Army Chief to be Honorary Colonel of Guards Regiment

New Delhi, Jul 12 (ANI): Army Chief General VK Singh will take over as the 17th Honorary Colonel of the Brigade of Guards July 14-15.

'Guards' was a title coined to denote a body of handpicked soldiers, who performed special functions around the Royalty or Heads of States. 'Guards' Regiments of India, England, Switzerland, France, Russia and Holland have an illustrious History.

In 1949, General KM Cariappa, decided to form a brigade of the Guards as an elite regiment. The brigade was modeled on the British Coldstream Guards and imbibed the finest traditions.

Since Independence, the Guards battalions have seen action on Indo-China border, Gaza and Angola with the UN forces, in addition to Indo-Pak wars and counter-insurgency operations.

Though the Brigade of The Guards is only 61 years old, its constituent battalions go back as far as 250 years and between them share 93 Battle Honors, earned around the globe. (ANI)