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Guard of honour

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Guard of honour

A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, especially funerals. In military weddings, especially those of commissioned officers, a guard, composed usually of service members of the same branch, form the sabre arch. In principle, any military unit could act as a guard of honour. In some countries, certain units are specially assigned to undertake guard of honour postings or other public duties. Republican guards, royal guards and foot guards frequently have ceremonial duties assigned to them.

Guards of honour also serve in the civilian world for fallen police officers, firefighters, and other civil servants. Uniformed firefighting and law enforcement personnel render military-style salutes, and color guards present the colors at funerals and memorial services for fallen firefighters, law enforcement personnel and other civil servants. Certain religious bodies, especially churches of the Anglican Communion and the Methodist movement, have the tradition of an honour guard at the funeral of an ordained elder, in which all other ordained elders present "guard the line" between the door of the church and the grave, or hearse if the deceased is to be buried elsewhere or cremated. Catholic chivalric orders, such as the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, provide guards of honour for deceased knights and high-ranking officers during funerals. The practice of providing a guard of honour as a mark of respect also occurs in sports, especially throughout the Commonwealth of Nations.

Guards of honour have been mounted by a number of military forces, uniformed paramilitary organizations, and civilian emergency services.

The Algerian Republican Guard is a mainly ceremonial military corps of the Algerian Army. Composed of 6,000 troops, it is very similar in its formation style to equivalent units in the French Army. The Republican Guard includes a military band and a cavalry unit, the uniform and traditions of which are based on those of the famous Berber cavalry, the Numidian cavalry, the French cavalry, and the Arab cavalry, as well as infantry.

The Egyptian Republican Guard is a division level unit in the Egyptian Army which is the seniormost unit in the Egyptian Armed Forces that has the responsibility of defending the President of Egypt, as well as major presidential and national institutions. It is a type of guard regiment that is composed of dozens upon dozens of armored brigades, mechanized brigades and divisional artillery, Being the seniormost unit in the armed forces, the Republican Guard Division is the only major military unit allowed in central Cairo besides the troops of intelligence services and Central Security Forces.

The Guard of Honour unit in Namibia is the 21 Ceremonial Guard Battalion of the Namibian Defence Force. Falling under the 21 Brigade based in Windhoek. It was part of the presidential security detail until removed from this role and put on honour guard duty.

The members of the Nigerian Presidential Guard Brigade are elite Nigerian soldiers who guard the residence of the President of the Federal Republic and his or her guests as well as performing ceremonial duties. It is similar to the United States Secret Service in that its members also provide security for visiting heads of state. The brigade performs a weekly changing of the guard ceremony outside Aso Villa and stands guard at the Presidential Villa. Aside from that, the guards brigade also mounts the guard of honour for state visits, as well as the Independence Day Military Parade in Abuja. The brigade is the senior unit in the Nigerian Army's order of battle.

The Red Guard of Senegal is a Senegalese Gendarmerie unit that is responsible for maintaining the security of the President of Senegal. It is similar to the ceremonial elements in the French Republican Guard. The unit's uniform is derived from the French colonial Spahi. The Red Guard is under the direct command of the Security Legion of the Senegalese Mobile Gendarmerie. It is composed of many units that serve ceremonial duties, with the most notable being the honour guard battalion, which an infantry unit, and the mounted squadron.

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