Azerbaijani National Guard

Azerbaijani National Guard
Azərbaycan Milli Qvardiyası
National Guard troops in the Day of the Armed Forces parade in 2018
Active 25 December 1991 (1991-12-25)
Country  Azerbaijan
Allegiance Azerbaijan
Branch Special State Protection Service of Azerbaijan
Size 2,500[1]
Headquarters Baku
March Azadlıq Marşı (Freedom's March)
Görüş Marşı (Slow March)
Engagements Nagorno-Karabakh War
Commanders
Current
commander		 Colonel-General Vagif Akhundov (chief of SPSS)

The Azerbaijani National Guard (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Milli Qvardiyası) is an armed force of the Government of Azerbaijan, and operates as a semi-independent entity.[2] The Guard was definitely active in December 1996 but now appears to have been incorporated into the Special State Protection Service.[3] The guard was established on the December 25, 1991.[4]

The Special State Protection Service (SSPS) of Azerbaijan is a military unit subordinate to the President of Azerbaijan. Its responsibilities include organization of the President of Azerbaijan, the protection of the National Parliament, Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, the Cabinet of Ministers, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, the Constitutional Court, the Central Election Commission and other public facilities as well as the protection of foreign heads of state on the territory of Azerbaijan.

One of the most important tasks of the SSPS is the safety of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the South Caucasus Pipeline. NATO is providing the service with several helicopters and vehicles in order to safeguard the pipeline.[5]

The National Guard has a guard of honor battalion for ceremonial events.

The National Guard also appears to have a wartime role as part of Azerbaijan's Land Forces.[6][7]

History

On December 25, 1991, the National Guard was established. Initially, military service in National Guard was based on a voluntarily two-year contract. According to the presidential decree of July 31, 1992, the National Guard was expanded into the armed forces.[8][9]The members of the National Guard had the honor of carrying the Flag of Azerbaijan and the Olympic flag during the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 European Games.[10]

Mission

The missions of the Azerbaijani National Guard are:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Балансируя между войной и миром (in Russian)
  2. ↑ Heydar Aliyev's Heritage International Online Library: Speech by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, the High Chief in a ceremony marking the 5th anniversary of the founding of the National Guard - National Guard headquarters in Azerbaijan, 25 December 1996 Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. (in Russian)
  3. ↑ http://www.axisglobe.com/news.asp?news=13236
  4. ↑ Republic of Azerbaijan - Special State Protection Service Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ NATO to supply Azerbaijan and Georgia with new technical equipment
  6. ↑ Azərbaycan Respublikası Milli Qvardiyasının yaranmasının 5-ci ildönümü Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. (in Azerbaijani)
  7. ↑ Milli Qvardiyanın 10 yaşı tamam oldu (in Azerbaijani)
  8. ↑ https://dmx.gov.az/page/7.html
  9. ↑ http://military-az.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=77
  10. ↑ http://en.president.az/articles/15565
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