Republican Guard (Iraq)

Iraqi Republican Guard
حرس العراق الجمهوري
Republican Guard Forces Command insignia
Founded1969 (1969)
DisbandedApril 2003 (2003-04) (de facto)
23 May 2003 (2003-05-23) (de jure)
Country Iraq
AllegianceSaddam Hussein
BranchBa'athist Iraq Iraqi Armed Forces
TypeRepublican guard
Mechanized infantry
Special operations force
RoleShock troops
Special operations
Airborne infantry
Armoured warfare
Urban warfare
Size≈70,000–75,000 (as of 2002)
Color of beret  Red
EquipmentT-72 tanks
Lion of Babylon tanks
AK-47
TT-33
Engagements
Commanders
Honorable Supervisor of the Republican GuardQusay Hussein
SecretariatKamal Mustafa Abdullah
Chief of StaffSaif Al-Din Al-Rawi
Corps CommandersLt. Gen. Majid al-Dulaymi (I Corps Commander)
Lt. Gen. Ra'ad al-Hamdani
(II Corps Commander)
Notable
commanders
Saddam Hussein
Qusay Hussein
Jabbar K. Alkazahy
Saddam Kamel
Aircraft flown
Attack helicopterMil Mi-24
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein talks with Republican Guard officers in Baghdad on 1 March 2003, 20 days before the invasion.[1] Iraqi News Agency/AP.

The Iraqi Republican Guard (Arabic: حرس العراق الجمهوري, romanizedḤaras 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]

  1. ^ "Republican Guard gets last chance against U.S. forces". usatoday.com. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  2. ^ "US Marines and the Republican Guard: Pay". BBC News.