The XIX Student Guards Unit in Popovo is now officially part of our large guard family! A formal ceremony was held in Popovo’s “Alexander Stamboliyski” Square, where the representative flag of the XIX Student Guards Unit from the “Nikola Pushkarov” Vocational High School of Agriculture was presented. The ceremony took place under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, with support from the Ministry of Defense and participation from the National Guards Unit, the Representative Ensemble of the Armed Forces, and the Guards Representative Brass Band. Special participation from the IX Etarski Student Guards Unit from “Dr. Vasil Beron” High School in Veliko Tarnovo, led by Evgeni Koev, was also present in support of their peers. The archpriest for Popovo’s spiritual district, Senior Economic Valentin Lazarov, conducted a liturgy to bless the flag of the young guards. The students of the “Nikola Pushkarov” school earned the honor of wearing guard uniforms, an exact replica of the representative military unit. In keeping with an old royal tradition, Colonel Kuncho Ivanov, Commander of the National Guard, Colonel Iliya Milushev, Presidential Advisor, Popovo’s Mayor Ludmil Veselinov, the President of the “Youth Guard Units” Association Dr. Denislava Angelova, and the Deputy Director of “Nikola Pushkarov” Dr. Vaska Belchovska-Nedelcheva nailed nails into the flagpole to ensure it is steady and proudly carried by the young guards. It was handed over to the student unit by the flag bearers of the National Guard. Also attending in “Alexander Stamboliyski” Square were Georgi Georgiev, Chairman of the Popovo Municipal Council, Member of Parliament Yordanka Georgieva, Board member of the Association Nikolai Antonov, former guard in the VI Student Guards Unit at “Hristo Botev” Secondary School in Aytos Dzhem Yumerov, local government officials, teachers, students, parents, and residents of Popovo.
