The Honor Guard Company of the Moldovan National Army is an

honor guard A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

unit of the

Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova The Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Forțele Armate ale Republicii Moldova) consist of the National Army (which is divided into the Land Forces Command and the Air Forces Command) and the Trupele de Carabinieri under the Ministr ...

. Founded on 22 June 1992, it is part of the National Army's Guard Battalion. To be eligible for the honor guard, one should be at least , have strong health, and have a pleasant appearance.

Activities

The unit participates in over 250 ceremonies, including the ceremonies of the appointment of foreign diplomats, and state award ceremonies and welcome ceremonies. The members of the company also have participated in military parades in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and other countries. It commonly performs military rituals on

public holidays A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

such as

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

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 ...

and Liberation Day. Daily training in front and specialist training lasts for 4 hours. Currently, it is the only unit in the armed forces to utilize the

goose step The goose step is a special marching step which is performed during formal military parades and other ceremonies. While marching in parade formation, troops swing their legs in unison off the ground while keeping each leg rigidly straight. The ...

. In 2012, President

Nicolae Timofti Nicolae Timofti (; born 22 December 1948 in Ciutulești, Moldavian SSR) is a Moldovan jurist and politician who was President of Moldova from 23 March 2012 until 23 December 2016. He served as head of Moldova's Supreme Magistrate Council and wa ...

described it as "the Visit Card of the Republic of Moldova".

Parades

In Moldova, there is one parade during which it is an active participant, the

Chișinău Independence Day Parade The Chișinău Independence Day Parade is one of the events of the Independence Day of Moldova held by the Moldovan National Army. The parade is held in Chișinău, Moldova on August 27 every 5 to 10 years on Great National Assembly Square. His ...

on 27 August that takes place every 5 years. In 2010, a 76 (70 on parade with 6 in reserve) man contingent from the 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 ...

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 ...

, arriving by train days prior and staying at lodging in

Naro-Fominsk Naro-Fominsk (russian: На́ро-Фоми́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Naro-Fominsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Nara River, southwest from Moscow. Population: History The Fominskoye village was fir ...

and

Alabino Alabino (russian: Алабино) is a rural locality in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. With a population of over 600 people, it is part of the urban settlement of Selyatino. Until 2006, Alabino was part of the Petrovsky Rural District. The town hos ...

.https://www.army.md/img/userfiles/publicatii/om/archive/08(2014).pdf Although there were concerns over financial difficulties in transporting the contingent, parliament speaker

Marian Lupu Marian Lupu (; born 20 June 1966) is a Moldovan politician who was the President of the Parliament of Moldova between 2010 and 2013. From this position he served as Acting President of the Republic from 2010 until 2012. Personal life Marian Lup ...

stated nonetheless that "''It is a pride for Moldova that its soldiers marched on the

''". The year before, it took part in a parade on Prince Alexander of Battenberg Square in

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, leading a

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

during the

Bulgarian Armed Forces Day Bulgarian Armed Forces Day ( bg, Ден на българските въоръжени сили), also known as the Day of Bravery () or the Day of Bravery and Holiday of the Bulgarian Army () is a national holiday celebrated annually on May 6, com ...

parade. It also took part in the

2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade The 2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a military parade that took place in Moscow's Red Square on 24 June 2020 to commemorate the 75th Diamond Jubilee of both the capitulation of Nazi Germany in the Second World War in 1945 and the historic Mosco ...

at the same venue in honor of the war's 75th anniversary. The company's participation in the 2020 parade drew criticism by politicians, with former Defence Minister Anatol Salaru saying that the parade could expose the company to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. A three-member

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 ...

represented the country at the 2014 Bastille Day military parade in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. According to Vitalie Josan, the now commander of the company who was the flag bearer in while in

, the contingent from the

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...

assumed the uniform was not useful when worn in the field, to which he responded by revealing that it has more resistance than other field uniforms, having been tested in polygons. The unit for the first time represented the country in a parade in

in 2014. The parade, which was held on

Great Union Day , nickname = ro, Ziua Marii Uniri , observedby = Romania, Moldova (unofficially) , begins = , ends = , duration = 1 day , frequency = annual , scheduling = same day each year , date = 1 December , da ...

, was held through the

Arcul de Triumf The Arcul de Triumf (Romanian; "Triumphal Arch") is a triumphal arch located in the northern part of Bucharest, Romania, on the Kiseleff Road. The first, wooden, triumphal arch was built hurriedly, after Romania gained its independence (1878 ...

in central

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. In 2018, the unit (led by Vasile Ojoga) represented Moldova at the

Kyiv Independence Day Parade The Kyiv Independence Day Parade () has been the main event of various celebrations of the Independence Day of Ukraine, which is celebrated annually in Kyiv on August 24.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti Maidan Nezalezhnosti ( uk, Майдан Незалежності , literally "Independence Square") is the central square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city's main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchen ...

, which also saw 14 other contingents from

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and Ukraine allied armed services. It returned to Kiev with a limited contingent in 2021 led by Captain Victor Shipilov.

Changing of the Guard Ceremony

The ceremony of the changing of the guards is performed by members of the company at the Eternity Memorial Complex in Chisinau. It is performed by three soldiers and one officer wearing their service uniform. The ceremony is done hourly and is similar to the ceremony in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Guards stand at attention in all types of weather, as well as during ceremonies such as the laying of wreaths at the monument.

Recognition

After the returning from the Moscow parade in 2020 and upon returning from a two-week quarantine that followed, members of the company were awarded with army decoration by President Dodon and Defence Minister

Alexandru Pînzari Alexandru Pînzari (born 3 January 1973) is a Moldovan policeman and politician. He served as Minister of Defense of Moldova from March-November 2020. Prior to his appointment, he served as the head of the General Police Inspectorate for four y ...

Commanders

*Major Igor Procop (circa 2010) *Captain Vitalie Josan (? - circa 2021) *Captain Victor Shipilov (interim) (circa 2021)

Gallery

File:Members of a Moldovan Honor Guard Await Secretary Kerry's Exit From a Meeting With Moldovan Officials (11211944946).jpg, An unarmed member of the company at the Presidential Administration. File:Jassy–Kishinev Offensive anniversary 11.jpg, Members of the company being inspected by

Sergey 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 ...

Pavel Voicu Pavel Voicu (born 29 January 1973) is a Moldovan politician who was the Minister of Defence of Moldova in the Sandu Cabinet and the Interior Minister under President Igor Dodon and Prime Minister Ion Chicu. He was also a personal advisor to Dod ...

and

Victor Gaiciuc Victor Gaiciuc (born 12 March 1957) is a Moldovan military general, who served as Moldovan Minister of Defense until August 2021. He was also the National Security Advisor to former president Igor Dodon. He is currently the chairman of the Union ...

during the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

celebrations in 2019. File:Bastille Day 2014 Paris - Color guards 029.jpg, A soldier from the company during the 2014 Bastille Day military parade in

. File:Defense.gov News Photo 040626-F-6655M-263.jpg, Members of the company at Chisinau International Airport. File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 04.jpg, Members of the company holding a large

Flag of Moldova The national flag of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Drapelul Moldovei) is a vertical triband of blue, yellow, and red, charged with the coat of arms of Moldova (an eagle holding a shield charged with an aurochs) on the centre bar. The reverse i ...

. File:Bastille Day 2014 Paris - Color guards 028.jpg, An ensign of the company in

. File:Eternitate 07.jpg, A member of the company standing guard at the memorial complex. File:Moldovan contingent at the parade in Moscow.webm, A video of the Moldovan honour guard during the parade in

External links

Garda de Onoare la 25 de ani

GARDA DE ONOARE

Garda de Onoare 25 ani

Onor la Paris

Молдавские военные примут участие в параде

References

{{Military of Moldova Military units and formations of Moldova

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

1992 establishments in Moldova Military units and formations established in 1992