Today I have chosen to present a theme that is very special to me.

It is called
"Uniform of the 30th Guard Brigade "Michael the Brave"" where I have used as
bilbilographic sources the information provided by the soldiers of the unit.
161 years ago, on 1 July 1860, the first guard unit of the Romanian Army was
established.
The Tiraliori Battalion, founded by the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, has been
functioning without interruption, under different names, until today. Today, the unit is
called the 30th Guard Regiment "Mihai Viteazu".
Here we have a Brigade uniform from the interwar period.

History of the uniform

This uniform has its origins in the reform started in 1845 in the Romanian
Army. After 1859, Romania entered the real path of modernization. This progress is
due to some special men, gentlemen from the army - Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Carol I -
who understood the need to renew the army; thus the great-grandfather of the guard
unit - "Batalionul 1 Tiraliori" was born.
Since then, the ceremonial uniform has undergone successive changes in five
evolutionary stages corresponding to the political and cultural changes that have
taken place in the country. Against the background of the huge economic, political
and social transformations that took place in Romanian society after 1989, the army
underwent a profound process of restructuring and recovery of traditional values.
The ceremonial uniform laid down in the "Regulations on the Description of
the Uniform" of 1934 was the main source of inspiration for the specialists who
designed the ceremonial uniform of the Guards Brigade in 1990. Thus, in the same
year, specialists from the Military Museum, the Army Studio of Fine Arts and the
Logistic Command created a new ceremonial uniform, intended to illustrate the
tradition of the guard units and, at the same time, to create a uniform representative
of the new image of the Romanian Army.
The current ceremonial uniform, worn by the soldiers of the 30th Guards
Regiment "Michael the Brave", is one of the most elegant and refined in Europe,
taking traditional elements embroidered in a modern form, without affecting its
solemnity and prestige through excessive ornamentation. I believe that, although it
has been in use for a relatively short period of time, it has become emblematic for
the Army and even for the Romanian State.

Next I will present and show the elements of the ceremonial uniform, also known as
the Cuza uniform.
On the left side we have an Officer and on the right side a soldier. I chose to put
these pictures to show the difference between Officers, non-commissioned officers
and Soldiers.

Unlike soldiers and non-commissioned officers, Officers have double eyelets.

Another difference is the double stripes on the side of the trousers.
Previously, ranks were marked on the sleeve (as in the navy and air force) by a gold
stripe and on the cap.
Now, ranks are marked above the sleeve cap, classically.
The 30th Guards Brigade "Michael the Brave" is the emblematic unit of the
Romanian Army, the repository and continuator of the traditions of all guard units
since 1860, today representing the only unit of the Romanian Army that performs
ceremonial missions and military honors at the highest level.

In addition to these missions, the unit also has a Drill Team detachment made up of
several soldiers who manage to attract the public of all ages with their weapons
handling techniques.

Below I invite you to watch such a demonstration exercise together.