Civil Guard (Spain)

The Civil Guard (Spanish: Guardia Civil; [ˈɡwarðja θiˈβil]) is a military force charged with police duties. The corps is colloquially known as the benemérita (reputable). It has both a regular national role and undertakes specific foreign peace-keeping missions. As a national police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri, the Portuguese National Republican Guard and the Dutch Royal Marechaussee as it is part of the European Gendarmerie. The Guardia Civil uses as its leading emblem the words "El honor es mi divisa" (Honour is my emblem), a motto emphasizing the unit's esprit de corps.

According to the Centro de investigaciones sociológicas (a Spanish institute for social research) the Guardia Civil is the institution in which most Spaniards trust. Guardia precincts are called casas cuartel (garrison posts) which are both minor residential garrisons and fully equipped Police Stations. In general the Guardia Civil patrol rural areas (including highways and ports) and investigate crimes there, whilst the Policia Nacional deals with serious urban situations. Most cities also have a Policia Local who concentrate on preventing crime, settling minor incidents, traffic control, and, crucially, intelligence gathering. Locally, all three forces work closely together, and are nationally coordinated under the direction of the Ministry of the Interior.

Civil Guard

Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations:

Current:

Historic Civil Guards now abolished:

Civil Guard (Costa Rica)

Civil Guard (Spanish: Guardia Civil) of Costa Rica was a gendarmerie type force responsible for both limited national defense and internal security missions.

The Guardia Civil was the largest branch of the Fuerza Pública (Public Force) and was responsible for the defense of the nation in addition to its law enforcement duties.

History

The Civil Guard was founded in 1949 and combined the functions of an army, air force, navy, national police and coast guard. As formed, it was intended to have a very limited military capacity but have a primary internal security function. Its strength was initially 1,200, which remained relatively stable until the mid-1970s when it increased to 2,000. With its increased size came a tendency to assume a more military role.

The Civil Guard was organised along military lines and was deployed in seven provincial companies. Roughly 40 percent of the Civil Guard was deployed in or near the capital of San José. The units included the Presidential Guard approximating battalion size, and a Security battalion which combined 1st and 2nd Companies. The 3rd Company, which functioned as a strategic reserve, a depot and a training unit, was also the size of a small battalion.

South Vietnamese Popular Force

During the Vietnam War, the South Vietnamese Popular Force (nghĩa quân) (sometimes abbreviated PF/PF or PF) consisted of local militias that protected their home villages from attacks by first Viet Cong forces and later by People's Army of Vietnam units. Originally called the Civil Guard and the Self-Defense Corps, they were integrated into the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in 1964 and placed under the command of the Joint General Staff. The Popular Force was one of two broad groups of militia, the other being the Regional Forces (địa phương quân). The American forces referred to both groups collectively as "Ruff-Puffs" referring to the abbreviation RF/PF.

History

From 1965-1969, the ARVN took over most security operations as the Americans and other allies fought the main force war against the PAVN and NLF. When U.S. forces began to withdraw in 1969, the ARVN took on the task of fighting the communists, the Regional Forces and Popular Forces took on new importance. For the first time, they were deployed outside their home areas and were sometimes attached to ARVN units.