Royal Guard

Royal Guard Guardians of Light Custos Luminis
A Allievo ufficiale (Cadet officer) of the Royal Guard.
Active	27 BCE - Present
Country	Luminerra
Type	Guard force
Size	~12,000
Garrison/HQ	Forte Reale, Onara
Motto(s)	Lux Perpetua
Commanders
King	Lorenzo III
Comando della Guardia	Maurice Gustavo
Insignia
Unit identifier of the Custos Luminis
Heraldic symbol of the Royal Guard

The Royal Guard, sometimes referred to as Guardians of Light (Vetus Lumenic: Custos Luminis) is a formation of elite mechanized infantry comprised of four active regiments. The Royal Guard is primarily responsible for the protection of the capital district of Onara as well as the protection of the Lumenic royal family and its assets. In general, one of the regiments of the Royal Guard will be present in the capital at any given time, with the other three dispserded throughout the nation serving alongside regular units of the Esercito Luminerra. These formations are generally regarded as highly professional and skilled infantry formations within the Lumenic Legion, and are nominally part of the Legions command structure, however, the Comando della Guardia, Commander of the Guard, a flag officer equivalent in rank to a Capitano generale of the Esercito Luminerra, reports directly to the reigning sovereign of Luminerra.

It is the oldest military formation remaining in continuous service within Luminerra, tracing its linage back to the establishment of the Praetorian Guard by Emperor Citro Vatia in 27 BCE. This makes the Royal Guard one of the oldest military organizations in the world.

Description

Duties

In addition to its duties defending the nation's capital and royal family, the Royal Guard mission is to conduct memorial affairs to honor fallen comrades and ceremonies and special events to represent the Legion and the nation. Members of a Royal Guard regiment are called upon to carry out funeral services for fallen soldiers both in peace and war time, and perform all dignified transfers of fallen soldiers returning to Luminerra, and provides guards for the nation's Tomba del Milite Ignoto, maintaining a twenty-four-hour watch over one of the nation's most sacred site. Formations of the Royal Guard present within the capital district often exercise with the Polizia Nazionale in counter-terrorism operations as well as support roles to civil authorities in a wide range of scenarios. Lastly, the Royal Guard will provide escort and security services for all visiting dignitaries and handles the security arrangements within the nations embassy district.

Joining the Royal Guard

Servicemen and women applying for positions in the Royal Guard must be active duty members of one of the other branches of the Lumenic Legion, be in good standing with their branch of service, and have attained at least an A-5 pay grade for enlisted personnel, or C-3 for commissioned officers. They will take a reduction in rank to A-1 or C-1 following transfer, but will not take a reduction in pay. Warrant officers who transfer will revert to their enlisted status during training, after which they will be commissioned as a Maresciallo Terza of the Royal Guard.

Organization

• 1st Guardian Regiment (Lux Aeterna)
• 2nd Guardian Regiment (Aureum Aurora)
• 3rd Guardian Regiment (Stella Splendida)
• 4th Guardian Regiment (Sol Invictus)

Ranks

Commissioned

Grade	Image	Rank
O-1		Allievo ufficiale
		Guardie Sototenente
		Guardie Tenente
O-2		Guardie Capitano
		Guardie Capitano (Line officer)
		Primo Capitanoo
O-3		Guardie Maggiore
		Guardie Maggiore (Line officer)
O-4		Guardie Sotocomandante
		Guardie Sotocomandante (Line officer)
O-5		Guardie Comandante
		Guardie Comandante (Line officer)
O-6		Guardie Colonnello
O-7		Comando della Guardia

Warrant Officer

Grade	Image	Rank
W-1		Maresciallo Terza
W-2		Maresciallo Seconda
W-3		Maresciallo Prima
W-4		Maresciallo Superiore
W-5		Maresciallo Capo

Non-Commissioned and Enlisted

Grade	Image	Rank
E-1		Guardiano
E-2		Guardiano Anziano
E-3		Primo Guardiano
E-4		Maestro Guardiano
E-5		Sergente Guardiano
E-6		Primo Sergente Guardiano
E-7		Maestro Sergente Guardiano

Equipment

See also Equipment if the Lumenic Army

The equipment of the Royal Guard is, in most cases, identical to that of any mechanized infantry formation of the Lumenic Army.

An example of a P-76 carried by an officer of the Royal Guard. It differs from the standard P-76 in that it is equipped with wooden grips as well as custom engraving

In 2004, the Lumenic Army adopted the P-04 combat pistol to replace its aging P-76 sidearms. In addition, these new pistols were in a new standard caliber, 10x22 mm. The Royal Guard, however, did not wish to adopt the new handgun, instead preferring to retain its custom P-76 firearms, citing tradition, ascetics, and the fact that every officer of the Royal Guard and many senior enlisted personnel had purchased custom made P-76 pistols as part of their dress uniforms.  This debate continued into the late 2000's, with the Comando della Guardia steadfastly refusing to relinquish the P-76's firearms and accept delivery of the P-04. In 2009, King Lorenzo III stepped in and decreed that the Royal Guard had the right to retain their sidearms, also citing tradition and the preferred ascetic of the handguns. The Lumenic Army's Logistical Command acquiesced on the debate regarding the issuance of the P-04, but cited logistical concerns regarding the differing calibers. In 2010, the Royal Guard received a special stipend to contract with Arsenale Reale e Ordinanza S.p.A on producing a version of the P-76 in the new 10x22 mm round. This was a simple accomplishment for ARO, as they had already designed a 10x22 version of the P-76 for competition against the P-04 and several other firearms. As such, that same year, the Royal Guard accepted the P-76/10 as its new standard sidearm. Guardsman who had purchased custom engraved P-76's were allowed to trade their existing firearms into ARO to receive a new P-76/10 at a deeply discounted price.