Serbian Guards Unit

The Serbian Guard is an honor guard unit of the Serbian Armed Forces. It is a full-time regiment that is a directly reporting unit of the Serbian General Staff. The regiment is composed of 4 Battalions and 2 independent companies, all of which are based in the national capital, Belgrade. The guards take part in various events, such as arrival ceremonies at the Palace of Serbia and guard duty at Novi dvor (the seat of the President of Serbia).

Serbian Guard
Гарда Војске Србије
Garda Vojske Srbije
Serbian Guards in the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade.
Active1830–present
Country Serbia
Allegiance President of Serbia
Branch Serbian Armed Forces
TypeHonor Guard
Size4 Battalions, 2 independent companies
Part of Serbian General Staff
HeadquartersBelgrade
MarchParadni Mars (Парадни Марш)
EngagementsBattle of Vukovar
Balkans theatre of World War I
Commanders
Chief of StaffMajor General Milomir Todorović
Guard Sergeant MajorWarrant officer 1st class
Miroslav Marjanović
Insignia
Ceremonial Flag

History

The Serbian Guard was formed in 6 May 1830 by the order of Prince Miloš Obrenović. It originated with 73 people selected for service in the Guard. On May 12, 1838, the Guard gained legal status from a special decree of Prince Miloš. In 1883, the Guard was transformed into a Royal Guard. The Royal Serbian Guard was considered to be an elite unit of the Royal Serbian Army and only the best conscripts were chosen to serve in its ranks. In 1914 the Royal Guard numbered a few thousand men and took part in all major battles of the Balkans theatre of World War I. The Royal Guard was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Nikola Kalabić during World War II and saw service against both Axis powers, their collaborators and the Yugoslav Partisans. On November 1, 1944, the members of the Royal Guard were absorbed into the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). During the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, the Guard took part in the Battle of Vukovar and in the battles in Eastern Slavonia. It played an important role in these events, becoming a strike force for the JNA. The Serbian Guard in its current form was formed on November 30, 2006.[1]

Structure
  • Headquarters Company
  • Command Battalion
  • Honor Guard Battalion
  • 25th Military Police Battalion
  • Supply Battalion
  • Special Purpose Company
  • Independent Honor Guard Drill Company
  • Guards Band

Honor Guard Battalion

Since 28 July 2013, the guard has continued the renewed the tradition of an honour guard in front of the General Secretariat of the President of the Republic at Andricev Venac.[2] Battalion members took part both in the 2015 and 2020 Moscow Victory Day Parades. In the latter, the contingent under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Dragan Jakovljević, was lauded by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, describing as "a special feeling".[3]

25th Military Police Battalion

The 25th Military Police Battalion (Serbian: 25. батаљон војне полиције) is the military police unit of the guard and the Serbian capital. The motorcycles it uses for traffic regulation are produced by BMW. The main purpose of these motorcycles is escort riding, personal escort, regulation and control of traffic, both military and road.[4][5]

Independent Honor Guard Drill Company

The company took part in the finales of the Belgrade Military Parade in 2014 and the Defence of Freedom in 2019.

Guards Band

The Serbian Guards Unit Band is the official representative brass band of the unit and the larger Serbian Army. It is a descendant of the Serbian Prince’s Band in the 1830s. Stanislav Binički was a notable member of the band in the 19th century. He wrote common marches such as the Gardiski marš, Marš na Drinu and the Paradni Marš. It does not perform the traditional high step and (before 1975, the goose step) when marching on parade.

References
  1. sisteme, Vojska Srbije | Serbian Armed Forces :: Centar za komandno-informacione. "Војска Србије | Организација | Јединице Генералштаба Војске Србије | Гарда". www.vs.rs. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  2. http://www.vs.rs/en/article/3F10E28FED9611E4ABAB00163E135070/the-honour-guard
  3. https://tass.com/world/1171283/amp
  4. http://www.bog-rata.com/2019/02/04/garda-srbija-motocikli-bmw/
  5. http://www.paluba.info/smf/index.php?topic=398.0;wap2
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