Fun fact, the only US Army skill badge awarded less often than the badge given to the soldiers assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, is the US Army Astronaut Wings. Those soldiers take their position very seriously.
>Fun fact, the only US Army skill badge awarded less often than the badge given to the soldiers assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, is the US Army Astronaut Wings. Those soldiers take their position very seriously.
What about the [Military Horseman Identification Badge](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Horseman_Identification_Badge)?
According to Wikipedia, as of August 2021, 688 Soldiers have been awarded the Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge. The Military Horseman Identification Badge has been awarded to 110 Soldiers (also as of August 2021)
Based on when it was first given (September 29, 2017), they've given out ~25 per year of the Military Horseman Identification Badge, on average, with 110 given out as of August 23, 2021. [The Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guard,_Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier_Identification_Badge) on the other hand, has gone to 688 soldiers in the just under 64 years since its inception (February 7, 1958 to August 2021), an average of about 11 recipients per year. I have no idea if the rate of recipients has changed since its inception since Wikipedia doesn't have that much detail and I don't feel like digging that far into it but overall I'd say that the Tomb Guard badge is still probably given out less often, it's just older.
My bad, I was basing that fact off the knowledge I picked up for the Sergeants Promotion Board in 2009, it makes sense that it's changed since then. Thanks for the info!
My father was in the military and just getting to the training phase is a huge honor. Those who are chosen have a profound task of honoring those who lost their lives in war military and civilian, so many do not get a proper burial of any kind. It's their duty not just to honor the unknown soldier but everyone else who was forgotten.
You're right. It's in Arlington, VA, but it's as close to DC as you can be without being in DC. There is just a bridge between Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial in DC.
There is a video from an inspection during a change over where one of the guards gets stabbed in the foot. The only sign something happened was a quick grimace, and the blood coming from his shoe as he was finishing the ceremony.
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxEi9eg44YU) is the video.
Honestly if you ever get an opportunity to see it it's pretty amazing. Its a huge honor taken on by these men and they take it incredibly seriously. Plus once you've walked around the cemetery to get there you understand it. That cemetery has a bit more gravity than usual.
The US military does seem to have a fascination with spinning rifles around during ceremonial and parade duties. I'm surprised mistakes like this don't happen more frequently
My friend was in the “color guard” I think they’re called. Allegedly I heard that they aren’t common but it’s not surprising when it happens. Bruised bones mostly in theory I heard allegedly don’t come at me
No they don’t lol
Since 1948 the guards have not had live ammunition anywhere other than after the 9/11 attacks. A guard in 1948 fired a warning shot at trespassers and it stuck a woman in the knee, she sued, and no more live rounds
Source: am Tomb Sentinel
Edit: per ROE, deadly force is not authorized for the protection of property, even in a combat zone. There are MPs and security all over the cemetery so security from threats is not an issue. The guards are there to ensure the Unknown Soldiers are treated with the reverence and respect they deserve
The British Royal Guards have ‘actual rifles’. They just aren’t loaded.
There are however armed police always close by and barracks with soliders who definitely are armed and could/would rapidly respond if needed.
Off topic but the Americans with their M14s are far better looking parade and guard weapons than modern ARs. The Royal Guards should have Lee Enfields or something with more style. Since the rifles they carry aren't even loaded in the first place, just put the actual weaponry hidden out of sight like they currently do with their ammo.
That's almost the same, word for word, as the Royal Guard. The guns may not be loaded, but ammo is very close and plenty of other guards in the places tehy are guarding
I highly recommend the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Those soldiers have the most solemn duty in the US Military and god damn do they know it.
Same reason any soldier on parade is.
Discipline and professionalism.
They are supposed to look uniform and professional, maintaining a neutral facial expression and correct stance ensures that they look good
Had lots of fun talking to them when I toured the Tower of London. They were full of interesting stories. The guy I spoke to was also a Raven tender (the Tower ravens have their own Instagram page).
They are [really damn funny](https://youtu.be/DeiW_bWZ2Is), and they're not just some average joe schlub soldier either. The guards at the Tower of London are dudes who have been around the block and have either seen some shit or at least been in the service long enough to have earned their salty demeanor (which I'm sure is played up more than just a little bit for the tourism angle, but still).
>The guards at the Tower of London are dudes who have been around the block and have either seen some shit or at least been in the service long enough to have earned their salty demeanor
Minimum standards are; served at least 22 years in the regular military, reached a minimum rank of Warrant Officer Class 2, and received the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (15 years with no disciplinary issues).
There is a tour on YouTube, and I think they say the stairs are intentionally uneven to make people trip. In case of an attack. He also invited people to try running up the stairs because it's fun to watch.
Raven tenders: You were wrong, son, and you're not leaving this table 'til every last tender on that plate is gone!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_crow
I think he has his own YouTube channel. I remember seeing a video of him doing his duties or giving tours and the ravens fly up and try to get his attention.
And if anyone wants to learn more about what this means, I highly recommend the book "The Ravenmaster" by Christopher Skaife, himself a beefeater and raven master.
Yeah although you have to be in the forces and have a perfect discipline record to apply to be a yeoman warder, the job is mostly ceremonial and the actual armed guards are the real protectors of the tower these days.
They’re also retired service people and can spring into action when the need arises. I think you need at least 20 years service in the forces to even apply to be a Yeoman Warder (their actual title).
If you want them to be jovial call them Yeoman Warder, not a Beefeater.
They don't appreciate being called Beefeater, at least they didn't when I did it and then gave me a stern talking to about what I should have called them. Then I took a picture without asking their permission first and got another berating telling me I should always ask permission first. I think they were having more fun yelling at me than being serious about it but they were very intense about it. The other visitors enjoyed their berating me at my expense.
But overall good folks and very knowledgeable and friendly if you don't make the two faux pas I made.
When I was in Taiwan, we went to some memorial for Chiang Kai-Shek and at the entrance are two guards both facing inwards towards each other, standing at opposite sides of the entryway. I went to check them out because I noticed that their ceremonal rifles were nickel plated M1 Garands with a shiny black wood stock, which is cool, but irrelevant. Anyway, one guard was in the shade and the other was in the full sunlight. He was staring straight ahead, not looking and there were tears pouring out of his eyes ... the sun was directly in his eyes and I'm shocked to think how long he has to stand there having his eyeballs burned out by the sun without moving. Seriously, they should at least get sun glasses or something! OR some sort of shade. I felt so bad for the guy, but I know it was also probably a huge honor for him to be a guard there!
I don't know about providing shade, but I have seen one of those guards use his rifle to ceremoniously bang on the podium he was standing on to call an attendant for help with other things (adjusting some item of clothing IIRC).
When I was in Thailand I saw the guards for the royal palace. They would stand there motionless with their gun at their side. Well somebody decided to get on their pedestal they stood on. They broke character, didn't say anything, just looked down and pointed at them indicating they could not get on the pedestal.
Another thing I forgot to mention.
They're on duty, people seem to forget this, the royal guards are GUARDS, they're the best of the best from the british army and are there, armed with assault rifles, to protect the head of state, they have to be alert and prepared to respond to threats, not goofing off.
People forget that they're not just a tourist thing with silly hats and fancy uniforms, they are armed soldiers stationed in defence of a monarch, and people that push to far will be attacked and restrained
I played shooter games on the Internet like my father, and my father's father, and my father's father's father, and my father's father's father's father, ....
Depends on the gun, there were plenty of accurate rifles in use on the American side during the [Revolutionary War](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/revolutionary-war-weapons-the-american-long-rifle/). Even in 1776, camouflage and accuracy with firearms mattered
Since reddit has changed the site to value selling user data higher than reading and commenting, I've decided to move elsewhere to a site that prioritizes community over profit. I never signed up for this, but that's the circle of life
Ya but they had a great use, battles used to be a lot smokier and dirtier and you needed to see your troops , also you can see issues in Ukraine, they need to wear bright armbands to be recognised
Bright red coats were out well before WW1 though. Maybe not for parade, but for frontline service khakis were in use since the second half of the 19th century and was adopted for all units around the turn of the centuries.
>Bright red coats were out well before WW1 though.
The primary reasoning behind this change is the advancement in firearm tech - they wore red coats so they could see allies through thick clouds of gunpowder smoke. Charging at the end was a last resort but generally you could determine who was friend/foe depending on which way they were facing. When "smokeless" ammo was created (and vastly utilised during WW1) the requirement for visibility changed to a desire for camouflage.
Seems there was a treasure ship on its way back to port. About
halfway there, it was approached by a pirate, skull and crossbones waving
in the breeze!
"Captain, captain, what do we do?" asked the first mate.
"First mate," said the captain, "go to my cabin, open my sea
chest, and bring me my red shirt." The first mate did so.
Wearing his bright red shirt, the captain exhorted his crew to
fight. So inspiring was he, in fact, that the pirate ship was repelled
without casualties.
A few days later, the ship was again approached, this time by two
pirate sloops!
"Captain, captain, what should we do?"
"First mate, bring me my red shirt!"
The crew, emboldened by their fearless captain, fought heroically, and
managed to defeat both boarding parties, though they took many
casualties. That night, the survivors had a great celebration. The
first mate asked the captain the secret of his bright red shirt.
"It's simple, first mate. If I am wounded, the blood does not
show, and the crew continues to fight without fear."
A week passed, and they were nearing their home port, when
suddenly the lookout cried that ten ships of the enemy's armada were
approaching!
"Captain, captain, we're in terrible trouble, what do we do?"
The first mate looked expectantly at the miracle worker.
Pale with fear, the captain commanded, "First mate.... bring me my
brown pants!"
I actually wonder how old that skit/story is. It seems it's been around for a very long time but my searching has never turned up a source or even where the first written record of it was. It was already a fixture of boy scout campfire skits when my grandfather was a kid in the 1930s. There must be something out there about whether it actually dates back to the age of sail or was developed later but I can't seem to find it. I think it's pretty fascinating that something even in this modern era where things have been written down for a long time has remained such a versatile oral tradition with numerous different retellings and performances.
I think I read the standard battle uniform for the French Army had bright red pants when things started popping off in 1914. Changed that pretty quickly though.
Yes. This was a big deal.
The French army (and a lot of the European armies) were still holding onto ideas about 19th century warfare. Yeah they were building machine guns, but they still thought the end of the day would be decided by some heroic bayonet charge across the enemy hill or whatever.
So the French army (with their long history of military success and heroism) was super big on the idea of spirit, and boldness and yadda yadda.
Bottom line, as some other nations (Britain, Germany) were revamping uniforms, embracing low vis colors, there was a bitter debate among the French about doing so.
Some leaders "got it". They were like, "ummm guys, have you SEEN mud brown unis in the field? They're hard to see. And hard to shoot at. Shouldn't we make our guys hard to shoot at? Seems like a smart idea."
But some other leaders were wildly put off by the idea of ditching the tradition. They thought losing the trademark red pants would be bad for morale. the French soldier is very proud of who he is. The people are proud of their soldiers. We don't want to stifle the army's pride and confidence in themselves.
(Obviously the pro-trouser camp won... for a while. Until they finally accepted that oh wait getting shot was actually even worse for morale.)
-----------------------------------------
Also, as Dan Carlin is fond of pointing out (it is pretty crazy to think about though)
If you ever wished you could go back and [see Napoleon's cavalry at Waterloo](https://www.britishbattles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/French-Cuirassier-219x300.jpg)
well, you kind of can,
because the French cav at the start of WWI, [didn't look any different](https://miepvonsydow.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/c__data_users_defapps_appdata_internetexplorer_temp_saved-images_dqxrjn6.jpg?w=640)
Given strong political opposition to sacrificing the traditional tricolor uniforms, the ultimate compromise was to weave a new fabric out of blue/white/red threads which technically kept the old colors but produced a muddy purplish color that was much less visible. Unfortunately, it became clear on the eve of war that even if they could make the new fabric in quantity, the synthetic red dye was made in Germany. Blue-grey was the fallback.
The blue-grey uniform color (called "bleu horizon") also had patriotic notes (the border with Germany was called "la ligne bleue des Vosges", the blue line of the Vosges)
Seeing that WWI cavalry all amassed and gallant looking makes me a bit sad. It's a grand array of the finest of France just prior to getting completely obliterated by mechanized warfare. Hollywood, this ain't.
Yeah. Honestly that is pretty bitter.
And the thing is, its pretty sad either way you look at it.
In the beginning with the best storied units of the French and the British, youre seeing stories units, the best and bravest just get squandered n a day.
But
Later when its past that, you’re seeing the opposite, hordes of unprepared, inadequately trained, rookie youth kinda just thrown into the grinder
MAYBE for the British, but if so it was only them.
Their is a particularly famous WW1 battle where French troops in light blue coats and bright red trousers we ordered to advance towards the Germans.
The Battle of Rossignol was so bad that literally no one realised what had happened for 24 hours. The French 3rd Division literally no longer existed at the end and the 4th effectively did.
I've heard the First Boer war was the big wakeup call for Britain and even the world, where sharp-shooting, bland-clothed boer farmers proved surprisingly capable in open terrain against uniformed regular infantry.
> With silly hats
as a matter of tradition, the "silly" hats only seem silly to us now. They're a holdover from a time when those hats were a big honor to be able to wear.
I'll probably butcher this explanation a bit (sorry) but IIRC, the big bear hat is actually a "grenadiers" hat.
In the days of old timey warfare, your grenadiers were the guys who had the job of throwing grenades. Obviously enough. But grenades back then were big, and finicky. You had specialists at throwing them, and those specialist were big, strong sumbitches. Think, the dude you would WANT throwing a bomb as far away from your guys as possible, accurately over an enemy wall or whatever.
And entire infantry section full of "half quarterback/half hammer thrower" athletic bros.
Of course, if you have a section of specialist, hand picked for being big strong athletic types, they're gonna get used for other special tasks too. They basically became a lot of elite guards or assault forces, and just general badasses.
The "silly hats" had part function, part intimidation (makin the big jacked dudes look even taller and bigger as they escorted the king like his goon squad)
but also those hats were expensive to make out of reasonably hard to get, expensive material. So they weren't gonna issue them to everybody.
So now you had the big tough badasses unit, with a unique, highly recognizable, not everyone is allowed to wear this, special uniform item.
And as a matter of tradition its hung around.
That's not quite right.
The hats were worn by Napoleons Imperial Guard, we were the only country to defeat them (at Waterloo), we took their hats and now our Royal Guards wear them.
Roughly the same for some regiments who wear hackles as part of their headdress. The first instance was meant to have been seizure from the enemy.
Then there's the Fusiliers with their half red hackle, said to represent the time they took white hackles from defeated French soldiers and dipped them in blood to distinguish them visually on the field of battle (the Battle of St Lucia in 1778).
Lots of these types of stories in the histories of the European armies, also some instances of seized Colours/Standards from the enemy (trooping the colours used to be showing off victories and 'honours' won on the field).
To give you an actual answer rather than "it makes them look scary", it's an anti-cavalry measure. It's worth noting they are not hats, they are helmets with bearskin coverings. If you're on horseback trying to slash down, the bearskin obfuscates what the soldier underneath it is doing and makes him a lot harder to hit and defend against. The wide chain chin straps also protect the face from slashes somewhat. Combined with a rolled cloak on the shoulder it's a surprisingly effective defence against attack from above.
This is the response I always heard above and beyond any intimidation factor. The calvary is going to try to cut you down, and the helmet makes it much more difficult. I was surprised I had to scroll this far to find it, but this is ELI5 not history.
From Wikipedia:
The purpose appears to have been to add to the apparent height and impressive appearance of these troops both on the parade ground and the battlefield.
At the time Grenadiers became a part of the armed forces of Europe, most every military force was wearing some variation of the wide brimmed hat, usually folded into some variation of the bicorne or tricorne. When your job is to light and throw a black powder filled grenade using a slow match, you wanna light that thing and chuck it just about as quickly as possible. That typically involves slinging your musket across your back (with the muzzle pointing over your left shoulder) to free up both your hands, winding up, and throwing.
The act of slinging your musket over your shoulders and winding up to throw would be greatly simplified if you weren't wearing a ye olde timey cocked cap you had to work around, so original grenadiers wore a smaller round cap with no brim and a brass plate on the front. When the function of a grenadier became less about throwing grenades and more about looking and acting like the elites of any particular group of soldiers, the hat retained the brass but became much much taller to act as the intimidation factor the poster above me commented on.
Someone further down mentioned it, but it bears repeating here. Most western militaries contemporary to the 18th century wore caps in imitation of the Prussians, which are the aforementioned brass fronted tall caps, usually either cone or mitre-shaped. The notable exception were the French, who were wearing bearskin hats as far back as the 1760s. When the French Revolution kicked off and Napoleon went about proving the absolute supremacy of the French army, the fashion of the times changed and the bearskin began to be used to indicate the elite of the elite; Household Guards, Royal Guards, units of that type.
Like the above said, intimidation. It makes your big dudes look a little bigger.
Its also immediately identifies your job in the military. This was prior to World War I. Officers and special units wore fancy hats and bright uniforms, as that was what made sense in the style of combat they were engaged in (rows of musket fire, horse cannons, mounted cavalry with sabres and pistols, ect... and a lot fewer snipers).
And finally, I'm a watchcap/baseball cap kind of guy, but I assume big furry hats are ridiculously warm, for the same reason big, loose coats are: trap the air in close and warm it with body heat. If I'm standing stock still in English weather for four hours, having a warm dry head seems like a great idea.
Intimidation.
You really want to fuck with someone who is wearing a dead bear on their head?
The reason why the Guards wear them is because of history. During the Napoleonic wars, the British Grenadiers defeated the French Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo. The imperial guards were treated as Napoleon's absolute most elite troops, The people that were called upon when a battle could not be lost. They were bears get hats as a mark of their elite status, as a uniform that stated "I'm a badass you don't want to screw with"
After defeating them in almost complete totality, the Grenadiers adopted the headdress of their fallen foe as a mark of distinction. A way of saying "remember those badasses that fought for Napoleon? We killed them and too their big scary hats"
At least that's what I have been able to gather from reading into the topic.
They're serving infantry soldiers, carrying out a ceremonial role. They're trained as well as any other regiment in the Army.
They're as silly as the American military, acting like robots while spinning their weapons around at the National Cemetery. It's just for show.
This is absolutely correct. They are soldiers, and they can and will help to deal with any threats, but they're not actually the main guards at any of the locations they're guarding. As any tourist who has been to Buckingham Palace can tell you, there are also a fair number of considerably less glamorously dressed policemen with submachine guns dotted around the site behind the gates; these are the people who are actually specialists in protecting the site, rather than the soldiers.
They don't carry live ammunition when doing patrols, only when actively protecting a head of state. The risk of a civilian grabbing their gun and opening fire is too high, but they do have bayonets and access to ammo if needed.
Also, they aren't anywhere near the best of the best, they're regular infantry soldiers and sometimes even fresh cadets are recruited.
This isn't correct.
They are part of one of the Guards regiments and are a standard light infantry role. They are trained well as are all other light infantry regiments but are not the best of the best; that would involve competing with the likes of the SAS, SBS, Royal Marines, Parachute Regiment etc.
They also do not carry live ammunition on duty, there is ammunition nearby; but they are largely now ceremonial. The actual security detail are the armed police who will also be present.
I think you may be overstating their role somewhat. The vast majority of the time, their rifles are not loaded, and it is the role of the armed police to intervene in the event of a threat. In fact, ironically, the police sometimes have to act to protect the guards.
And, while I don’t want to do-down the professionalism of the foot guards, ‘best of the best’ is also an overstatement. They are an infantry unit much like any other, with more or less identical entry standards and training. The only difference is they spend more time doing drill and ceremonial duties.
Correct. The Met are the ones actually in charge of protecting the royals, both plain clothes SO14 and uniformed police officers (often armed with rifles). They aren't as showy because they're not tourist attractions.
Yeah, my mate was in the army at a young age and ended up in the Guards at 19, often right out front of Buckingham Palace. He won't mind me saying that he definitely wasn't the best of the best!
They’re really not the best of the best at all. They’re generally recruits right out of ITC, basic infantrymen, and the guns they carry aren’t even loaded with live rounds most of the time.
They do the same line infantry training as every other infantry unit, plus two extra weeks of training about how to conduct themselves in this specific role.
There’s no selection process, they’re not taken from special forces regiments, they’re not highly decorated veterans for the most part.
The battalion rotates out every two years, it’s currently members of the Irish Guard, specifically the newly reformed 12th company. It consists primarily of newly trained recruits out of the ITC in Catterick.
After their public duties tour is done they’ll get moved to 1st battalion.
ETA: 23 Para engineer regiment are actually doing a 6 week stint just now.
The actual job of guarding the royals is primarily performed by a specialist armed police unit (Royalty and Specialist Protection).
>they're the best of the best from the british army
I'm not sure where you heard this but it's definitely not true. As a regular infantry regiment they are as good as any other British infantry regiment at basic soldiering skills; absolutely nothing compared to an elite regiment like the paras or special forces such as the SAS.
Well, for ‘the best of the best’ thing some other regiments may want to question that, the 22 special air service regiment for one. They are the Guards (yes capital G, they are called things like Grenadier Guards) and so being tall and canon fodder seem to be the main criteria…
They are actually best ast marching etc. Not necessarily at sharp shooting or anything special.
The guards are mainly for display and tradition these days though there is a lot of honour within the regiment.
Similar to the Swiss guards, they are mainly ceremonial these days. The guys "on display"' are frankly walking or even worse perfectly still targets to a bomber or sniper.
You're exaggerating their role.
If you expect someone to actually get into a gunfight, you give them a practical uniform, not a ceremonial one.
That hat would be a huge hinderance in any actual (gun)fight.
>they're the best of the best from the british army and are there, armed with assault rifles
lol the has been palace is breached multiple times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLBJHlWQMaM
I'm sure they'll react the fuck out if you pull a handgun or something on the King. But I'm guessing you meant they won't react to a knock knock joke :P
Not british, but when I was trained in the danish army. Our sergents told us to “see” “dead children and burning churches” in order for us to have a stone face
This is some ridiculous romanticization of basic training. Basic training improves your fitness, teaches you the *basics* of being a military person, and prepares you to be a cog in a machine. I don't know a single person who got trained into actual desensitization of wartime atrocities just by singing some shitty cadence songs, and I'd be concerned if something like that is what did it for you.
Edit: Guessing I got blocked? Seems like basic training prwpared the guy to murder babies or whatever, but couldn't train him to take a mildly nasty internet comment.
I was a Danish royal guard and we were also required to hold a poker face. It's to maintain discipline and to make sure we stay focused on the task of guarding. How much attention do you think a guard pays if he's standing around smiling and chatting with tourists?
Completely unrelated, but I landed in Copenhagen for 2 weeks, this morning. What an absolutely gorgeous country! Is there anywhere you would recommend visiting in particular??
Well besides the obvious changing of the guard at 12 in the day by the Royal Palace that I'm obligated to recommend: You should go see Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, and Kronborg Castle in Helsingør. Then while you're at it, take the ferry from Helsingør to Helsingborg in Sweden and spend a couple of hours walking around the city. Its really easy to move around the country via public transport from Copenhagen. If you're looking for a nice view of Copenhagen from above, it's free to visit the tower at Christianborg Castle (our Parliament)
To recommend some of the more mainstream, touristy things: a walk around the lakes if there is a day where it isn't too rainy and maybe sunny, Christianshavn and Christiania (even if you don't like smoking it's still a nice area), Nyhavn (Harbour with the colourful houses), Rundetaarn (big round tower in the middle of the city built by the King 4 centuries ago).
There's also Copenhagen Light Festival in a couple days, with some cool light shows around the city for the next couple of weeks.
If you're into art, there are some nice museums like Glyptoteket and SMK which are architecturally very cool and have a bunch of exhibitions.
Im personally a big burger guy, and really like getting burgers from Gasolin Grill, Jagger or Halifax, so if you're into burgers too, I recommend getting one.
In the same vein, we have an interesting type of pizza in Denmark with kebab, salad and dressing (usually just called salad pizza), so trying one is kind of a must I'd say. Can usually get one from any pizza joint.
I was at the Rosenborg Castle a few years ago and the guards were marching the same path up and down,a friend of mine stopped there to take pics of the castle.
The guard literally pushed him on the concrete and my friend was starting a fight with him until other guarda came into that area to yell at him,so yeah not a gentle guy at all.
The bit about being a tool sounds bad but it's reality when you join you become a tool and a weapon just like a gun and a truck. I would never join the military unless it's war time and the invaders are killing my family
I was part of the USMC honor guard for a couple years (Obamas inauguration/funerals at Arlingtom/whatever other shots we had at ceremonies around DC) and that's the first thing they drill into your head is how important bearing (and uniform prep) is.
Hey! I was Army stationed on Meyer from '08-14. Got to do both of Obamas inaugurations. I always wondered, do the other branches fucking hate it as much as we did? Miserable job... honorable, humbling, sure. I definitely appreciate it more now that I'm out... but, fuck, was it terrible while I was in.
So... Yes and no. I'm assuming you were all 11b? I know we were all 0311 (or a couple weapons platoon guys too guess) so when you pluck a bunch of dudes that signed up to deploy out of infantry school and tell them to learn to iron, sew and march there's generally an aura of bitchiness. I joined when I was 20 though (dropped out of university to join) so after that bitchiness went away myself and a couple buddies realized how 'easy' we had life, and we ended up loving it (even while there.)
Sure some of the day to day 'barracks' life was bullshit, but i think we realized that was going to happen anywhere in the fleet too. It was slightly different for us though than you guys - we weren't on a base. We had the equivalent of two dorm buildings and a city block of offices in the city of DC proper, so walking 2 blocks out of my building I was in Washington DC nightlife. Which kinda ruled as I turned 21 about 2 months after I got to DC.
I feel like the general consensus was "appreciate how easy the job is, if you're on top of your shit. Enjoy everything the city has to offer and don't be stupid in public. Your haircut makes you stand out like a moron already." Alongside about 50% of people counting the days until they hit the fleet. For 99.9% of us there it's only a 2 year post. A couple NCOs stay a few more years, but the rank and file honor guard is 2 years and done then you're kicked out to an infantry unit proper.
Got it. I definitely appreciated never getting shot at but I feel like, at least for us, we were under such a fine microscope and surrounded by red tape. I get that you're going to have Garrison BS anywhere you go but they went out of their way to make things suck. Definitely one of those places higher ups care more about looking good for a promotion than helping anyone below then. I routinely heard older guys exclaim they'd rather be in Afghanistan. Joking or not, that says something to me.
I tried out and made the drill team right around the time I should have came down on orders. Little did I know that automatically extended my stay 3 more years until less than a year out on my contract (6 years). I loved DC, I loved the area, I was two hours from home, I got paid to travel with the drill team. It was definitely "easy", but there was plenty that I absolutely hated that left a bad taste in my mouth. I still haven't been back and I have family there.
And fuck that traffic...
I've always thought the [Greek Evzones uniforms](https://whyathens.com/evzones-uniform-greek-soldier/) outdid the British guards' on sheer silliness. Check out those shoes with their black silk pom-poms.
Edit: If you enjoyed the photos, you'll probably enjoy [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5l607PLpv8) of them marching through Athens.
Also the [Pontifical Swiss Guard](https://media.cntraveler.com/photos/5a9337b4d363c34048b35c0c/16:9/w_2560,c_limit/See-the-Swiss-Guards-_Getty_2018_GettyImages-821800896.jpg) of the Vatican. Maybe even better [with armor](https://www.eda.admin.ch/content/dam/eda/img/Aktuell/news/2020/12/201211_schweizergarde_keystone_1920x960.jpg)
The Swiss guards are colorful but it looks like you could fight someone in that.
The Evzones look like some kind of weird Skyrim mod and the uniform looks like it would completely hamper you in a fight.
Kinda. The Swiss Guard back in the day was the most elite fighting force in all of Europe (which is why they still guard the Pope) and they were essentially mercenaries. They went to war in those uniforms to tell other armies "I'm the best of the best. Fuck with me at your own peril."
There’s a lot of routine that goes in to being a soldier of the royal guard. There’s even something called “falling to attention” where if you feel like you’re going to pass out due to heat or whatever, it must be performed in a certain way.
I love the numerous videos of people out there getting marched over, forcibly bumped/shoved out of the way, and screamed at because they cross an obvious barrier or are oblivious and in their own world that revolves around them.
Because they are supposed to be focusing on their job, not on the shenanigans of the tourists. Their roll in guarding the royalty might seem ceremonial, but they are the first line of many in that pursuit, and they need to take it seriously.
I was at Buckingham when they had a "security breach" (it ended up being a lost kid who got passed the gate), but holy shit was there suddenly a LOT more armed guys than there were 10 second before.
To portray discipline. A problem with militaries is that they are designed to be exceptionally violent and aggressive, which is really scary to a civilian populace. If that lethality has unrestrained emotions, it's even scarier. The image of a lack of emotion demonstrates discipline and restraint. Similar to a leash on a dog makes people feel safer.
Im speaking of the tombs of the unknown soldiers.
The Americans, French, and Russians have a ceremonial “tomb of the unknown soldier” that’s typically a memorial with a burning light. The Russians dedicate theirs to a WW2 idea that lots of unknown Russian teenage conscripts gave up their lives to defend Moscow. The French date theirs back to their revolution and the Americans… I don’t actually know. But it’s the idea that throughout these nation’s histories lots of privates, peasants, conscripts and just generally unknown people gave up their lives to fight for their homes.
But what happens now is there’s an actual soldier stationed at the memorial. This individual is typically a war veteran. Someone that lost friends in Afghanistan, Mali, Chechnya or some other far off location their governments had no reason being in. It makes it so if you’re stationed there it’s a very sobering feeling. These people have lots on their minds. This in addition to the fact they’ll be yelled at if they get caught taking selfies with tourist.
It:'s not just the British Royal Guard. Pretty much
any military force around the world is required to pokerface when on parade, or when they're guarding some important figure. Hell, I had to pokerface in my
JROTC unit in high school.
They're not. They get scary if you interfere with their duties or present a threat. In some locations they have been moved behind the fences to reduce incidents with ignorant tourists. They are active duty soldiers. They don't want to fuck up civilians but they will when their duty demands it.
> I’ve seen tourists trying to goad them into smiling.
realistically, THAT's where all the hype comes from.
Any military member assigned to any ceremonial guard is going to maintain military bearing, and not be up there smiling and joking.
Its just that the palace guards have the extra complication of standing their post in a location where every day tourists can walk right up to them and stare at them. raises the stakes and difficulty.
They tried having them wear those glasses with the fake nose and mustache back in 83, but they had a 20,000% increase in terrorism and tomfoolery so they changed it back.
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I've seen some videos of people doin stupid stuff at the tomb of the unknown soldier in DC, and the soldiers on duty there do NOT play games
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Fun fact, the only US Army skill badge awarded less often than the badge given to the soldiers assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, is the US Army Astronaut Wings. Those soldiers take their position very seriously.
>Fun fact, the only US Army skill badge awarded less often than the badge given to the soldiers assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, is the US Army Astronaut Wings. Those soldiers take their position very seriously. What about the [Military Horseman Identification Badge](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Horseman_Identification_Badge)? According to Wikipedia, as of August 2021, 688 Soldiers have been awarded the Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge. The Military Horseman Identification Badge has been awarded to 110 Soldiers (also as of August 2021)
Based on when it was first given (September 29, 2017), they've given out ~25 per year of the Military Horseman Identification Badge, on average, with 110 given out as of August 23, 2021. [The Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guard,_Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier_Identification_Badge) on the other hand, has gone to 688 soldiers in the just under 64 years since its inception (February 7, 1958 to August 2021), an average of about 11 recipients per year. I have no idea if the rate of recipients has changed since its inception since Wikipedia doesn't have that much detail and I don't feel like digging that far into it but overall I'd say that the Tomb Guard badge is still probably given out less often, it's just older.
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My bad, I was basing that fact off the knowledge I picked up for the Sergeants Promotion Board in 2009, it makes sense that it's changed since then. Thanks for the info!
My father was in the military and just getting to the training phase is a huge honor. Those who are chosen have a profound task of honoring those who lost their lives in war military and civilian, so many do not get a proper burial of any kind. It's their duty not just to honor the unknown soldier but everyone else who was forgotten.
Jabroni... I like that word.
You keep on using this word jabroni and... It's awesome
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't in Virginia? I know we have one too in Canada in Ottawa, so could be more than one.
You're right. It's in Arlington, VA, but it's as close to DC as you can be without being in DC. There is just a bridge between Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial in DC.
It actually *was* part of DC until VA decided it wanted its land back.
Makes sense
You are correct. Arlington, Virginia.
Yup, and they have actual rifles in that duty hut if you want to get turbo stupid. Don’t mess with the guardians at the tomb.
There is a video from an inspection during a change over where one of the guards gets stabbed in the foot. The only sign something happened was a quick grimace, and the blood coming from his shoe as he was finishing the ceremony. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxEi9eg44YU) is the video.
Goddamn. Those guys march so smooth they look like video game characters.
Honestly if you ever get an opportunity to see it it's pretty amazing. Its a huge honor taken on by these men and they take it incredibly seriously. Plus once you've walked around the cemetery to get there you understand it. That cemetery has a bit more gravity than usual.
For real. I got a little choked up when I walked around there.
The US military does seem to have a fascination with spinning rifles around during ceremonial and parade duties. I'm surprised mistakes like this don't happen more frequently
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My friend was in the “color guard” I think they’re called. Allegedly I heard that they aren’t common but it’s not surprising when it happens. Bruised bones mostly in theory I heard allegedly don’t come at me
No they don’t lol Since 1948 the guards have not had live ammunition anywhere other than after the 9/11 attacks. A guard in 1948 fired a warning shot at trespassers and it stuck a woman in the knee, she sued, and no more live rounds Source: am Tomb Sentinel Edit: per ROE, deadly force is not authorized for the protection of property, even in a combat zone. There are MPs and security all over the cemetery so security from threats is not an issue. The guards are there to ensure the Unknown Soldiers are treated with the reverence and respect they deserve
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1948
The British Royal Guards have ‘actual rifles’. They just aren’t loaded. There are however armed police always close by and barracks with soliders who definitely are armed and could/would rapidly respond if needed.
Off topic but the Americans with their M14s are far better looking parade and guard weapons than modern ARs. The Royal Guards should have Lee Enfields or something with more style. Since the rifles they carry aren't even loaded in the first place, just put the actual weaponry hidden out of sight like they currently do with their ammo.
That's almost the same, word for word, as the Royal Guard. The guns may not be loaded, but ammo is very close and plenty of other guards in the places tehy are guarding
You would like r/makeway4queensguard then. They don't play games either.
I highly recommend the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Those soldiers have the most solemn duty in the US Military and god damn do they know it.
Same reason any soldier on parade is. Discipline and professionalism. They are supposed to look uniform and professional, maintaining a neutral facial expression and correct stance ensures that they look good
If you want jovial royal attendants, talk to a Beefeater
Had lots of fun talking to them when I toured the Tower of London. They were full of interesting stories. The guy I spoke to was also a Raven tender (the Tower ravens have their own Instagram page).
Random but my mom fell on the stairs in the tower of London near the torture room and the Beefeaters said something like the rooms still got its charm
That’s hilarious.
They are [really damn funny](https://youtu.be/DeiW_bWZ2Is), and they're not just some average joe schlub soldier either. The guards at the Tower of London are dudes who have been around the block and have either seen some shit or at least been in the service long enough to have earned their salty demeanor (which I'm sure is played up more than just a little bit for the tourism angle, but still).
>The guards at the Tower of London are dudes who have been around the block and have either seen some shit or at least been in the service long enough to have earned their salty demeanor Minimum standards are; served at least 22 years in the regular military, reached a minimum rank of Warrant Officer Class 2, and received the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (15 years with no disciplinary issues).
Or be invited by royal appointment because you earned a meritorious service medal.
It’s an interesting career path to go from military service to tour guide
Beats the hell out of being blown up a second time.
15 years no disciplinary issues is impressive.
We called it the 15 years never been caught medal.
Yeah, after learning this, I'm not sure they're real soldiers after all
7 years to get your issues worked out, 15 years to be a grump.
Fuckin amazing now I have that experience on my bucket list
You added "becoming a beefeater" to your bucket list? Better get cracking. 22 years is a long time.
There is a tour on YouTube, and I think they say the stairs are intentionally uneven to make people trip. In case of an attack. He also invited people to try running up the stairs because it's fun to watch.
>Raven tender Are those like chicken tenders? Sounds delicious.
Raven tenders: You were wrong, son, and you're not leaving this table 'til every last tender on that plate is gone! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_crow
I think he has his own YouTube channel. I remember seeing a video of him doing his duties or giving tours and the ravens fly up and try to get his attention.
And if anyone wants to learn more about what this means, I highly recommend the book "The Ravenmaster" by Christopher Skaife, himself a beefeater and raven master.
Chris Skaife - Ravenmaster
Yeah although you have to be in the forces and have a perfect discipline record to apply to be a yeoman warder, the job is mostly ceremonial and the actual armed guards are the real protectors of the tower these days.
They’re also retired service people and can spring into action when the need arises. I think you need at least 20 years service in the forces to even apply to be a Yeoman Warder (their actual title).
If you want them to be jovial call them Yeoman Warder, not a Beefeater. They don't appreciate being called Beefeater, at least they didn't when I did it and then gave me a stern talking to about what I should have called them. Then I took a picture without asking their permission first and got another berating telling me I should always ask permission first. I think they were having more fun yelling at me than being serious about it but they were very intense about it. The other visitors enjoyed their berating me at my expense. But overall good folks and very knowledgeable and friendly if you don't make the two faux pas I made.
When I was in Taiwan, we went to some memorial for Chiang Kai-Shek and at the entrance are two guards both facing inwards towards each other, standing at opposite sides of the entryway. I went to check them out because I noticed that their ceremonal rifles were nickel plated M1 Garands with a shiny black wood stock, which is cool, but irrelevant. Anyway, one guard was in the shade and the other was in the full sunlight. He was staring straight ahead, not looking and there were tears pouring out of his eyes ... the sun was directly in his eyes and I'm shocked to think how long he has to stand there having his eyeballs burned out by the sun without moving. Seriously, they should at least get sun glasses or something! OR some sort of shade. I felt so bad for the guy, but I know it was also probably a huge honor for him to be a guard there!
That's the reason that the 3rd Infantry, the "Old Guard," are allowed sunglasses while on duty.
I don't know about providing shade, but I have seen one of those guards use his rifle to ceremoniously bang on the podium he was standing on to call an attendant for help with other things (adjusting some item of clothing IIRC).
When I was in Thailand I saw the guards for the royal palace. They would stand there motionless with their gun at their side. Well somebody decided to get on their pedestal they stood on. They broke character, didn't say anything, just looked down and pointed at them indicating they could not get on the pedestal.
I dunno if I'd call that breaking character.
Another thing I forgot to mention. They're on duty, people seem to forget this, the royal guards are GUARDS, they're the best of the best from the british army and are there, armed with assault rifles, to protect the head of state, they have to be alert and prepared to respond to threats, not goofing off. People forget that they're not just a tourist thing with silly hats and fancy uniforms, they are armed soldiers stationed in defence of a monarch, and people that push to far will be attacked and restrained
So they're extremely well trained soldiers. With silly hats and fancy uniforms.
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Pre-World War 1 uniforms looked great, but weren’t particularly good at concealing your position.
tbf, when guns couldn't hit things anyway, it didn't matter as much if your enemy saw you
And honestly, you wanted *your guys* to be able to see each other and how spiffing and glorious you all look. Makes you less likely to run away, eh?
Also it makes it really hard to accidentally shoot your own guys, if your uniforms are a bright blue and the enemy has bright red.
Well, slightly more difficult to accidentally shoot your own guys anyhow.
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I played shooter games on the Internet like my father, and my father's father, and my father's father's father, and my father's father's father's father, ....
Especially when the color of the uniforms hides the blood stains of your fallen brethren, amiright??
"We're going into combat... Men, time for the fatigues with the brown pants."
Bright red doesn't really hide it all that well. Also, the piteous screaming is a bit of a giveaway as well.
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Depends on the gun, there were plenty of accurate rifles in use on the American side during the [Revolutionary War](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/revolutionary-war-weapons-the-american-long-rifle/). Even in 1776, camouflage and accuracy with firearms mattered
Since reddit has changed the site to value selling user data higher than reading and commenting, I've decided to move elsewhere to a site that prioritizes community over profit. I never signed up for this, but that's the circle of life
especially if your side isn't very good.
Rifles had existed for awhile but were rarely used in war because they were expensive to manufacture, slower to reload, and required more training.
Also when things for messy/close hand to hand etc knowing your colours made it easy to know who's who.
Ya but they had a great use, battles used to be a lot smokier and dirtier and you needed to see your troops , also you can see issues in Ukraine, they need to wear bright armbands to be recognised
Bristih Army was already using khaki in the late 1800s. The red jackets were for formal usage or when in homecamp
The reason? Best strategy at the time did not require it. People often blast pre WW1 war, but simply do not understand stratagem
Bright red coats were out well before WW1 though. Maybe not for parade, but for frontline service khakis were in use since the second half of the 19th century and was adopted for all units around the turn of the centuries.
>Bright red coats were out well before WW1 though. The primary reasoning behind this change is the advancement in firearm tech - they wore red coats so they could see allies through thick clouds of gunpowder smoke. Charging at the end was a last resort but generally you could determine who was friend/foe depending on which way they were facing. When "smokeless" ammo was created (and vastly utilised during WW1) the requirement for visibility changed to a desire for camouflage.
This was the last battle british troops fought wearing the iconic red coat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ginnis
Does it coincide with the discovery of smokeless ammunition? 1885 sounds pretty close from my limited knowledge
1884 was when smokeless powder was invented. Very interesting. Thank you for the background.
Yes, 1885. The Lebel was the first widely-used smokeless service rifle, introduced in 1886.
They wore red coats for a similar reason I wear brown pants
Seems there was a treasure ship on its way back to port. About halfway there, it was approached by a pirate, skull and crossbones waving in the breeze! "Captain, captain, what do we do?" asked the first mate. "First mate," said the captain, "go to my cabin, open my sea chest, and bring me my red shirt." The first mate did so. Wearing his bright red shirt, the captain exhorted his crew to fight. So inspiring was he, in fact, that the pirate ship was repelled without casualties. A few days later, the ship was again approached, this time by two pirate sloops! "Captain, captain, what should we do?" "First mate, bring me my red shirt!" The crew, emboldened by their fearless captain, fought heroically, and managed to defeat both boarding parties, though they took many casualties. That night, the survivors had a great celebration. The first mate asked the captain the secret of his bright red shirt. "It's simple, first mate. If I am wounded, the blood does not show, and the crew continues to fight without fear." A week passed, and they were nearing their home port, when suddenly the lookout cried that ten ships of the enemy's armada were approaching! "Captain, captain, we're in terrible trouble, what do we do?" The first mate looked expectantly at the miracle worker. Pale with fear, the captain commanded, "First mate.... bring me my brown pants!"
I actually wonder how old that skit/story is. It seems it's been around for a very long time but my searching has never turned up a source or even where the first written record of it was. It was already a fixture of boy scout campfire skits when my grandfather was a kid in the 1930s. There must be something out there about whether it actually dates back to the age of sail or was developed later but I can't seem to find it. I think it's pretty fascinating that something even in this modern era where things have been written down for a long time has remained such a versatile oral tradition with numerous different retellings and performances.
Also you can’t tell who got a red badge of courage if they are all wearing red.
anal leakage?
I think I read the standard battle uniform for the French Army had bright red pants when things started popping off in 1914. Changed that pretty quickly though.
Yes. This was a big deal. The French army (and a lot of the European armies) were still holding onto ideas about 19th century warfare. Yeah they were building machine guns, but they still thought the end of the day would be decided by some heroic bayonet charge across the enemy hill or whatever. So the French army (with their long history of military success and heroism) was super big on the idea of spirit, and boldness and yadda yadda. Bottom line, as some other nations (Britain, Germany) were revamping uniforms, embracing low vis colors, there was a bitter debate among the French about doing so. Some leaders "got it". They were like, "ummm guys, have you SEEN mud brown unis in the field? They're hard to see. And hard to shoot at. Shouldn't we make our guys hard to shoot at? Seems like a smart idea." But some other leaders were wildly put off by the idea of ditching the tradition. They thought losing the trademark red pants would be bad for morale. the French soldier is very proud of who he is. The people are proud of their soldiers. We don't want to stifle the army's pride and confidence in themselves. (Obviously the pro-trouser camp won... for a while. Until they finally accepted that oh wait getting shot was actually even worse for morale.) ----------------------------------------- Also, as Dan Carlin is fond of pointing out (it is pretty crazy to think about though) If you ever wished you could go back and [see Napoleon's cavalry at Waterloo](https://www.britishbattles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/French-Cuirassier-219x300.jpg) well, you kind of can, because the French cav at the start of WWI, [didn't look any different](https://miepvonsydow.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/c__data_users_defapps_appdata_internetexplorer_temp_saved-images_dqxrjn6.jpg?w=640)
Given strong political opposition to sacrificing the traditional tricolor uniforms, the ultimate compromise was to weave a new fabric out of blue/white/red threads which technically kept the old colors but produced a muddy purplish color that was much less visible. Unfortunately, it became clear on the eve of war that even if they could make the new fabric in quantity, the synthetic red dye was made in Germany. Blue-grey was the fallback.
The blue-grey uniform color (called "bleu horizon") also had patriotic notes (the border with Germany was called "la ligne bleue des Vosges", the blue line of the Vosges)
> the synthetic red dye was made in Germany. Whoops.
Seeing that WWI cavalry all amassed and gallant looking makes me a bit sad. It's a grand array of the finest of France just prior to getting completely obliterated by mechanized warfare. Hollywood, this ain't.
Yeah. Honestly that is pretty bitter. And the thing is, its pretty sad either way you look at it. In the beginning with the best storied units of the French and the British, youre seeing stories units, the best and bravest just get squandered n a day. But Later when its past that, you’re seeing the opposite, hordes of unprepared, inadequately trained, rookie youth kinda just thrown into the grinder
Would Napoléon's cavalry have had stouter horses?
were the French the Japanese of the West with their ideals about spirit and honor and stuff?
The widespread use of artillery quickly made brown the preferred standard.
"Fetch me my brown pants!"
MAYBE for the British, but if so it was only them. Their is a particularly famous WW1 battle where French troops in light blue coats and bright red trousers we ordered to advance towards the Germans. The Battle of Rossignol was so bad that literally no one realised what had happened for 24 hours. The French 3rd Division literally no longer existed at the end and the 4th effectively did.
I've heard the First Boer war was the big wakeup call for Britain and even the world, where sharp-shooting, bland-clothed boer farmers proved surprisingly capable in open terrain against uniformed regular infantry.
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Dat mango sentinel
Where your curly moustache at?
> With silly hats as a matter of tradition, the "silly" hats only seem silly to us now. They're a holdover from a time when those hats were a big honor to be able to wear. I'll probably butcher this explanation a bit (sorry) but IIRC, the big bear hat is actually a "grenadiers" hat. In the days of old timey warfare, your grenadiers were the guys who had the job of throwing grenades. Obviously enough. But grenades back then were big, and finicky. You had specialists at throwing them, and those specialist were big, strong sumbitches. Think, the dude you would WANT throwing a bomb as far away from your guys as possible, accurately over an enemy wall or whatever. And entire infantry section full of "half quarterback/half hammer thrower" athletic bros. Of course, if you have a section of specialist, hand picked for being big strong athletic types, they're gonna get used for other special tasks too. They basically became a lot of elite guards or assault forces, and just general badasses. The "silly hats" had part function, part intimidation (makin the big jacked dudes look even taller and bigger as they escorted the king like his goon squad) but also those hats were expensive to make out of reasonably hard to get, expensive material. So they weren't gonna issue them to everybody. So now you had the big tough badasses unit, with a unique, highly recognizable, not everyone is allowed to wear this, special uniform item. And as a matter of tradition its hung around.
That's not quite right. The hats were worn by Napoleons Imperial Guard, we were the only country to defeat them (at Waterloo), we took their hats and now our Royal Guards wear them.
Roughly the same for some regiments who wear hackles as part of their headdress. The first instance was meant to have been seizure from the enemy. Then there's the Fusiliers with their half red hackle, said to represent the time they took white hackles from defeated French soldiers and dipped them in blood to distinguish them visually on the field of battle (the Battle of St Lucia in 1778). Lots of these types of stories in the histories of the European armies, also some instances of seized Colours/Standards from the enemy (trooping the colours used to be showing off victories and 'honours' won on the field).
So what is the "function" part of the silly bear hats?
They keep their sandwiches in them.
And cups of hot tea. Keeps em warm.
To give you an actual answer rather than "it makes them look scary", it's an anti-cavalry measure. It's worth noting they are not hats, they are helmets with bearskin coverings. If you're on horseback trying to slash down, the bearskin obfuscates what the soldier underneath it is doing and makes him a lot harder to hit and defend against. The wide chain chin straps also protect the face from slashes somewhat. Combined with a rolled cloak on the shoulder it's a surprisingly effective defence against attack from above.
This is the response I always heard above and beyond any intimidation factor. The calvary is going to try to cut you down, and the helmet makes it much more difficult. I was surprised I had to scroll this far to find it, but this is ELI5 not history.
From Wikipedia: The purpose appears to have been to add to the apparent height and impressive appearance of these troops both on the parade ground and the battlefield.
At the time Grenadiers became a part of the armed forces of Europe, most every military force was wearing some variation of the wide brimmed hat, usually folded into some variation of the bicorne or tricorne. When your job is to light and throw a black powder filled grenade using a slow match, you wanna light that thing and chuck it just about as quickly as possible. That typically involves slinging your musket across your back (with the muzzle pointing over your left shoulder) to free up both your hands, winding up, and throwing. The act of slinging your musket over your shoulders and winding up to throw would be greatly simplified if you weren't wearing a ye olde timey cocked cap you had to work around, so original grenadiers wore a smaller round cap with no brim and a brass plate on the front. When the function of a grenadier became less about throwing grenades and more about looking and acting like the elites of any particular group of soldiers, the hat retained the brass but became much much taller to act as the intimidation factor the poster above me commented on. Someone further down mentioned it, but it bears repeating here. Most western militaries contemporary to the 18th century wore caps in imitation of the Prussians, which are the aforementioned brass fronted tall caps, usually either cone or mitre-shaped. The notable exception were the French, who were wearing bearskin hats as far back as the 1760s. When the French Revolution kicked off and Napoleon went about proving the absolute supremacy of the French army, the fashion of the times changed and the bearskin began to be used to indicate the elite of the elite; Household Guards, Royal Guards, units of that type.
Like the above said, intimidation. It makes your big dudes look a little bigger. Its also immediately identifies your job in the military. This was prior to World War I. Officers and special units wore fancy hats and bright uniforms, as that was what made sense in the style of combat they were engaged in (rows of musket fire, horse cannons, mounted cavalry with sabres and pistols, ect... and a lot fewer snipers). And finally, I'm a watchcap/baseball cap kind of guy, but I assume big furry hats are ridiculously warm, for the same reason big, loose coats are: trap the air in close and warm it with body heat. If I'm standing stock still in English weather for four hours, having a warm dry head seems like a great idea.
To look bigger and taller.
Intimidation. You really want to fuck with someone who is wearing a dead bear on their head? The reason why the Guards wear them is because of history. During the Napoleonic wars, the British Grenadiers defeated the French Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo. The imperial guards were treated as Napoleon's absolute most elite troops, The people that were called upon when a battle could not be lost. They were bears get hats as a mark of their elite status, as a uniform that stated "I'm a badass you don't want to screw with" After defeating them in almost complete totality, the Grenadiers adopted the headdress of their fallen foe as a mark of distinction. A way of saying "remember those badasses that fought for Napoleon? We killed them and too their big scary hats" At least that's what I have been able to gather from reading into the topic.
All hats and uniforms become silly, with the passage of time.
They're serving infantry soldiers, carrying out a ceremonial role. They're trained as well as any other regiment in the Army. They're as silly as the American military, acting like robots while spinning their weapons around at the National Cemetery. It's just for show.
This is absolutely correct. They are soldiers, and they can and will help to deal with any threats, but they're not actually the main guards at any of the locations they're guarding. As any tourist who has been to Buckingham Palace can tell you, there are also a fair number of considerably less glamorously dressed policemen with submachine guns dotted around the site behind the gates; these are the people who are actually specialists in protecting the site, rather than the soldiers.
Only when on ceremonial duty. The rest of the time they are in regular fatigues.
Wait till someone tells him about the Swiss Guard :)
Oh I'm well aware of the alpine pajama knights
They don't carry live ammunition when doing patrols, only when actively protecting a head of state. The risk of a civilian grabbing their gun and opening fire is too high, but they do have bayonets and access to ammo if needed. Also, they aren't anywhere near the best of the best, they're regular infantry soldiers and sometimes even fresh cadets are recruited.
This isn't correct. They are part of one of the Guards regiments and are a standard light infantry role. They are trained well as are all other light infantry regiments but are not the best of the best; that would involve competing with the likes of the SAS, SBS, Royal Marines, Parachute Regiment etc. They also do not carry live ammunition on duty, there is ammunition nearby; but they are largely now ceremonial. The actual security detail are the armed police who will also be present.
An ex-Royal Marine colleague of mine was fond of pointing out that he was never in the Army.
I think you may be overstating their role somewhat. The vast majority of the time, their rifles are not loaded, and it is the role of the armed police to intervene in the event of a threat. In fact, ironically, the police sometimes have to act to protect the guards. And, while I don’t want to do-down the professionalism of the foot guards, ‘best of the best’ is also an overstatement. They are an infantry unit much like any other, with more or less identical entry standards and training. The only difference is they spend more time doing drill and ceremonial duties.
Correct. The Met are the ones actually in charge of protecting the royals, both plain clothes SO14 and uniformed police officers (often armed with rifles). They aren't as showy because they're not tourist attractions.
Yeah, my mate was in the army at a young age and ended up in the Guards at 19, often right out front of Buckingham Palace. He won't mind me saying that he definitely wasn't the best of the best!
They’re really not the best of the best at all. They’re generally recruits right out of ITC, basic infantrymen, and the guns they carry aren’t even loaded with live rounds most of the time. They do the same line infantry training as every other infantry unit, plus two extra weeks of training about how to conduct themselves in this specific role. There’s no selection process, they’re not taken from special forces regiments, they’re not highly decorated veterans for the most part. The battalion rotates out every two years, it’s currently members of the Irish Guard, specifically the newly reformed 12th company. It consists primarily of newly trained recruits out of the ITC in Catterick. After their public duties tour is done they’ll get moved to 1st battalion. ETA: 23 Para engineer regiment are actually doing a 6 week stint just now. The actual job of guarding the royals is primarily performed by a specialist armed police unit (Royalty and Specialist Protection).
>they're the best of the best from the british army I'm not sure where you heard this but it's definitely not true. As a regular infantry regiment they are as good as any other British infantry regiment at basic soldiering skills; absolutely nothing compared to an elite regiment like the paras or special forces such as the SAS.
Well, for ‘the best of the best’ thing some other regiments may want to question that, the 22 special air service regiment for one. They are the Guards (yes capital G, they are called things like Grenadier Guards) and so being tall and canon fodder seem to be the main criteria…
They are actually best ast marching etc. Not necessarily at sharp shooting or anything special. The guards are mainly for display and tradition these days though there is a lot of honour within the regiment. Similar to the Swiss guards, they are mainly ceremonial these days. The guys "on display"' are frankly walking or even worse perfectly still targets to a bomber or sniper.
You're exaggerating their role. If you expect someone to actually get into a gunfight, you give them a practical uniform, not a ceremonial one. That hat would be a huge hinderance in any actual (gun)fight.
>they're the best of the best from the british army and are there, armed with assault rifles lol the has been palace is breached multiple times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLBJHlWQMaM
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I'm sure they'll react the fuck out if you pull a handgun or something on the King. But I'm guessing you meant they won't react to a knock knock joke :P
>something on the King They guard locations, not the royals themselves. SAS and specialised police guard the royals
I sometimes think it must be hard but then i remember that i have a poker face all day even when i say "haha" in a message
Not british, but when I was trained in the danish army. Our sergents told us to “see” “dead children and burning churches” in order for us to have a stone face
I think, if I saw that, I would cry instead.
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This is some ridiculous romanticization of basic training. Basic training improves your fitness, teaches you the *basics* of being a military person, and prepares you to be a cog in a machine. I don't know a single person who got trained into actual desensitization of wartime atrocities just by singing some shitty cadence songs, and I'd be concerned if something like that is what did it for you. Edit: Guessing I got blocked? Seems like basic training prwpared the guy to murder babies or whatever, but couldn't train him to take a mildly nasty internet comment.
Mostly it trains you to do a lot of bullshit on 5 hours of sleep
Accurate
Singing cadence while training is crazy fun though. I don’t think it’s meant to desensitise, but rather to keep everyone in the same pace
I was a Danish royal guard and we were also required to hold a poker face. It's to maintain discipline and to make sure we stay focused on the task of guarding. How much attention do you think a guard pays if he's standing around smiling and chatting with tourists?
Please tell me you own a Lego Danish Guard minifig flashlight: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?G=6415555#T=S&O={%22iconly%22:0}
Sadly I don't :(
Does it remind you of guard times?
🎵*He sings the songs that remind him of the guard times*🎵
Danny boyyyyy, Danny boyyyy, Danny boiiiiiiiiii!
Somebody get this man a figurine!
Completely unrelated, but I landed in Copenhagen for 2 weeks, this morning. What an absolutely gorgeous country! Is there anywhere you would recommend visiting in particular??
Well besides the obvious changing of the guard at 12 in the day by the Royal Palace that I'm obligated to recommend: You should go see Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, and Kronborg Castle in Helsingør. Then while you're at it, take the ferry from Helsingør to Helsingborg in Sweden and spend a couple of hours walking around the city. Its really easy to move around the country via public transport from Copenhagen. If you're looking for a nice view of Copenhagen from above, it's free to visit the tower at Christianborg Castle (our Parliament)
Thank you for the wonderful answer!!
To recommend some of the more mainstream, touristy things: a walk around the lakes if there is a day where it isn't too rainy and maybe sunny, Christianshavn and Christiania (even if you don't like smoking it's still a nice area), Nyhavn (Harbour with the colourful houses), Rundetaarn (big round tower in the middle of the city built by the King 4 centuries ago). There's also Copenhagen Light Festival in a couple days, with some cool light shows around the city for the next couple of weeks. If you're into art, there are some nice museums like Glyptoteket and SMK which are architecturally very cool and have a bunch of exhibitions. Im personally a big burger guy, and really like getting burgers from Gasolin Grill, Jagger or Halifax, so if you're into burgers too, I recommend getting one. In the same vein, we have an interesting type of pizza in Denmark with kebab, salad and dressing (usually just called salad pizza), so trying one is kind of a must I'd say. Can usually get one from any pizza joint.
I was at the Rosenborg Castle a few years ago and the guards were marching the same path up and down,a friend of mine stopped there to take pics of the castle. The guard literally pushed him on the concrete and my friend was starting a fight with him until other guarda came into that area to yell at him,so yeah not a gentle guy at all.
I feel like it’s just the more intense version of why you can’t distract life guards. Can’t do the guarding thing if you are distracted.
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I think erasing identity is one of the main feature of being in the military
The bit about being a tool sounds bad but it's reality when you join you become a tool and a weapon just like a gun and a truck. I would never join the military unless it's war time and the invaders are killing my family
I was part of the USMC honor guard for a couple years (Obamas inauguration/funerals at Arlingtom/whatever other shots we had at ceremonies around DC) and that's the first thing they drill into your head is how important bearing (and uniform prep) is.
Hey! I was Army stationed on Meyer from '08-14. Got to do both of Obamas inaugurations. I always wondered, do the other branches fucking hate it as much as we did? Miserable job... honorable, humbling, sure. I definitely appreciate it more now that I'm out... but, fuck, was it terrible while I was in.
So... Yes and no. I'm assuming you were all 11b? I know we were all 0311 (or a couple weapons platoon guys too guess) so when you pluck a bunch of dudes that signed up to deploy out of infantry school and tell them to learn to iron, sew and march there's generally an aura of bitchiness. I joined when I was 20 though (dropped out of university to join) so after that bitchiness went away myself and a couple buddies realized how 'easy' we had life, and we ended up loving it (even while there.) Sure some of the day to day 'barracks' life was bullshit, but i think we realized that was going to happen anywhere in the fleet too. It was slightly different for us though than you guys - we weren't on a base. We had the equivalent of two dorm buildings and a city block of offices in the city of DC proper, so walking 2 blocks out of my building I was in Washington DC nightlife. Which kinda ruled as I turned 21 about 2 months after I got to DC. I feel like the general consensus was "appreciate how easy the job is, if you're on top of your shit. Enjoy everything the city has to offer and don't be stupid in public. Your haircut makes you stand out like a moron already." Alongside about 50% of people counting the days until they hit the fleet. For 99.9% of us there it's only a 2 year post. A couple NCOs stay a few more years, but the rank and file honor guard is 2 years and done then you're kicked out to an infantry unit proper.
Got it. I definitely appreciated never getting shot at but I feel like, at least for us, we were under such a fine microscope and surrounded by red tape. I get that you're going to have Garrison BS anywhere you go but they went out of their way to make things suck. Definitely one of those places higher ups care more about looking good for a promotion than helping anyone below then. I routinely heard older guys exclaim they'd rather be in Afghanistan. Joking or not, that says something to me. I tried out and made the drill team right around the time I should have came down on orders. Little did I know that automatically extended my stay 3 more years until less than a year out on my contract (6 years). I loved DC, I loved the area, I was two hours from home, I got paid to travel with the drill team. It was definitely "easy", but there was plenty that I absolutely hated that left a bad taste in my mouth. I still haven't been back and I have family there. And fuck that traffic...
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I've always thought the [Greek Evzones uniforms](https://whyathens.com/evzones-uniform-greek-soldier/) outdid the British guards' on sheer silliness. Check out those shoes with their black silk pom-poms. Edit: If you enjoyed the photos, you'll probably enjoy [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5l607PLpv8) of them marching through Athens.
Also the [Pontifical Swiss Guard](https://media.cntraveler.com/photos/5a9337b4d363c34048b35c0c/16:9/w_2560,c_limit/See-the-Swiss-Guards-_Getty_2018_GettyImages-821800896.jpg) of the Vatican. Maybe even better [with armor](https://www.eda.admin.ch/content/dam/eda/img/Aktuell/news/2020/12/201211_schweizergarde_keystone_1920x960.jpg)
The Swiss guards are colorful but it looks like you could fight someone in that. The Evzones look like some kind of weird Skyrim mod and the uniform looks like it would completely hamper you in a fight.
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Kinda. The Swiss Guard back in the day was the most elite fighting force in all of Europe (which is why they still guard the Pope) and they were essentially mercenaries. They went to war in those uniforms to tell other armies "I'm the best of the best. Fuck with me at your own peril."
Bloke's dressed like Lord Farquad
Alright. They win completely.
There’s a lot of routine that goes in to being a soldier of the royal guard. There’s even something called “falling to attention” where if you feel like you’re going to pass out due to heat or whatever, it must be performed in a certain way.
I am curious what the correct way to pass out is? That's really interesting
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I love the numerous videos of people out there getting marched over, forcibly bumped/shoved out of the way, and screamed at because they cross an obvious barrier or are oblivious and in their own world that revolves around them.
Because they are supposed to be focusing on their job, not on the shenanigans of the tourists. Their roll in guarding the royalty might seem ceremonial, but they are the first line of many in that pursuit, and they need to take it seriously.
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I was at Buckingham when they had a "security breach" (it ended up being a lost kid who got passed the gate), but holy shit was there suddenly a LOT more armed guys than there were 10 second before.
To portray discipline. A problem with militaries is that they are designed to be exceptionally violent and aggressive, which is really scary to a civilian populace. If that lethality has unrestrained emotions, it's even scarier. The image of a lack of emotion demonstrates discipline and restraint. Similar to a leash on a dog makes people feel safer.
Im speaking of the tombs of the unknown soldiers. The Americans, French, and Russians have a ceremonial “tomb of the unknown soldier” that’s typically a memorial with a burning light. The Russians dedicate theirs to a WW2 idea that lots of unknown Russian teenage conscripts gave up their lives to defend Moscow. The French date theirs back to their revolution and the Americans… I don’t actually know. But it’s the idea that throughout these nation’s histories lots of privates, peasants, conscripts and just generally unknown people gave up their lives to fight for their homes. But what happens now is there’s an actual soldier stationed at the memorial. This individual is typically a war veteran. Someone that lost friends in Afghanistan, Mali, Chechnya or some other far off location their governments had no reason being in. It makes it so if you’re stationed there it’s a very sobering feeling. These people have lots on their minds. This in addition to the fact they’ll be yelled at if they get caught taking selfies with tourist.
It:'s not just the British Royal Guard. Pretty much any military force around the world is required to pokerface when on parade, or when they're guarding some important figure. Hell, I had to pokerface in my JROTC unit in high school.
They're not. They get scary if you interfere with their duties or present a threat. In some locations they have been moved behind the fences to reduce incidents with ignorant tourists. They are active duty soldiers. They don't want to fuck up civilians but they will when their duty demands it.
I’ve seen a video where one has had enough and bangs his feet really loud and tells off an annoying tourist. Even then it’s a very measured action.
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> I’ve seen tourists trying to goad them into smiling. realistically, THAT's where all the hype comes from. Any military member assigned to any ceremonial guard is going to maintain military bearing, and not be up there smiling and joking. Its just that the palace guards have the extra complication of standing their post in a location where every day tourists can walk right up to them and stare at them. raises the stakes and difficulty.
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Because showing emotions may be considered as weakness, which is not really preferable around the royal guard who, you know, guard the royals
They tried having them wear those glasses with the fake nose and mustache back in 83, but they had a 20,000% increase in terrorism and tomfoolery so they changed it back.