Military of Vatican City

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The current military of the Vatican City consists of the Swiss Guard. Historically, a number of other units existed. Apart from the Swiss Guard, the last remaining units, the Noble Guard and the Palatine Guard, were abolished by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

[edit] List of Vatican Military Units

• Noble Guard, the papal horse guards (abolished in 1970).
• Swiss Guard, the papal foot guards (active).
• Palatine Guard, the papal militia (abolished in 1970).
• Corsican Guard, the papal militia (abolished in 1860).
• Papal Zouaves, the defence force of the Papal States (abolished in 1870).
• Gendarme Corps, border patrol and military police (abolished in 1970). (A new unit with exactly the same name was established in 2002 and operates with a strength of 130 personnel. However, this new unit, whilst carrying out very similar functions to the original, is officially classified as a civil force (along with the Vatican Fire Brigade) rather than a military force.)

[edit] Officers' Ranks

Since 1970, the Swiss Guard has been the only active military of the Vatican City. The officers' rank markings illustrated here are those of the Swiss Guard. The Chaplain of the Guard ranks as a Lieutenant Colonel. The Commandant (who holds the rank of Colonel) is a senior member of the Papal Household, and his personal coat of arms or emblem appears at the centre of the Standard of the Swiss Guard for the duration of his command.

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Military of the Vatican City (Swiss Guard) - officers' rank insignia

Rank (in German)	Leutnant	Oberleutnant	Hauptmann	Major	Oberstleutnant	Oberst
Rank (in English)	(2nd) Lieutenant	(1st) Lieutenant	Captain	Major	Lieutenant Colonel	Colonel
Insignia of rank	No 'one-star' rank is in use.	No 'two-star' rank is in use.
1) Colonel is the most senior rank in the armed forces of the Vatican City. There are no 'General' ranks. 2) There is only one Colonel - the Commandant of the Swiss Guard. 3) There are two Lieutenant Colonels - the Vice-Commandant and the Chaplain of the Swiss Guard. 4) Since the abolition of other units in 1970, the Swiss Guard is the only active unit of the military of the Vatican City.

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