National Republican Guard (Portugal)

Portuguese Republican National Guard Guarda Nacional Republicana
Abbreviation	GNR
Coat of Arms of the Guarda Nacional Republicana
Motto	Pela Lei e Pela Grei
	For the Law and For the People
Agency overview
Formed	1834 (renamed 1910)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
National agency (Operations jurisdiction)	Portugal
Legal jurisdiction	As per operations jurisdiction.
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian agency
Operational structure
Headquarters	Lisbon
Agency executive	Lieutenant General Nelson dos Santos, Comandante-Geral (Commander-General)
Website
www.gnr.pt

GNR members wearing ceremonial uniforms

Headquarters of GNR at Carmo Barracks in Lisbon

GNR territorial patrol

GNR Highway Patrol control vehicle

GNR forest rescue vehicle

The Portuguese National Republican Guard (Portuguese: Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR) is the gendarmerie of Portugal. Members of the GNR are soldiers, who, unlike the agents of the Public Security Police (PSP), are subject to military law and organisation. The GNR is responsible for law enforcement in the countryside and small towns (large urban centers are patrolled by the PSP), and providing a national highway patrol and fiscal guard. There are also two military reserve regiments: an Infantry Regiment and a Cavalry Regiment. The GNR also has ceremonial duties and provides guards of honor.

In the 2000s, the GNR has provided detachments for participation in international operations in Iraq and East Timor. As of 2008^[update], the GNR maintains "Detachment Bravo" in East Timor, comprising about 200 personnel, who perform the task of helping to maintain public order in that former Portuguese colony.

Strength

The GNR deploys over 26,000 personnel over 90 percent of Portuguese territory.^[1] and they are also deployed in East Timor as part of UNTAET and Bosnia as part of IFOR/SFOR/EUFOR Althea.^[2]

Organization

The National Republican Guard is, for police and operating in peacetime, responsible to the Ministry of Interior and military effects of the Ministry of National Defence. In accordance with the Law No. 63/2007 (new Organic Law of the GNR) the traditional structure of the GNR, which included four regional brigades, the Fiscal Brigade, the Traffic Brigade, the Cavalry and Infantry Regiments,^[3] were replaced by a new structure, considerably different implemented in early 2009.^[4]

The GNR is commanded by a general officer, with the title of Commandant-General (Comandante-Geral)

The National Republican Guard is organized into battalions stationed in the major cities and companies and sections in district capitals and smaller communities.

The National Republican Guard now includes the following:

General Command^[5]

• GNR General Headquarters in Largo do Carmo, in Central Lisbon;

Reporting directly to the Commandant-General are the following:

• • Direcção de Justiça e Disciplina (DJD); (Directorate of Justice and Discipline)
  • Divisão de Planeamento Estratégico e Relações Internacionais (DPERI); (Strategic Planning and International Relations Division)
  • Divisão de Comunicação e Relações Públicas (DCRP); (Communications and Public Relations Division).

• Comando Operacional (CO); Operational Command
• Comando da Administração dos Recursos internos (CARI); Command of the Administration of Internal Resources
• Comando da Doutrina e Formação (CDF); Training and Doctrine Command

Territorial Units

The old four-brigade structure was replaced by a system of Territorial Commands. Each territorial command - commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel - includes detachments - commanded by Major, Captain or also by a junior officer , Sub - led by junior officers - and regional offices - led by sergeants. Each territorial command usually includes a detachment of transit and a detachment of intervention. The territorial command of the Azores and Madeira play, essentially, just a coastal monitoring and fiscal actions, respectively, under the functional dependence of the UCC and UAF. The current territorial commands correspond essentially to the previous territorial groups of the old territorial brigades. The extinction of the territorial brigades by the end of 2008, the territorial commands placed in direct dependence on the central structure of command of GNR; the commands are as follows:

• Comando Territorial dos Açores
• Comando Territorial de Aveiro
• Comando Territorial de Beja
• Comando Territorial de Braga
• Comando Territorial de Bragança
• Comando Territorial de Castelo Branco
• Comando Territorial de Coimbra
• Comando Territorial de Évora
• Comando Territorial de Faro
• Comando Territorial da Guarda
• Comando Territorial de Leiria
• Comando Territorial de Lisboa
• Comando Territorial da Madeira
• Comando Territorial de Portalegre
• Comando Territorial do Porto
• Comando Territorial de Santarém
• Comando Territorial de Setúbal
• Comando Territorial de Viseu
• Comando Territorial de Viana do Castelo
• Comando Territorial de Vila Real

Special Units

Special Units fall directly under the Operations Command (Comando Operacional).^[6]

• Unidade de Controlo Costeiro (UCC) - (Coastal Control Unit) - Essentially the Portuguese Coast Guard, is commanded by a Major General, is responsible for surveillance and interception at sea and coast, including the operation of the Integrated Surveillance, Command and Control (SIVICC), distributed along the Portuguese coast. This unit replaced the former Maritime Services Fiscal Brigade ;
• Unidade de Ação Fiscal (UAF) - (Fiscal Action Unit) - commanded by a colonel, is responsible for carrying out the mission of taxation, tax and customs attributed to the GNR. It succeeded the previous Fiscal Brigade;
• Unidade Nacional de Trânsito (UNT) - (National Transit Unit) - the national Highway Patrol, is commanded by a colonel, is responsible for standardization of procedures and training under the supervision of traffic. This unit replaced the central structure of the former Traffic Brigade, losing its territorial subunits transit, which went to the dependence of the various command authorities;
• Unidade de Segurança e Honras de Estado (USHE) - (State Security and Honor Unit) - commanded by a Major General, is responsible for tasks of representation and facility security organs of sovereignty. Includes the Esquadrão Presidencial (Presidential Squadron), Charanga a Cavalo (Charanga Horse), the Banda da Guarda (Band of the Guards), the Grupo Honras de Estado eo Grupo de Segurança (State Honors and Security GroupS). This unit replaced the old Regimento de Cavalaria (Cavalry Regiment) and the Regimento de Infantaria (Infantry Regiment);
• Unidade de Intervenção (UI) - (Intervention Unit) - commanded by a Major General, is responsible for the missions of maintaining and restoring public order, management of critical incidents, tactical operations, security of sensitive installations, inactivation of explosives, protection and relief and projection of forces for international missions. Includes Grupo de Intervenção de Ordem Pública (GIOP) (Public Order Intervention Group) and Operações Especiais (GIOE) (Special Operations), Grupo de Intervenção de Proteção e Socorro (GIPS) (Intervention Group for Protection and Rescue), the Grupo Operacional Cinotécnico (Canine Operational Group), Centro de Inativação de Explosivos e Segurança em Subsolo (CIESS) (Center for Explosives Disposal Underground Safety) and Centro de Treino e Aprontamento de Força para Missões Internacionais (Force Training and Readiness Centre for International Missions). This unit was organized with several subunits of the former Infantry Regiment.

Services

• Serviço de Protecção da Natureza e do Ambiente- SEPNA (Nature and Environment Protection Service)

Educational establishment

Guard School (EG) - commanded by a Major General, is responsible for technical and professional training of military personnel of the GNR. Includes training centers in Figueira da Foz (CFFF) and Portalegre (CFP). Succeeded the former Guard Training School.

History

The National Republican Guard is the direct descendant of the Royal Police Guard created in the beginning of the 19th century.

Royal Police Guard, 1801

The Lisbon's "Royal Police Guard" (Guarda Real da Polícia) was created in 1801 by Prince Regent John on the initiative of the Intendant-General of the Police of the Court and the Kingdom, Pina Manique. It took as a model the French Gendarmerie (1791). Following the creation of the Lisbon's Royal Police Guard, the a Royal Police Guard was created for Porto and another for Rio de Janeiro. The latter subsequently provided the origin of the Military Police forces of the member states of Brazil.

Municipal Guard, 1834

At the end of May, 1834, as a result of the Civil War, King Peter IV, assuming the regency in name of his daughter Queen Mary II, disbanded the Royal Police Guard in Lisbon and Porto, creating the "Municipal Guards" of Lisbon and Porto on the basis of similar conditions. In 1868 both of the Guards were put under a unified General Command, installed in the Carmo Barracks in Lisbon, which today still is the Headquarters of the GNR. The Municipal Guard was considered part of the Army, but was dependent on the Ministry of Internal Affairs for all matters regarding public security.

Republican Guard, 1910

After the coup of the 5 October 1910, which substituted the Constitutional Monarchy with the Republic, the new regime changed the name of the Municipal Guard to the Republican Guard (Guarda Republicana).

National Republican Guard, 1911

In 1911, the name changed to National Republican Guard: this was to be a security force consisting of military personnel organised in a special corps of troops depending, in peace time, on the Ministry of Internal Administration, for the purpose of conscription, administration and execution with regards to its mission, and the Ministry of the National Defense for the purpose of uniformization and normalization of the military doctrine, as well as for its armament and equipment. In case of war or situation of crisis, the forces of National Republican Guard will, in terms of the respective laws and for operational effect, be subordinated to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. In 1993 the National Republican Guard absorbed the independent Fiscal Guard (Guarda Fiscal) that became the Fiscal Brigade of the GNR. In 2006 a new GNR unit was created with the purpose of firefighting and was named GIPS.

A small contingent of GNR forces has been deployed in Timor-Leste in 2006 (see video below).

Equipment

The police in Portugal always used a wide range of firearms to equip their personnel. At the start of the 21st century they choose Glock 19 as the standard Law Enforcement handgun which came only to replace the old Walther PP. Any other handgun in a caliber above .32ACP will remain in service.

Handguns

• FN Browning HP (9x19mm Parabellum) since 1935;
• Beretta Px4 Storm (9x19mm Parabellum);
• Glock 17 (9x19mm Parabellum);
• Glock 19 (9x19mm Parabellum); (Standard pistol)
• HK P9S (9x19mm Parabellum);
• HK VP70M (9x19mm Parabellum);
• HK USP Compact (9x19mm Parabellum);
• HK P30 (9x19mm Parabellum);
• SIG GSR (.45ACP)
• SIG P220 (9x19mm Parabellum);
• SIG P226 (9x19mm Parabellum);
• SIG SP2022 (9x19mm Parabellum);
• Walther P99 (9x19mm Parabellum);
• Walther P38 (9x19mm Parabellum);
• Walther P5 (9x19mm Parabellum);
• Walther PP (7.65x17mm (.32ACP)); (replaced by Glock 19)

Shotguns

• Mossberg 590; (12 gauge);
• Winchester 1200 (12 gauge);
• Fabarm SDASS Tactical (12 gauge);
• Benelli M3 (12 gauge);
• Benelli M4 (12 gauge);

Sub-Machineguns

• FAMAE SAF (9x19mm Parabellum);
• HK MP5 (9x19mm Parabellum);

Rifles

• HK G36 (5.56x45 NATO);
• HK G3 (7.62mm NATO).
• HK MSG90 (7.62mm NATO).
• Accuracy International AW50 (.50BMG)

See also

• Portugal
• National Guard (disambiguation)
• Carabinieri
• Civil Guard (Spain)

References

1. ^ http://www.gnr.pt/portal/internet/Treeview/Dynamictree.asp?NodeId=-757380300&IdPage=18
2. ^ http://www.gnr.pt/portal/internet/Treeview/Dynamictree.asp?NodeId=-757380300&IdPage=18
3. ^ No. 2 Brigade (Headquarters in Lisbon, covers the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region), No. 3 Brigade (Évora, Southern Region), No. 4 Brigade (Porto, Northern Region), No. 5 Brigade (Coimbra, Central Region); Infantry Regiment (located in Lisbon, includes a public order and special operations Battalion and Garrison Companies), Cavalry Regiment (located in Lisbon, includes a Horse Group, a Motorized and Armoured Squadron and a Presidential Guard); Fiscal Brigade (Headquarters in Lisbon, responsible for the customs and border patrol, includes a maritime service and covers all of the Portuguese territory, including Azores and Madeira), and the Brigada de Trânsito, a Highway patrol (Headquarters in Lisbon, responsible for patrolling the highways, covers all of the continental Portuguese territory);
4. ^ http://dre.pt/pdf1sdip/2007/11/21300/0804308051.pdf
5. ^ http://www.operacional.pt/a-nova-organica-da-gnr/
6. ^ http://www.operacional.pt/a-nova-organica-da-gnr/

External links

• Official website