36RZ07 - The "It Seemed A Bit Daft Me Havin' To Guard Him When He's A Guard" Act

WHEREAS the personal security of His Majesty the King, and that of the Royal Family, and that of all Royal Officers, is of utmost importance to the Kingdom; and

WHEREAS at present the Kingdom does not have a Royal Bodyguard; and

WHEREAS if the Ziu is going to choose to create a Guard, it should choose an elite unit that reflects our Berber Heritage; and

WHEREAS the elite troops of the 19th century were Berbers called Zouaves; and

WHEREAS when in 1854 Napoleon III composed an Imperial Guard made up of elite troops, he chose the Zouaves of the French Army as the founding regiment; and

WHEREAS when in 1860 Pope Pius IX needed help in defending the Papal States from the Italian Risorgimento, Lamoriciere formed the the Papal Zouaves as a bodyguard. Gli Zuavi Pontifici were an international regiment with volunteers from Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Bavaria, the USA and Canada; and

WHEREAS during the American Civil War, the citizens of the State of Wisconsin freely joined both the Milwaukee Zouave Cadets (Co B, 5th WI Inf) and the Madison Zouaves (Co A, 23rd WI Inf). These companies form the earliest historic example of an explicit connection between Milwaukee and Berbers; and

WHEREAS Zouaves were said to act "as though warfare were merely a game and their lives simply the table stakes." During the American Civil War, General George B. McClellan called the Zouaves the "beau-ideal of a soldier.”; and

WHEREAS the origins of the Zouaves can be traced to the Zouaoua, a fiercely independent a tribe of Berbers living in mountains of the Jurjura range in Algeria and Morocco. The Zouaoua speak Kabyle, a Berber language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. There are two million speakers of Kabyle in Algeria today; and

WHEREAS in the summer of 1830 a number of Zouaoua tendered their services to the French colonial army, and in October of that year were organized into two battalions. Over the following decades these Zouaves - as the French styled them - proved their valor in dozens of bloody desert encounters under the command of the intrepid General La Moriciere.

THEREFORE, the Ziu hereby enacts that, for the purposes of protecting the Sovereign, the Royal Family and all Royal Officers:

1. The Department of Defence shall be responsible for the protection of the Sovereign, the Royal Family and all Royal Officers.
   
   
2. There shall be added to the military establishment of the Kingdom of Talossa one company of Zouaves. The principal duties of this company shall be the protection of the Sovereign, the Royal Family, and all Royal Officers. The company will report directly to the Minister of Defence.
   
   
   
   1. The name of this company shall be Els Zuávs da l'Altahál Rexhitál (in English, the Zouaves of the Royal Bodyguard), or simply, Els Altaháis (the Guard.).
      
      
   2. The authorized strength of the Guard shall be as follows:
      
      
      
      1. A headquarters section consisting of one Capitán d’Altahál (Captain of the Guard), one Sërxhënt Prüm (first sergeant), and one quartermaster's sergeant,
         
         
      2. Up to two platoons each consisting of a lieutenant, not more than two corporals, and not more than six private solders known as "Yeomen of the Guard." The principal weapons of the Yeomen shall be the rifle and the bayonet.
         
      
      
      
   3. And to the Guard there shall be attached a bandsman tubist, of the rank of corporal, as part of the headquarters section. The bandsman tubist shall perform the duties that in other companies are performed by the bugler. The bandsman tubist shall provide his own tuba, euphonium or sousaphone, as dictated by necessity and availability.
      
      
   4. El Capitán d’Altahál shall be appointed by the Minister of Defence upon recommendation of the Sovereign, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Sovereign. El Capitán d’Altahál shall be chosen from the voting citizens of the Kingdom who have actual infantry experience, as obtained through the Talossan Marine Corps or through service in the Army or Marine Corps (or their local equivalent) of any other nation. The Capitán d’Altahál shall not also hold the office of Prime Minister or Minister of Defence. If the Capitán d’Altahál should be called up to one of these positions, they shall be required to resign from their position for the duration of their service to the Prime Ministry or Ministry of Defence.
      
      
   5. Each member of the Guard shall provide for himself a Zouave uniform consisting of: A short, collarless jacket; a sleeveless vest (gilet}, voluminous trousers (serouel}, 12-foot long woolen sash (ceinture}, white canvas leggings (guetres}, leather greaves (jambieres}, white gloves, and a tasseled fez (chechia). El Capitán d’Altahál shall have the final say in if a particular Guard soldier has attire that is sufficiently North African-inspired.
      
      
   6. From Officers to Yeomen, each member of the Guard shall, as far as is practical, grow an enormous mustache.
      
      
   7. The monthly pay of the members of Guard shall be the same as that of officers and men of the Marine Corps of the same rank.
      
   
   

Ureu q'estadra så,
Sir Trotxâ Betiñéir (Senator-VD)