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The Moroccan Royal Guard () is officially part of the
The Guard is currently organized as a Regiment of 6,000 troops as follows;
*4 Infantry Battalions, each of 25 officers and 1,000 troops.
*2 Cavalry Squadrons.
Royal Moroccan Army
The Royal Moroccan Army ( ''Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah'', ''tasrdast tagldant'') is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations.
The Royal Moroccan Army is about 215,000 t ...
. However it is under the direct operational control of the Royal Military Household of His Majesty the King. The sole duty of the guard is to provide for the security and safety of the King and royal family of Morocco.
History
The Royal Guard traces its origins to the formerBlack Guard
The Black Guard or ''‘Abid al-Bukhari'' (; also known as ''‘Abīd ad-Dīwān'' "slaves of the diwan", ''Jaysh al-‘Abīd'' "the slave army", and ''‘Abid as-Sultan'' "the sultan’s slaves") were the corps of black-African slaves and ''Ha ...
(''Moulay Ismail
Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (, – 22 March 1727) was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672 to 1727, as the second ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was the seventh son of Moulay Sharif and was governor of the province of Fez and the north of Morocco from ...
in 1699. It was a military corps of black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
slaves organized into permanent infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
and cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
units. The corps was unofficially referred to as the "Black Guard" because its members were recruited from the ''Haratin
The Haratin (, singular ''Ḥarṭānī''), also spelled Haratine or Harratin, are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western ...
'', a black people from southern Morocco and/or originally from Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as from other black inhabitants of the region. The name ''Sahih al-Bukhari
() is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an.
Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...
'', a famous collection of ''hadith''s compiled by Muhammad al-Bukhari
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm al-Juʿfī al-Bukhārī (; 21 July 810 – 1 September 870) was a 9th-century Persian Muslim '' muhaddith'' who is widely regarded as the most important ''hadith'' scholar in the histor ...
.
After Morocco gained its independence in 1956. The Haratines are no longer part of the Royal Guard today.
Organization
The Guard is currently organized as a Regiment of 6,000 troops as follows;
*4 Infantry Battalions, each of 25 officers and 1,000 troops.
*2 Cavalry Squadrons.
Other Guard units
The King is always accompanied by units of the Royal Guard whenever he is on Moroccan soil. All members of the Royal Guard wear ared beret
The red beret is a military beret worn by many artillery, military police, paramilitary, commando, and police forces and should not be confused with the maroon beret worn by airborne troops all around the world.
Artillery
Red berets are worn by ...
. Red full dress uniforms of traditional style (white in summer) are worn by both cavalry and infantry on ceremonial occasions.
The King is also protected by two other units of the Royal Moroccan Army. They are, however, not an official part of the Royal Guard. These are:
* The elite Parachute Brigade headquartered in Rabat (number of troops unknown).
* The Light Security Brigade of 2,000 troops.
Weapons
Rifles
*SAR-21
The SAR 21 ("Singapore Assault Rifle - 21st Century") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in Singapore, chambered for the 5.56x45mm cartridge. First revealed and subsequently adopted by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as its s ...
* M16A2
* FN FAL
The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953.
During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...
* AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
* M4A1
The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 rifle, M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively used by ...
Submachine guns
*Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (, ) is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s by German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It uses a similar modular design to the Heckler & Koch G3, and has over 100 variants and clones, including selective fire, Se ...
Pistols
*Beretta 92
The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy.
History
Carlo Beretta, Giuseppe Mazzetti and Vittorio Valle, all experienced firearms designers, contributed to ...
FS
Machine Guns
*FN MAG
The FN MAG (, , ) is a Belgian 7.62 mm calibre, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it h ...
* AA-52 The term AA-5 or AA5 may refer to:
* AA-5 Ash, NATO reporting name for the Bisnovat R-4 a Soviet long-range air-to-air missile
* Grumman American AA-5, an American light aircraft
* All American Five
The term All American Five (abbreviated AA5) is ...
;Heavy machine gun
* M2 Browning
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...
* ZPU-2
Rocket launchers
*RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has t ...
* RPG-9
Anti-tank missiles
*BGM-71 TOW
The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, wire-guided missile, Wire-guided", pronounced ) is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more ...
Mortars
*L16 81mm Mortar
The L16 81mm mortar is a British and Canadian standard mortar used by the Canadian Army, British Army, and many other armed forces. It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 8 ...
* M120 120 mm mortar
The Soltam K6 is a 120 mm (4.75 inch) mortar that was developed by Soltam Systems of Israel. It is the long-range version of the Soltam K5 and has replaced older systems, such as the M30, in several armies, including the United States Arm ...
Self-propelled artillery
* M40 GMCCombat vehicles
*Humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...
Former commanders
*GeneralMohamed Medbouh
Mohamed Medbouh (; 17 July 1927 – 10 July 1971) was a senior Moroccan Army officer. He was Minister of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones in the government of Abdallah Ibrahim (1958–1960). He was co-organizer with Colonel M'hamed Ababou of t ...
*General Abdesalam SefriouiSee also
* Royal guard *Imperial guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the emperor and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...
* National guard
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
...
* Military of Morocco
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Kingdom of Morocco. They consist of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Royal Gendarmerie, and the Royal Guard.
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces have experience in counter-ins ...
* Republican guard
A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...
References
External links
{{Moroccan security forces Royal Guard, Moroccan Royal guards Royal Guard, Moroccan Military units and formations established in 1956