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

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

's''

honour guard 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 ...

. The Wachbataillon number about 1,000 soldiers stationed in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It consists of seven active

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

(see list below) and belongs to the '' Streitkräftebasis'' (Joint Service Support Command) of the Bundeswehr. The soldiers of the Wachbataillon often refer to themselves as ''Protter'' or ''Protokollsoldaten'', meaning protocol soldiers.

Mission

The primary mission of the Wachbataillon is to perform the military honours for the German president, the German Chancellor, the Federal Minister of Defence and the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr 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 ceremony, parades,

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 o ...

s, military tattoos and shows with its drill team 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 forces. Therefore, all soldiers of the Wachbataillon are trained as

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 ...

men and do regular exercises on military training areas (Truppenübungsplatz) in addition to their protocol duties.

Recruitment

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" (). At the "Ehrengeleit" (escort of honor) after the death of the well known and veteran politician Wolfgang Schäuble several soldiers were seen with beards. Since 2024 beards are officially allowed in the Wachbataillon. Since 2009, the 1./WachBtl BMVg staff- and supply company has admitted female personnel. In the for Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in March 2011, the first female soldier performed the role of torchbearer. Until the end of conscription in Germany in July 2011, about 80 per cent 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, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

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 army aviati ...

) and have the uniforms from all forces at their disposal to be able to perform any drill mission on every occasion. Green berets are used for army uniform, the (dark) blue beret for air force and the navy wears traditionally the sailor suit (). 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 system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

the Wachbataillon is the only unit of the Bundeswehr still using the Karabiner 98k bolt action rifle because the traditional

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

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 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 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 Streitkräftebasis. The battalion is organized into seven active companies (four of them honour guard companies) and two inactive military reserve 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 Military units and formations established in 1957 Guards of honour Joint Support Service (Germany)