The Iraqi Special Republican Guard (SRG) ( ar, الحرس الجمهوري الخاص ""Ḥaris al-‘Irāq al-Jamhūriyy al-Khas"), also known as the Special Forces Brigade of the Presidential Palace, Republican Guard Special Protection Forces, or the Golden Division, was an Iraqi personal security force founded in either early 1992 or March 1995 in Ba'athist-era Iraq. The Special Republican Guard was controlled by the Special Security Organization and charged with protecting

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

, presidential sites,

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, and responding to any rebellion, coup, or other threat to his power.

History

In order to prevent a coup d'etat,

forbade the Special Republican Guard (SRG) from coordinating with other forces, even the normal

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

and no other units were ever allowed near SRG. The Special Republican Guard received better pay and benefits than members of the normal Republican Guard and the regular

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...

. By 2002, there were reportedly 12,000 members of the Special Republican Guard, drawn primarily from clans loyal to Saddam Hussein and his regime. As many as five

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

s containing 14

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s of 1,300–1,500 men each, and also included

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

armored Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat Co ...

, and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

were reported to be in existence at that time. On 23 May 2003, the Special Republican Guard was officially dissolved as per CPA Order 2 in the wake of the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Former members of the Special Republican Guard were later suspected of carrying out insurgent attacks on Coalition forces in Iraq after the invasion, but also seemed to form the cadre around which the various

Sons of Iraq The Sons of Iraq ( ar, أبناء العراق ''Abnāʼ al-ʻIrāq'') were coalitions between tribal sheikhs in the Al Anbar province in Iraq as well as former Saddam Hussein's Iraqi military officers that united in 2005 to maintain stability i ...

Anbar Awakening The Sons of Iraq ( ar, أبناء العراق ''Abnāʼ al-ʻIrāq'') were coalitions between tribal sheikhs in the Al Anbar province in Iraq as well as former Saddam Hussein's Iraqi military officers that united in 2005 to maintain stability i ...

home guard militias, funded, trained, equipped and operated alongside American forces were composed of.

Structure

The SRG had 13 or 14 battalions and ranged in troop strength from 15,000 to 26,000. This may have fallen to only 12,000 by 2002. *1st Brigade *2nd Brigade *3rd Brigade *4th Brigade *Air Defense Command *Tank Command

History

Structure

References

Further reading