons, said Maj. Brian Fiddermon, officer in charge of the Joint Team Parade. First, some Continental Army veterans of the Revolutionary War escorted George Washington up the steps of Federal Hall in New York City for his first inauguration in 1789. “There are some ceremonial ties associated with that,” Fiddermon said.

Also, as the nation’s oldest and largest service, the Army’s place at the head of the inaugural parade procession is “symbolic of the peaceful transition of power” from one presidential administration to the next, he said.

For President Barack Obama’s second inaugural in 2013, the procession included members of the U.S. Army Field Band; U.S. Military Academy; U.S. Army Color Guard; District of Columbia Army National Guard; 1st Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment; and Army Reserve’s 200th Military Police Command.

This year, organizers said, more than 8,000 participants representing more than 40 organizations are on the parade roster, and more may be added.