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The Iraqi Republican Guard (Arabic: حرس العراق الجمهوري, romanized: Ḥaras al-ʿIrāq al-Jamhūrīy) was a branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003, which existed primarily during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. It later became known as the Republican Guard Corps, and then the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC) with its expansion into two corps. The Republican Guard was disbanded in 2003 after the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition.
The Republican Guard were the elite troops of the Iraqi army directly reporting to Hussein, unlike the paramilitary force Fedayeen Saddam, and the ordinary Iraqi Army. They were better trained, disciplined, equipped, and paid than ordinary Iraqi soldiers, receiving bonuses, new cars, and subsidized housing.[2]