Guard of Honor
The guard of honor was present from the unveiling of the monument until 1940, when it was removed shortly after the occupation of Latvia. It was renewed on November 11, 1992. The guards are soldiers of The Company of Guard of Honor of the Headquarters Battalion of the National Armed Forces (Latvian: Nacionālo Bruņoto spēku Štāba bataljona Goda sardzes rota). The guard is not required to be on duty in bad weather conditions and if the temperatures are below −10 °C (14 °F) or above 25 °C (77 °F). The guards work in two weekly shifts, with three or four pairs of guards taking over from each other hourly in a ceremony commanded by the chief of the guard. Besides them there also are two watchmen in each shift, who look out for the safety of the guards of honor.
Normally the guard changes every hour between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. After an hour on watch the guards have two hours free that they spend in their rooms at the Ministry of Defence. Since September 2004 the guards also patrol every half hour during their watch: they march off from the base of the monument and march twice along each side of it and then return to their posts. The guards are required to be 1.82 metres (6.0 ft) tall and in good health, as they are required to stand without moving for half an hour.
Read more about this topic: Freedom Monument
Famous quotes containing the words guard and/or honor:
“Ye Mariners of England
That guard our native seas!
Whose flag has braved a thousand years
The battle and the breeze!”
—Thomas Campbell (1774–1844)
“Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor,
For ‘tis the mind that makes the body rich,
And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,
So honor peereth in the meanest habit.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)