Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the 5 October, the day of the foundation of the Tentara Keamanan Rakyat ("People's Security Armed Forces"), the predecessor of the TNI, in 1945, itself a replacement for the "Badan Keamanan Rakyat" ("People's Security Corps") established on 29 August on the same year. Military parades are held nationwide in major cities and provincial capitals in honor of the TNI's serving men and women and military veterans. Rouz-e Artesh (English: "Army Day") is celebrated on 18 April, the establishment day of the army. Iraqi Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 6 January, and marks the anniversary of the
Defender of the Fatherland Day Defender of the Fatherland Day Defender of the Fatherland Day ( "Den' zashchitnika Otechestva"); ; ; ; ) is a holiday observed in Russia, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. It is celebrated on 23 February, except in Kazakhstan, where it is celebrated on 7 May. First celebrated in 1919, the holiday marks the date in 1918 during the Russian Civil War when the first mass draft into the Red Army occurred in Petrograd and Moscow (on 17 February). In January 1919, it was decided to combine the celebration of that day with the anniversary of the publication of the