In military organizations, a colour guard is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is highly prestigious, and the military colour is generally carried by a young officer (ensign), while experienced non-commissioned officers are assigned to the protection of the national flag. These non-commissioned officers, accompanied in several countries by warrant officers, can be ceremonially armed with either sabres or rifles to protect the colour. Colour guards are generally dismounted, but there are also mounted colour guard formations as well.
The Austrian Armed Forces are the combined military forces of Austria.
The Republican Guard is part of the French National Gendarmerie. It is responsible for special security duties in the Paris area and for providing guards of honour at official ceremonies of the French Republic.
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of bandmaster or music director. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century.
In some militaries, foot guards are senior infantry regiments. Foot guards are commonly responsible for guarding royal families or other state leaders, and they also often perform ceremonial duties accordingly, but at the same time are combat soldiers.
Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate and precisely choreographed. They originated with peacetime and battlefield military drills introduced to enhance unit cohesion and effectiveness in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The black beret is a colour of beret, a type of headgear. It is commonly worn by paramilitaries and militaries around the world, particularly armored forces such as the British Army's Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC), and Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) and the Indian Army Armoured Corps and Indian Border Security Force. Notable non-armored military units to wear the black beret include the non-military police and non-special forces elements of the Irish Defence Forces, MOD Guard Service, Russian Naval Infantry and Russian OMON units, the United States Air Force (USAF) Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) members, and the Royal Canadian Navy. It was also worn by the United Kingdom's Royal Observer Corps (ROC) with their Royal Air Force (RAF) uniform, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role.
The SAF Military Police Command is the military police formation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Established as the Singapore Armed Forces Provost Unit (SAFPU) in 1966, its primary role is to police duties to uphold standards of discipline within the SAF, and to provide security coverage for key SAF military installations and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) headquarters at Bukit Gombak.
A guard of honour, honor guard or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, especially funerals. In military weddings, especially those of commissioned officers, a guard, composed usually of service members of the same branch, form the sabre arch. In principle, any military unit could act as a guard of honour. However, in some countries, certain units are specially assigned to undertake guard of honour postings or other public duties. Republican guards, royal guards and foot guards frequently have ceremonial duties assigned to them.
The Kremlin Regiment, also called the Presidential Regiment, is a unique military regiment and part of the Russian Federal Protective Service with the status of a special unit. The regiment ensures the security of the Kremlin, its treasures, and state officials. In accordance with the federal law of December 8, 1997 "On Immortalizing the Soviet People’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945", the regiment also maintains a guard of honor at the eternal flame of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The regiment is housed in the historic Kremlin Arsenal.
The Presidential Security Force of Indonesia is one of the Central Executive Agencies of the Indonesian National Armed Forces responsible for proximate security and escort towards the head of state and VVIP in Indonesia, which includes the President, Vice President with their immediate families, former Presidents and Vice Presidents, and visiting foreign heads of state. Paspampres is based in Jakarta, and its personnel are drawn from deputized best-chosen officers, soldiers, seamen, marines, and airmen from special forces and/or special units within the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). It is commanded by a two-star military general.
The Großer Zapfenstreich is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the German federal armed forces, the Bundeswehr, and by the Austrian federal armed forces Bundesheer. The Zapfenstreich is performed only during national celebrations and solemn public commemorations, to honour distinguished persons present at such special events. Examples are the farewell ceremony for a German federal president, or at the conclusion of large military exercises. It takes place in the evening hours and consists of a military formation of at least one military band, two platoons of armed infantrymen, and two lines of soldiers carrying torches, in total about 400 men.
The Wachbataillon is the German Bundeswehr's honour guard. The Wachbataillon number about 1,000 soldiers stationed in Berlin. It consists of seven active companies and belongs to the Streitkräftebasis of the Bundeswehr. The soldiers of the Wachbataillon often refer to themselves as Protter or Protokollsoldaten, meaning protocol soldiers.
The maroon beret in a military configuration has been an international symbol of airborne forces since the Second World War. It was first officially introduced by the British Army in 1942, at the direction of Major-General Frederick "Boy" Browning, commander of the British 1st Airborne Division. It was first worn by the Parachute Regiment in action in North Africa during November 1942.
154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment serves as the official honor guard regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and serves as the main honor guard unit of the armed forces, stationed in Moscow. Aside from being the honor guard unit, it is also charged with duties assisting the Commander, Moscow Garrison, and to serve garrison and protection duties in the protection of the capital city and its military infrastructure. Its barracks is at Lefortovo District, Moscow, part of the South-Eastern Administrative Okrug.
The Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion, officially the PLA Honour Guard, is a ceremonial honour guard and specialised unit of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). It is composed of representatives of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Navy, and Air Force. Male soldiers in the battalion must be at least 180 cm tall, while females must be at least 173 cm tall. This honor guard battalion, while reporting directly to the Central Military Commission, falls under the operational control of the Central Theater Command. During parades, the battalion is led by a color guard detail bearing the PLA flag, a tradition which began in 1981.
The Guard of the Serbian Armed Forces is an honour guard unit of the Serbian Armed Forces under the direct command of the General Staff. Besides ceremonial duties its main tasks include security and logistics missions.
The Gardemusik Wien is one of nine military bands in Austria and is the seniormost band in the Austrian Armed Forces. Unlike its German counterparts in the Bundeswehr, the band lacks a corps of drums, which is the most essential part to the German format. It consists of 60 military musicians who provide musical accompaniment to the Gardebataillon, of which it is the official regimental band.
The Honour Guard of the President is the official ceremonial honor guard unit of the president of Slovakia, under the direct command of the Military Office of the President of the Slovak Republic.
Austria 
Austrian Land Forces 
