Republican Guard (Iraq)

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Iraqi Republican Guard
حرس العراق الجمهوري
Republican Guard Forces Command insignia
Founded	1969 (1969)
Disbanded	April 2003 (2003-04) (de facto) 23 May 2003 (2003-05-23) (de jure)
Country	Iraq
Allegiance	Saddam Hussein
Branch	Iraqi Armed Forces
Type	Praetorian Guard Mechanized infantry Special operations force
Role	Shock troops Special operations Airborne infantry Armoured warfare Urban warfare
Size	≈70,000–75,000 (as of 2002)
Color of beret	Red
Equipment	T-72 tanks Lion of Babylon tanks AK-47 TT-33
Engagements	Iran–Iraq War First Battle of Khorramshahr Operation Dezful Operation Nasr Operation Ramadan Operation Before the Dawn Operation Dawn (1983) Operation Dawn 3 Operation Dawn-4 Operation Dawn 5 Operation Dawn 6 Battle of the Marshes Operation Badr (1985) First Battle of al-Faw Battle of Mehran Siege of Basra Operation Karbala-7 Operation Karbala-8 Second Battle of Al Faw Tawakalna ala Allah Operations Persian Gulf War Iraqi invasion of Kuwait Battle of Khafji Battle of 73 Easting Battle of Norfolk Battle of Medina Ridge Battle of Phase Line Bullet Battle of Wadi al-Batin Battle of Rumaila 1991 Iraqi uprisings Kurdish Civil War 2003 invasion of Iraq Attack on Karbala Battle of Baghdad
Commanders
Honorable Supervisor of the Republican Guard	Qusay Hussein
Secretariat	Kamal Mustafa Abdullah
Chief of Staff	Saif Al-Din Al-Rawi
Corps Commanders	Lt. Gen. Majid al-Dulaymi (I Corps Commander) Lt. Gen. Ra'ad al-Hamdani (II Corps Commander)
Notable commanders	Saddam Hussein Qusay Hussein Jabbar K. Alkazahy Saddam Kamel
Aircraft flown
Attack helicopter	Mil Mi-24

The Iraqi Republican Guard (Arabic: حرس العراق الجمهوري, romanized: Ḥaras al-ʿIrāq al-Jamhūrīy) was a branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003, which existed primarily during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. Initially a praetorian guard unit tasked with the sole purpose to protect the president of Iraq, it grew exponentially during the Iran-Iraq War, transforming into an elite force of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It later became known as 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 Hussein, unlike the paramilitary force Fedayeen Saddam, and the regular Iraqi Army. They were better trained, disciplined, equipped, and had higher salaries than ordinary Iraqi soldiers, receiving bonuses, new cars, and subsidized housing.^[2]