The Honour Guard Company of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Պաշտպանության նախարարության Պատվո պահքի գումարտակը) is a military unit of

Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...

that performs protocol tasks for high-ranking officials at the Presidential Palace and the Prime Minister's Residence. The unit is under direct command of the

Ministry of Defense of Armenia The Ministry of Defence of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի պաշտպանության նախարարություն) often abbreviated to the RA Ministry of Defence is an Armenian governmental agency in charge of overseeing the development of the ...

. Most members of the unit are graduates of the

Vazgen Sargsyan Military University The Vazgen Sargsyan Military University ( hy, Վազգեն Սարգսյանի անվան ռազմական համալսարան) is a higher educational institution functioning in the system of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. Its mission is to ...

Overview

The company was established on 18 January 1993. The unit's first major event was the funeral of

Monte Melkonian Monte Melkonian ( hy, Մոնթէ Մելքոնեան; November 25, 1957 – June 12, 1993) was an Armenian-American revolutionary and left-wing nationalist militant. He was the leader of an offshoot of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation ...

in June 1993. The first official welcoming ceremony that the honour guard took part in was for the visit of Russian Defense Minister

Pavel Grachev Pavel Sergeyevich Grachev (russian: Па́вел Серге́евич Грачё́в; 1 January 1948 – 23 September 2012), sometimes transliterated as Grachov or Grachyov, was a Russian Army General and the Defence Minister of the Russian Fed ...

in 1994. That same day, then unit commander Ashot Hakobyan was promoted to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. The company has taken part in the traditional

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

on Republic Square since its inception 1996. In 2010 and 2015, the soldiers from company took part in the

Moscow Victory Day Parade The Moscow Victory Day Parade ( rus, Парад Победы в Москве, r= Parad Pobedy v Moskve) refers to the annual military parade of the Russian Armed Forces on Moscow's Red Square on May 9 during the Victory Day (9 May), Victory Day ...

and was considered by Russian Defense Minister

Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...

as one of the best marching contingents in the latter. Members of the drill team have also participated in events involving the

Russian 102nd Military Base The Russian 102nd Military Base ( hy, Ռուսական 102-րդ ռազմակայան; russian: 102-я российская военная база) is a Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, under the command of the Southern Military Distric ...

based in

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

. Other foreign events have included the Bastille Day military parade in 2014 and the

Festa della Repubblica ''Festa della Repubblica'' (; English: ''Republic Day'') is the Italian National Day and Republic Day, which is celebrated on 2 June each year, with the main celebration taking place in Rome. The ''Festa della Repubblica'' is one of the national ...

parade in 2011 as well as a side performance at the

International Defence Exhibition The International Defence Exhibition & Conference, or IDEX, is a biennial arms and defence technology sales exhibition. The exhibition is the largest defence exhibition and conference in the Middle East and takes place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Em ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

in 2019. Since 2018, the unit has performed guard duty at the Prime Minister's Residence at

Baghramyan Avenue Marshal Baghramyan Avenue ( hy, Մարշալ Բաղրամյան Պողոտա) is an avenue in the central Kentron and the northwestern Arabkir districts of Yerevan, Armenia. The avenue is named after the Soviet Armenian commander and Marshal of ...

. On the 75th anniversary of the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 2020, servicemen of the unit took the combat flags of the 6 Armenian national divisions out of the

Mother Armenia Mother Armenia ( hy, Մայր Հայաստան ) is a female personification of Armenia. Her most public visual rendering is a monumental statue in Victory Park overlooking the capital city of Yerevan, Armenia. Mother Armenia statue in Yerevan ...

Military History Museum and handed them over to Armenian veterans of the war.

Requirements

In order to serve in the unit recruits must have a height of between 180 centimeters (5 ft 9 in) to 187 centimeters (6 ft 1 in). They are also required to maintain good health and have to have a college education (either from the

or one of the country's universities).

Organizational structure

The unit has the following sub-units: * Welcoming Group – Consists of 27 soldiers which includes one commander, one

color guard In Military, military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of Colours, standards and guidons, regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the militar ...

, and 24 personnel. * Wreath Laying Group – Consists of 2-3 personnel. It is usually active at solemn ceremonies at

Tsitsernakaberd The Armenian Genocide Memorial complex ( hy, Հայոց ցեղասպանության զոհերի հուշահամալիր, ''Hayots tseghaspanutyan zoheri hushahamalir'', or Ծիծեռնակաբերդ, '' Tsitsernakaberd'') is Armenia's official ...

and

. * Drill Team Group The unit performed

exhibition drill Exhibition drill is a variant of drill that involves complex marching sequences which usually deviate from drill used in the course of ordinary parades. Teams performing exhibition drill are often affiliated with military units, but the scope of ...

for the first time in 2009 during the celebrations dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Military Institute. It also performed during an event dedicated to

Army Day Many nations around the world observe some kind of Armed Forces Day to honor their military forces. This day is not to be confused with Veterans Day or Memorial Day. Africa Egypt In Egypt, Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 6 October, ...

in the main hall of the

Yerevan Opera Theatre Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet ( hy, Ալեքսանդր Սպենդիարյանի անվան օպերայի և բալետի ազգային ակադեմիական թատրոն, ''Aleksandr Spendiaryani anvan operayi yev bale ...

Weapons

Vladimir Putin in Armenia 14-15 September 2001-1

The unit currently utilizes the

SKS The SKS (russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова, Samozaryadny Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945, self-loading carbine of (the) Simonov system, 1945) is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Soviet small arms ...

rifle during drill, having adopted it in 2006. It previously used the

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

from 1991–2006. Drill with both of these weapons is completely different, with the biggest difference being seen in how both look when they are in the present arms position (the SKS is kept straight while in this position while the bottom of the AK-47 is kept facing to the left).

Commanders

The unit has had the following commanders: * Colonel Ashot Hakobyan (1993–2005) * Lieutenant Colonel Vardan Khanferyants (2005–2009) *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Sokrat Vardanyan (2009–Present) After leading the drill routine during the 2011 military parade, President

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

awarded Vardanyan with the "For Services to the Motherland" second degree medal. Colonel Hakobyan, a former Kremlin Cadet himself, led the

Separate Regiment of Protection The Ministry of Defence of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի պաշտպանության նախարարություն) often abbreviated to the RA Ministry of Defence is an Armenian governmental agency in charge of overseeing the development of the ...

of the

Armenian Army The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...

during the

2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade The 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a parade that took place in Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2015 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The annual parade marks the Allied victory in the Second W ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

. Vardanyan accompanied Hakobyan in the contingent, leading the color guard of the flag of the 89th Rifle Division.

Gallery

File:Vladimir Putin in Armenia,24 April 2015 14.jpg, Members of the Wreath laying group. File:Vladimir Putin in Armenia, December 2013 (2236-01).jpg, Members of the Honours group. File:2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade-8.jpeg, Members of the unit during the

2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade The Moscow Victory Day Parade of 2010 was held on 9 May 2010 to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The parade marks the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War. It was the largest parade h ...

. File:Dmitry Medvedev in Armenia 19 August 2010-2.jpeg, Russian President

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

inspecting the company in August 2010. File:Vladimir Putin in Armenia, December 2013 (2236-04).jpg, The company in front of Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

and Armenian President

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

. File:Lieutenant Colonel Sokrat Vardanyan.jpeg, Lieutenant Colonel Sokrat Vardanyan

References

External links

{{commonscat, Honour guards from Armenia
«Պատիվ ունեմ» փոխգնդապետ Սոկրատ Վարդանյան

The battalion performing during an Armenian independence day parade in 2016The battalion performing an
Exhibition drill in 2011
TIGRAN BAGDASARYAN PPV
Military units and formations of Armenia Guards of honour Military units and formations established in 1993 Ministry of Defence (Armenia)