Pacific Partnership 2015 leaders visit Republic of Fiji Military Forces Strategic Headquarters 150609-F-YW474-061

The quarter guard is a small detachment of troops that can be used as a ceremonial guard which may be mounted at the entrance of a military unit to pay compliments as required. A quarter guard is to consist of one non-commissioned officer and six or eight other ranks formed up in two ranks.''RAF Drill and Ceremonial'' AP 818 7th Edition It is technically a minuscule

guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

Indian Army

In the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

, the quarter guard is the main point of security arrangements for the army camp/

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

Regimental depot The regimental depot of a regiment is its home base for recruiting and training. It is also where soldiers and officers awaiting discharge or postings are based and where injured soldiers return to full fitness after discharge from hospital ...

. The

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

al colours, the

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and the

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

would be kept in this building. In addition to this, the quarter guard also has a lock-up often in the

guardhouse A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house Security guard, personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have histori ...

to hold

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

s charged with minor

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

s ( absent without leave,

drunkenness Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...

being among the usual crimes). The standard guard strength is 6 guards, 1 guard 2/ic (2nd in command - usually a Naik or Lance Naik) and a guard commander (usually a

Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian and Pakistani armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry and armoured units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergea ...

). Additionally, in some units, a bugler would also be present for calling the various duty calls etc. At the time of emergencies/threats, the strength of the guard would be increased. The Armoury is a part of the Quarter Guard. A Quarter Guard is a place of pride for the Army Unit and the guards detailed on duty there are always in ceremonials. A visiting dignitary invariably visits the Quarter Guard. A Quarter Guard is expected to reflect the high standards of the unit. It has some relation with the number of troops in presidential guard. May be a quarter of governor general guard in British Empire.

Border Security Force(BSF)

In Indian

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was formed in the wake of the Indo-Pak War of 196 ...

battalions, like the Indian Army, the quarter is a special place where along with armory and treasury there subsist a guardhouse lockup where defaulting border troopers, accused of petty indiscipline cases like intoxication, AWOL, are kept under force custody. It also has a chime that is called for important regimental functions in the Battalion. The guard consist of total 8 troopers including one guard commander and one guard second-in-command in addition to a battalion Bugler. The quarter guard reflects the moral and motivation of the battalion, hence it's a well maintained and revered place in a BSF battalion. Battalion Adjutants are responsible for the overall upkeep and regular change of guard at the quarter guard.

References

Military traditions Ceremonial units and formations {{mil-stub