Iraqi Republican Guard | |
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Republican Guard Forces Command insignia
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Active | 1969–2003 |
Country | Iraq |
Allegiance | Saddam Hussein |
Branch | Iraqi military |
Type | Armored corps |
Size | ≈70,000–75,000 (as of 2002) |
Colors | Red berets |
Equipment |
T-72 tanks Lion of Babylon tank AK-47 |
Engagements | |
Disbanded | May 23, 2003 |
Commanders | |
Honorable Supervisor of the Republican Guard | Qusay Hussein |
Secretariat | Kamal Mustafa Abdullah |
Chief of Staff | Sayf al-Din al-Rawi |
Corps Commanders |
Lt. Gen. Majid al-Dulaymi (I Corps Commander) (II Corps Commander) |
Notable commanders |
Qusay Hussein Hussein Kamel al-Majid Saddam Kamel |
Aircraft flown | |
Attack helicopter | Mil Mi-24 |
1991 uprisings in Iraq
2003 Invasion of Iraq
Lt. Gen. Majid al-Dulaymi (I Corps Commander)
The Iraqi Republican Guard (Arabic: حرس العراق الجمهوري Ḥaras al-‘Irāq al-Jamhūriyy) was a branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003, primarily during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. It later became the Republican Guard Corps, and then the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC) with its expansion into two corps. The Republican Guard was disbanded in 2003, after the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition.
The Republican Guard were the elite troops of the Iraqi army directly reporting to Saddam Hussein, unlike the paramilitary force Fedayeen Saddam, and the ordinary Iraqi Army. Guard members were mainly, but not exclusively, Sunni Arabs rather than Shi'a Arabs, or Sunni Kurds. They were better trained, disciplined, equipped, and paid than ordinary Iraqi soldiers, receiving bonuses, new cars, and subsidized housing.