Foot Guards - Other Nations

Other Nations

Many other nations have regiments of foot guards in their armies, as the term 'guards' is an honorific to distinguish elite soldiers. Most monarchies have at least one regiment of guards, part of whose duties is to guard the Royal Family:

• the Royal Life Guards (Den Kongelige Livgarde) and His Majesty The King's Guard (Hans Majestet Kongens Garde) are regiments of the Royal Danish Army and Norwegian Army that perform the same role as the five British regiments perform in London.
• the Guard Regiment Grenadiers (Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers) and Guard Regiment Fusiliers (Garderegiment Fusiliers Prinses Irene) are the two guards regiments of the Royal Netherlands Army.
• the Life Guards (Livgardet) is the only remaining Swedish Guard regiment.

The same goes for most republics; for instance:

• the Počasno- zaštitna bojna/Honor- protection Battalion, the elite ceremonial unit of Croatian Armed Forces.
• the Wachbataillon, the elite ceremonial unit of the German Bundeswehr.
• the Presidential Guard, formerly known as Palace and then Royal Guard, is the elite guard unit for the President of Greece and provide an honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
• the French Republican Guard guards the Élysée Palace and other places symbolic of the sovereignty of the Republic and is under the National Gendarmerie.
• the 3rd US Inf. Regt. Old Guard guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington national cemetery in the United States.
• Russia's Presidential Regiment (also known as the Kremlin Regiment), although not a part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation but part of the Russian Federal Protective Service, is the elite unit that provides the guard of honor at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Moscow's Alexander Garden. When in the Kremlin itself (at Cathedral Square) or at Red Square, during important occasions and weekends, it maintains certain traditions of the Russian Imperial Guard through its uniforms and rifle and cavalry drills during the weekly Changing of the Guard ceremony together with the regimental band, Infantry units and the Cavalry Escort Squadron.
• The Presidential Security Group of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fire Protection is the combined escort and security brigade for the President of the Philippines and wear on ceremony and parade the rayadillo uniforms of the Philippine Army during the Philippine Revolution, adapted for the unit due to its importance, with the dress being dark blue instead of light blue. This unique formation is the only one of its kind, with its members coming from the armed and police services, the coast guard and the fire services.
• Brazil has the Presidential Guards Battalion in Brasília, as the primary foot guards regiment of the Brazilian Army, tasked with the protection of the President of Brazil and his residence, the National Congress of Brazil, and all other government buildings in the Brazilian Federal District. It has the lineage of the Imperial Guards Battalion formed by Emperor Dom Pedro I in 1822 and as such wears its uniform in all ceremonies.
• The 37th Presidential Guards Battalion is the primary guards unit of the National Army of Colombia and as such is the unit mandated for the security of the President of Colombia, the House of Narino, the presidential palace, and all other important government buildings in Bogota, the capital city.

Other countries that have Guards Units

• Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as the former Soviet Union republics in the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Baltic (except Lithuania) have Guards units in their own respective armed forces units. A historical extension of the Russian Imperial Guard, these Guards units represent the elite troops of these nations and in the Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian units, remind everyone of these units' contribution to the Second World War and the war's Allied victory in the eastern parts of Europe and eastern Asia.

• Romania's guard unit is the 30th Honor Guard Regiment "Michael the Brave" of the Romanian Land Forces Logistics Command.

• Bulgaria's guard formation is the National Guard Unit. It is not integrated in the structure of the Armed Forces of Bulgaria and falls under the direct authority of the Ministry of Defense. It is of the size of a reduced battalion and has its own band. The National Guard Unit's sole function is purely ceremonial and according to the Constitution of Bulgaria it is a symbol of the Bulgarian State, next to the national flag, coat of arms and the national anthem. Throughout most of the time of its existence during the monarchy the Bulgarian Guard has been a cavalry unit, which is the reason why today's infantry ceremonial unit sports a cavalry style uniform, but nowadays, like cavalry dragoons of the past, carry only rifles while only the officers and the color guard carry sabres. It also has its own military band.

• Serbia has the Serbian National Guard headquartered in Belgrade and serves as the guards unit of the Serbian Armed Forces. Being a full-time regiment it serves as the honor guard to the President of Serbia and comes under the command of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff.

• Turkey has the Presidential Guard Regiment stationed in Çankaya Köşkü, the official residence of the President of the Republic of Turkey. Unlike the rest of the Land Forces of Turkish Armed Forces they wear Blue-White Ceremonial Uniforms full-time and serve as a honorific unit.