Securitat/Internal Affairs Insignia

[Greg Collins]

Not medals, but certainly items relating to the Securitate- two pairs of epaulets (RSR), one pair for a Colonel and the other for a Lieutenant flanking a badge of "Friend of Security Troops". The detail shows the common insignia used on both the epaulets and the badge.

[Greg Collins]

More items to show but, before I do let me clear up something. The Securitate (Departamentul Securităţii Statului, State Security Department) was not a particularly large organization in and of itself. The official members of this department had no "Securiatate uniform", but more often wore no uniform at all. In this respect they were quite secret in their day to day operations. When a uniform was called for, they wore the uniform of the branch of service to which they belonged- Army, Navy, Security Troops, Police, what have you. The only way to tell a bona fide Securitate agent, when he was in uniform, was by two awards- the Order for Distinguished Services in Defense of the Social Order and the Country and/or the Medal for Distinguished Services in Defense of the Social Order and the Country. These were the only purely Securitate awards.

Much has been said regarding the immense size of the Securitate with respect to the size of the Romanian population. This is due to the inclusion of:
A. Informers
B. Other support organizations from the Internal Ministry, to include:
1. Security Troops
2. Police (Militia)

Most individuals I have had contact with in Romania tend to group the aforementioned groups into the Securitate, which is what I have done here, but it is important to know there really is a difference.

Now, on to the "stuff". First, a very old pair of Militia shoulderboards for a Warrant Officer. These are early RPR period; I would say late 40's to mid 50's. Note that they depend on a button sewn to the uniform for support.

In an effort to make more understandable, what has helped me in coming closer to the "truth" about this organization is to think of the overall "Securitate community" as 4 separate entities:

1. The bona fide Securitate agents- a small, very secretive group of specially trained individuals, without particular uniform or insignia, whose loyalty to the Party is unquestioned.

2. The Security Troops- an army of specially selected, regimented, uniformed individuals who are afforded the best equipment and a somewhat higher life-style for their loyalty. They provide the "muscle" when a greater force is needed by the Securitate. They were, prior to 1947, the Gendarmerie... and that's what they are now.

3. The Militia- the police of the country at that time (1947-1989). Also provided muscle and internal knowledge of the citizenry that police have.

4. The informers- probably the largest group of individuals here. Their levels of loyalty and their reasons for informing probably defy categorization, but extremely useful in monitoring a country.

So, while the Security Troops and the Militia had both uniforms and insignia particular to who they were, the Securitate, in and of itself only (and excluding the two awards I pointed out in an earlier post today), did not. So like most of the DDR's MfS (Stasi) agents, if that member were in the Army, Navy, Airforce, Border Troops, etc., they would wear that uniform or, quite often in the exercise of their Securitate duties, no uniform at all. The only sure way to tell if someone was a Securitate agent is if they had one or both the awards I have mentioned. Take a look at the next post..

[Greg Collins]

Next, a pair of Lieutenant's boards from the same period. Note the appearance of the deep red colour (flash has brightened this up a bit- the actual colour is somewhere between red and maroon). This branch colour will apply to the Militia all the way until 1989.

[Greg Collins]

Next, a most recent issue pair of shoulderboards for a Militia Plutonier (Sergeant First Class) and matching collar tabs. The collar tabs have been simplified from the elongated and pointed collar tabs of the past. This is the type used on the display mannequin in the Romanian Police Museum. There are missing articles here- the silver buttons and the silver shields have been removed from the boards... maybe for use immediately following the 1989 revolution???

[Greg Collins]

Now a couple of Security Troop enlisted (other ranks) shoulderboards. The longer of the two is for a Plutonier (Sergeant First Class) from the RSR period (post 1965) while the shorter is from the RPR period and is for a Sergent Major (Staff Sergeant). These may have belonged to the same person.

[Greg Collins]

A detail of the button used on the shoulderboards. The button that reads "Romania" on the banner is on the longer board (RSR period), while the button reading "RPR" on the banner is from the shorter board.

[Greg Collins]

Some new Militia shoulderboards, also with the help of Kevin. Note that these are complete with shields and buttons... after 1989, the Militia that "stayed on watch" until the conversion to Politia kept their boards but removed the items that linked the boards to the former administration, namely the buttons and shields. These items, especially the shields, were very difficult to get.

The single boards (epoleti) all represent pairs and are, from the left, Lt. Colonel, a Plutonier (Sergeant First Class) and a Sergent Major (Staff Sergeant).

[Greg Collins]

And now, my complete collection of Internal Ministry boards. The three collar tabs pictured at the top are, from the left, a Militia enlisted collar tab, a redesigned-but-never-used Militia enlisted collar tab and a Security Troops enlisted collar tab. The boards below are, left side, top to bottom, top four boards: Militia Lt. Colonel, Militia Plutonier, Militia Sergent Major, Militia Plutonier (very late model). The right side, top to bottom, top four boards are: Security Troops Colonel, Security Troops Lieutenant, Security Troops Plutonier and a Security Troops Sergent Major. The two boards at the bottom of the image are very early (late '40's/early '50's) Internal Ministry troops boards for (left) Warrant Officer 1st Class and (right) 1st Lieutenant.

[Greg Collins]

Finally, a pair of Militia Officer's collar insignia; silver coloured on dark red. These are for officers from Lieutenant through Colonel. The Security Troops equivalent would be gold-coloured leaves on blue.

[deValcourt]

I don't know if Greg was finally hunted down by the former members of the Securitate who wanted their stuff back, but I haven't heard from him in a while.:rolleyes: Greg, if you are out there, these are for you. However, anyone who knows something about the Securitate uniforms - please feel free to chime in.

I found these for sale on ePay (no, I didn't buy them) and I was curious if these could even exist. I was reminded of all the so-called KGB shoulder boards where someone just added branch insignia like music corps and medical. Well, I get the same vibe from these. Although I believe that the first set is from a Securitate dress uniform, I doubt there would be much of an opportunity to wear such a uniform from what I've gathered in this thread.

The second one, however, is enigmatic - a Securitate medical officer? I have my doubts.

Phillip