The Wachbataillon (full name: ''Wachbataillon beim Bundesministerium der Verteidigung'' (WachBtl BMVg) (Guard Battalion at the Federal Ministry of Defence) is the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

's''

honour guard A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

. The Wachbataillon number about 1,000 soldiers stationed in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. It consists of seven active

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

(see list below) and belongs to the ''

Streitkräftebasis The Joint Support Service (german: Streitkräftebasis, , ''abbreviated:'' SKB, ; literally Armed Forces Foundation) is a branch of the German ''Bundeswehr'' established in October 2000 as a result of major reforms of the ''Bundeswehr''. It handl ...

'' (Joint Service Support Command) of the Bundeswehr. The soldiers of the Wachbataillon often refer to themselves as ''Protter'' or ''Protokollsoldaten'', meaning

protocol Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states * Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state * Etiquette, a code of personal behavior Science and technology ...

soldiers.

Mission

The primary mission of the Wachbataillon is to perform the military honours for the

German president The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

, the

German Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

, the Federal Minister of Defence and the

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

during state visits or on comparable occasions. The Wachbataillon executes the ''

Großer Zapfenstreich The ("Grand Tattoo", "Beating Retreat") is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the Ger ...

'' ("Grand Tattoo") on special occasions (for example on the 50th anniversary of the Bundeswehr in front of the Reichstag in Berlin on the night of 26 October, 2005) or takes part in events like the

ceremonial oath of the Bundeswehr There were two types of soldiers serving in the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Forces): regular units and conscripts. Consequently, there were also two types of oaths. Conscripts recited a pledge, since their service was compulsory and not unconditi ...

ceremony,

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

s and shows with its

drill team A drill team can be one of four different entities: # A military drill team is a marching unit that performs routines based on military foot or exhibition drills. Military drill teams perform either armed or unarmed. # A dance drill team creat ...

which is the best trained special unit of the battalion. A secondary mission is to perform (ceremonial) guard duty at the Ministry of Defence and other high-profile public places and to protect and guard members of the German government and the Ministry of Defence. Another secondary mission is to secure and defend the alternate seat of the federal German government in conjunction with the

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

forces. Therefore, all soldiers of the Wachbataillon are trained as

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

men and do regular exercises on

military training areas A proving ground (US) is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. ...

(Truppenübungsplatz) in addition to their protocol duties.

Recruitment

Großer Zapfenstreich auf dem Münchner Platz in Bonn

Until recently, the Wachbataillon protocol- and security companies only admitted male personnel that had a body height ranging from up to , normal eyesight and body weight and are generally in good health. Wachbataillon personnel (especially protocol soldiers) still are not allowed to grow beards or moustaches as well as wearing glasses or being overweight (). These are internally known as the "three forbidden B's" (). Since 2009, the 1./WachBtl BMVg staff- and supply company has admitted female personnel. In the for

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (born 5 December 1971), known professionally as Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is a German businessman and politician of the Christian Soc ...

in March 2011, the first female soldier performed the role of torchbearer. Until the end of

conscription in Germany The Federal Republic of Germany had conscription (''Wehrpflicht'') for male citizens between 1956 and 2011. On 22 November 2010, the German Minister of Defence proposed to the government to put conscription into abeyance on 1 July 2011. The const ...

in July 2011, about 80 percent of Wachbataillon's personnel were conscripts. The requirements for Wachbataillon personnel were relaxed to a body height ranging from up to , no visible visual aids and having a good general fitness. In March 2012 the first female officer took command of a platoon of the Wachbataillon. The soldiers of the Wachbataillon are from all three German armed services (i.e.

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

and

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

) and have the uniforms from all forces at their disposal to be able to perform any drill mission on every occasion. Green

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...

s are used for army uniform, the (dark) blue beret for air force and the navy wears traditionally the

sailor suit A sailor suit is a uniform traditionally worn by enlisted seamen in a navy or other governmental sea services. It later developed into a popular clothing style for children, especially as dress clothes. Origins and history In the Royal Navy, t ...

(). The beret badge for army and air force uniform shows the letter "W" as an abbreviation for Wachbataillon.

Equipment

For reasons of

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

the Wachbataillon is the only unit of the Bundeswehr still using the

Karabiner 98k The Karabiner 98 kurz (; " carbine 98 short"), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92× ...

bolt action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-actio ...

rifle because the traditional

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n rifle drills can be executed better with that historical weapon. In 1995 remaining swastikas and other Nazi-era markings were removed from these rifles, after criticism regarding the presence of such symbols on Wachbataillon kit by the SPD parliamentary party. As of 29 October 2011 women are allowed to participate in the drill training with the Karabiner 98k. During normal duty the Wachbattalion uses the

Heckler & Koch G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the heavier 7.62×51mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the ''Bu ...

assault rifle and other kit like the other units of the Bundeswehr. Since 2006 the 1./WachBtl BMVg is the last unit in the Bundeswehr using ten Feldhaubitze 105 mm guns in the role of salute guns.

Tradition

The Wachbataillon has been granted exemption of the Traditionserlass and is thus continuing the traditions of the

1st Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

and the Infantry Regiment 9 Potsdam, the only unit in the Bundeswehr to officially have such ties. Veterans of these regiments are joined with active and former members of the Wachbataillon in the Semper Talis Union.www.semper-talis-bund.de homepage
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Structure

The Wachbataillon is stationed at the Julius Leber barracks in the centre of Berlin. Since 2001 the Wachbataillon is part of the

. The battalion is organized into seven active companies (four of them honour guard companies) and two inactive

military reserve A military reserve, active reserve, reserve formation, or simply reserve, is a group of military personnel or units that is initially not committed to a battle by its commander, so that it remains available to address unforeseen situations or ex ...

companies.

List of Wachbataillon's companies

References

External links

Official information site about the Wachbataillon (German)

Semper Talis Union (German)

Protokollsoldat aus Leidenschaft - Zugführerin im Wachbataillon der Bundeswehr
{{Authority control Battalions of the Bundeswehr Guards regiments of Germany Continuity of government Military units and formations established in 1957 Guards of honour Joint Support Service (Germany)