Moroccan Royal Guard
Close protection | |
Size | 6,000 |
---|---|
Part of | Royal Moroccan Armed Forces |
Commanders | |
Commander | General Mimoun Mansouri |
Insignia | |
Flag |
The Moroccan Royal Guard (
History
The Royal Guard traces its origins to the former
The Guard was formerly known as the Cherifian Guard (because the King is a sharif or descendant of Muhammad), the name was changed to Royal Guard 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 a red beret. 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
Submachine guns
Pistols
Machine Guns
- FN MAG
- AA-52
- Heavy machine gun
- M2 Browning
- ZPU-2
Rocket launchers
Anti-tank missiles
Mortars
- L16 81mm Mortar
- M120 120 mm mortar
Self-propelled artillery
- M40 GMC
Combat vehicles
Former commanders
- General Mohamed Medbouh[4]
- General Abdesalam Sefrioui[5]
See also
- Royal guard
- Imperial guard
- National guard
- Military of Morocco
- Republican guard
References
- S2CID 219625829– via Taylor and Francis Online.
- ISBN 978-0814731666.
- ISBN 978-1-107-02577-6.
- ^ Dalle, Ignace (2011-03-09). Hassan II:Entre tradition et absolutisme.
- ^ Mahjoub Tobji (2006-09-13). Les officiers de Sa Majesté:Les dérives des généraux marocains 1956-2006.
Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent French-language Wikipedia article, accessed December 19, 2006.