Michael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade

The Michael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade is a primarily ceremonial, as well as combat unit of the Romanian Land Forces.

Michael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade
Brigada 30 Gardă „Mihai Viteazul”
Honor guards during a National Day parade in 2008.
Active1 July 1860 - present
Country Romania
Branch Romanian Armed Forces
TypeBrigade/Regiment
RoleHonor Guard
Security
Infantry
Size130-250
Part of Romanian Land Forces
HeadquartersVasile Milea Boulevard, Bucharest, Romania
Nickname(s)30th Guards Regiment
PatronMihai Viteazul
Decorations National Order of Faithful Service
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Marian Tudor
Notable
commanders		Lieutenant Colonel Dorel Bejan
Insignia
Ceremonial Flag

History

The unit was established on 1 July 1860 through a decree issued by Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza as the 1st Honor Guard battalion of Tiraliori, which ensured the security of Royal palaces.[1] It was renamed 10 years later to the Battalion of Hunters and was reassigned to the War Ministry It was abolished by the communist government in 1948.[2] From then on until 1990, ceremonial duties were served by the Honor Guard Unit of the Romanian People's Army (Garda de Onoare a Armatei Populare Române). The general staff of the armed forces revived the unit as a battalion on 23 February 1990 following the Romanian Revolution. On 25 July 2001 the battalion was upgraded to the level of a brigade, and has been named after Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave) since 2006. The unit was awarded with the National Order of Faithful Service in 2015 on the occasion of the brigade's 155th anniversary.[3]

Mission

Honor Guard Company
Honour Guard pallbearers carry the coffin of King Michael I of Romania out of the Royal Palace compound in December 2017.

The primary mission of the brigade is to perform the required military honours for the President of Romania, Minister of Defence and foreign leaders. It also takes part in events such as the inauguration of a president, military parades, state funerals[4] and military tattoos. It also takes part in the Guard Mounting ceremony at the Mormântul Soldatului Necunoscut in Bucharest. Ceremonies for state visits usually involve more than 100 soldiers of the brigade and the regimental band.

The company has taken part in ceremonies in Romania, and has represented the country in the 2007 Bastille Day military parade in France, and the 2016 Chișinău Independence Day Parade in Moldova.[5]

Regimental Band
The regimental band of the brigade during the visit of Petro Poroshenko to Romania.

The regimental band (Muzica Regimentului) provides musical support to the ceremonial activities of the honor guard. The band, which is currently made up of 60 musicians, is led by Lieutenant Colonel Marian Constantin.[6]

Special Purpose Unit

The brigade maintains a special purpose unit that engages targeting threats to the Bucharest Garrison as well as acts as security and military police in the city. During the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, 15 soldiers from the brigade's special purpose unit were killed while in duty.[7]

  • Soldiers during the 2007 Bastille Day Parade
  • Guards marching during a parade in Rome in 2006
  • Petro Poroshenko inspecting the unit.



References
  1. "Regimentul 30 Gardă "Mihai Viteazul" sau despre cum e să fii militar. Cum să stai ore întregi în picioare fără să clipeşti". Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  2. "It was abolished after the abdication of King Michael I (December 30, 1947) in 1948".
  3. .libertatea.ro/stiri/regimentul-30-garda-mihai-viteazul-garda-permanenta-de-la-catafalcul-regelui-mihai-2076706
  4. "Honor guard soldiers perform a changing of the guard by the coffin of late Romanian King Michael, at the former royal palace,". Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  5. "For the first time, at the invitation of the Minister of Defense, among the participants to this year parade were contingents from the 30th Guard Brigade "Mihai Viteazul"".
  6. https://arcub.ro/fanfare-europene-la-bucureti/
  7. https://m.adevarul.ro/news/eveniment/video-soldatii-protocol--fala-armatei-romane-1_50acf2a67c42d5a6638c66b0/index.html

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