| Saudi Arabian National Guard | |
|---|---|
| الحَرَس الوَطنيّ al-Ḥaras al-Waṭanī | |
 Flag of the Ministry of National Guard | |
| Founded | 1910 (1910)[a] |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Allegiance | CTHM |
| Branch | Army,Air force |
| Type | National guard |
| Role | Reserve army Counter-insurgency |
| Size | 153,000[b] |
| Part of | Ministry of National Guard |
| Regional HQ | Riyadh (central) Western Province Eastern Province |
| Nicknames | "The White Army","SANG" |
| Anniversaries | 23 September ;93 years ago |
| Website | www.sang.gov.sa |
| Commanders | |
| Supreme commander |  PrinceAbdullah bin Bandar |
| Commander-in-Chief | Maj. Gen Mohammed bin Zaid Al-Qahtani |
| Notable commanders | King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
|
TheSaudi Arabian National Guard (SANG),[c] also known as theWhite Army,[d] is one of the three major branches of the military forces of theKingdom of Saudi Arabia.[5]
The national guard is under the administrative control of theMinistry of National Guard, instead of theMinistry of Defence. It differs from the regularSaudi Arabian Army in being forged out of tribal elements loyal to theHouse of Saud and tasked with protecting the royal family from internal dangers such as acoup d'état.[6]
The Saudi Arabian National Guard has a standing force of 125,000 troops and a tribal militia of some 28,000 Fouj (tribal levies).[3] It serves both as a defence force against external attack and an internal security force. Its duties include protecting theSaudi ruling family, guarding against military coups, safeguarding strategic facilities and resources, and providing security for the cities ofMecca andMedina.
It reports directly to the king through the Minister of the National Guard and, unlike the army, navy and air force, is not under the control of theMinistry of Defense. The Guard's command structure and communication network are entirely separate from those of the Ministries of Defense and the Interior.
Its personnel are drawn from tribes loyal to the king and theroyal family, whose high-ranking members are always appointed its commander. It has been described as an institution that "ties the tribes to the House of Saud" (bySandra Mackey).[7] It also draws recruits from official Wahhabi religious establishment.[8] It differs from the army in that its officers command units (e.g. battalions) "largely made up of their own tribal cousins, which makes the leaders and their followers less susceptible to subversive ideas and outside ideologies."[8]
According to journalistJohn R. Bradley, its leaders and their followers are 'supposed to have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo."[8] The force was extensively reorganised and retrained by theVinnell Corporation (using over a thousand US Vietnam War veterans)[citation needed] in the 1980s. The United States' support for the SANG has been delivered both through private contractors and theU.S. army'sOffice of the Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program.
The SANG was founded as the successor to theIkhwan, the tribal army ofKing Abdulaziz. The Ikhwan had helped King Abdulaziz conquer theArabian Peninsula and take it from theHashimites inWorld War I. However, the Ikhwan committed many excesses and atrocities not just on theHejaziArmy but on other Arabs as well. The various tribal groups of the Ikhwan also had a tendency to go off and do their own things and thus needed to be brought under a more centralised control. The SANG acquired its moniker of the "White Army" during this period due to its wearing of traditional Arab dress instead of Western-style military uniforms. In 1954, the office of Jihad and Mujahidin was transformed into the modern National Guard.[9] It was called White Army until 1963 when a British military mission reorganized it.[10]
Training of the National Guard became the responsibility of the USVinnell corporation in 1975. About 1,000 United States Vietnam veterans were initially recruited to serve in the long-term training program designed to convert the guard into a mobile and hard-hitting counterinsurgency force that could also reinforce the regular army if necessary. These contractors were supervised by a United States military group with the designation Office of the Program Manager—Saudi Arabian National Guard (OPM-SANG).
Extensive military infrastructure facilities have been built to ensure the comfort and well-being of national guard units. Their major cantonments were inAl-Ahsa Oasis nearAl-Hufuf and the major oil installations of theEastern Province and atAl-Qasim in theNejd, in an area where many of the tribal elements were recruited and most training was conducted. A large new housing project for guard personnel, with associated schools, shops, and mosques, has been constructed nearRiyadh, also the site of the guard's military academy, theKing Khalid Military College. Other National Guard military cities were located atAt-Ta'if,Dammam, andJeddah, while a new headquarters complex was built in Riyadh in the early 1980s.
During the 1950s and early 1960s, the regular army and the national guard were both small and of roughly equal strength. The guard suffered when the army's expansion was given priority, but in the 1970s the decline was reversed when the guard was converted to a light mechanized force with the help of United States advisers. Initially consisting of four combined arms battalions, the active-duty component had by 1992 been enlarged to two mechanized brigades, each with four infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, and engineering and signals companies. The guard's mobility over desert terrain was assured by 1,100Commando V-150 armoured cars. Firepower came from 105 mm and 155 mm towed howitzers, 106 mm recoilless rifles, 90mm guns andBGM-71 TOW platforms. In the 1990s, the V-150s were replaced in the mechanized battalions with overLAV-25 Family of Vehicles bought from DDGM/GD in Canada.
The second component of the national guard, made up of tribal battalions under the command of local sheikhs, was organised into four infantry brigades (called the Fowj). These men, often the sons of local chiefs or of veterans of the original Ikhwan forces, reported for duty about once a month for the purpose of receiving stipends. They were provided withHeckler & Koch G3 rifles, although many had individually acquiredAK-47s and other automatic weapons. They also have radios and are equipped with Toyota pickup trucks or Land Rovers. Many units are stationed along the borders of the Kingdom and have the mission to patrol the border areas. Although neither particularly well trained nor well equipped, they could be counted on to be loyal to the House of Saud if called for service. Their enrollment in the guard was largely a means to bolster the subsidies paid to local shaykhs and to retain the support of their tribes.
The national guard's King Abdulaziz Mechanized Brigade was swiftly deployed to the border area afterIraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and was actively engaged in the war, notably in the fighting to retake the town ofRa's al Khafji. After the war ended, it was reported that an enlargement of the national guard to eleven or twelve active brigades was contemplated. In addition, the ageing Commandos were to be replaced by more than 1,000 eight-wheeledLAV-25s and LAV variants manufactured byGeneral Motors in Canada. The LAVs were to be mounted with a variety of armaments, such as 25 mm autocannon, larger-calibre 90 mm guns, 120mm mortars and TOW missile launchers.
The Saudi Arabian National Guard's communications and chain of command maintained a separate network from regular Saudi Arabian military channels with a senior member of the royal family as its head. This structure was established byKing Saud in 1956.[11] Prior to 1956 the Guard was led by tribal sheikhs.[11] Following the 1956 reorganization the first royal,Khalid bin Saud who was King Saud's son, was assigned to command the Guard in July 1957.[11] In 1959Saad bin Saud, another son of King Saud, became the commander.[11]
King Abdullah commanded SANG for four decades, from 1962 until 17 November 2010 when he appointed his son,Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, as the new commander.[12] In addition, three of his sons hold high positions within the organization. SANG's Deputy Commander wasPrince Badr until 2010, who was a senior member of theAl Saud. Prince Mutaib was later arrested because of corruption and was imprisoned for a few months.[13] Its general headquarters, located inRiyadh, directly controlled the three regional sectors and the training facilities and the King Abdulaziz Independent Mechanized Brigade of four battalions.
The three regional (eastern, central, and western) sectors each command one or more mechanized or motorized brigades, several independent Security andMilitary Police and logistical battalions, but also the irregularfowj battalions.
The SANG was restructured with the help of theVinnell Corporation into a light mechanized force equipped with over a thousandCadillac Gage Commandoarmored fighting vehicles (replaced withLAV-25s in the 1990s). Its mobile force consisted of three mechanized brigades and five motorized infantry brigades. Themilitia portion consists of around 24 battalions offowj, tribal warriors on "retainer".
The twenty one SANG brigades include:
The two original motorized brigades, IMBSMB and KAAMB, had V-150 Commando armored cars, M‑102 howitzers (IMBS) and 155 mm M‑198howitzers, plusTOWanti-tank guided missile systems in the anti-tank platoons of the line motorized companies; two in each company in the IMBS and six in the KAAB. The two brigades each had a headquarters company, four-line motorized battalions, afield artillery battalion, a support battalion, and air defense, signals, and engineers companies.[15]
Riyadh Regional Headquarters controlled:
Eastern Regional Headquarters, which is located in Dammam, controlled:
Western Regional Headquarters, which is located in Jeddah, controlled:
The second component of the national guard is theFowj (Arabic:فَيْج (also fayj) "legman, courier; company"),[21] made up ofBedouin tribal (militia) battalions under the command of localsheikhs. These men, often the sons of local chiefs or of veterans of the original Ikhwan forces, reported for duty about once a month for the purpose of receiving stipends. They were provided with obsolete rifles, although many had individually acquiredKalashnikov assault rifles. Although neither particularly well trained nor well equipped, they could be counted on to be loyal to the House of Saud if called for service. Their enrollment in the guard is largely a means to bolster the subsidies paid to local sheikhs and to retain the support of their tribes.[22] The Fowj is currently organized into 27 battalions with approximately 27,000 men.[23]
Uniforms worn by personnel of Saudi Arabia's national guard are closely patterned on the British and United States models that influenced them during their early development. The most common uniform colors are khaki or olive drab. Officers had semidress uniforms for various functions and dress uniforms for formal occasions. All personnel wear berets, and officers also havepeaked caps.[24]
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When in modern uniforms personnel wear a red beret. British three color BritishDesert pattern DPM[25] used throughout theMiddle East, AmericanDesert Camouflage Uniform (DCU), used in Iraq and other desert regions throughout theMiddle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. Some units still wear the AmericanDesert Battle Dress Uniform of which a Saudi grey variant is worn by SANG security guards. These are being replaced by several new digital or pixelated camouflage designs with an embedded Saudi Arabian National Guard crest.[26] National guardsmen often wear the traditional red-checkeredkeffiyeh Arab headdress. Tribal units often wear thethawb with crossedbandoliers.[24]
The SANG is not, by tradition, issued equipment not used by the regular military; it does not possess any tanks but has several thousand wheeledarmored fighting vehicles andarmoured personnel carriers. It possesses its ownhelicopters and light aircraft and all the remaining types of military hardware including artillery.
A$2.2 billion foreign military sale contract delivered 724LAV‑II 8×8 wheeledarmored personnel carriers in ten different varieties in 2001.
In December 2012, the Saudi National Guard ordered 68 French Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle (MPCV) air-defense vehicles.[27]In September 2014, 24Boeing AH-6i Little Bird light attack and reconnaissance helicopters were ordered fromBoeing with deliveries to begin in 2016.[28]
| Model | Image | Origin | Variant | Quantity | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small arms | |||||
| FN Five-Seven |  |  Belgium | Standard issue pistol. | ||
| FN P90 |  | Belgium | |||
| Heckler & Koch MP5 |  |  West Germany Saudi Arabia | |||
| AK-47 |  |  Soviet Union | Used by tribal militias of the National Guard. | ||
| Heckler & Koch G36 |  | Germany Saudi Arabia | |||
| FN FAL |  | Belgium | Used for ceremonial purposes. | ||
| FN F2000 |  | Belgium | |||
| FN Minimi |  | Belgium | |||
| FN MAG |  | Belgium | |||
| Vektor SS-77 | .jpg) |  South Africa | |||
| WKW Wilk (Tor) |  |  Poland | <15 | ||
| Explosives, anti-tank weapons | |||||
| RPG-7 |  | Soviet Union | |||
| FN GL1 |  | Belgium | Attaches to the rifle. | ||
| Mk 19 |  |  United States | |||
| Armored personnel carriers | |||||
| LAV III |  |  Canada | 19[29] | 900 LAV 6.0 on order. Some of the 900 combat vehicles will be fitted with a 105 mm anti-tank cannon known as the Cockerill CT-CV 105H and the rest will be fitted with a CPWS 20-25-30 which can be armed from a 20 mm to a 30 mm auto-cannon. | |
| Al-Fahd | Saudi Arabia | 100 | First indigenously designed APC. | ||
| Piranha II |  |  Switzerland | 1,117 | 172 more on order. | |
| LAV-25 |  | United States | Multiple variants | N/A | |
| LAV II | Canada | ten different varieties | 724 | ||
| Cadillac Gage Commando |  | United States | V-150S | 579+ | between 7 and 10 of the Saudi V-150s were destroyed when they were used against Iraq |
| EE-11 Urutu | .jpg) |  Brazil | 20 | ||
| Al-Naif | Saudi Arabia | ||||
| Artillery | |||||
| CAESAR |  |  France | 156[30][31] | ||
| Aircraft | |||||
| Boeing AH-64 Apache | .jpg) | United States | 36 | 12 + 24 on order | |
| Boeing AH-6 | .jpg) | United States | 24[32] | ||
| Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk | .jpg) | United States | UH-60M | 48 | 72 order. 3 batches of 24. Introduced during 2015.[33] |
| Air Defense | |||||
| MPCV |  | France | 68[30] | ||
| VL-MICA |  | France | 5[30] | ||
| M167 VADS |  | United States | 30[30] | ||
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saudi Arabian National Guard |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||||
| فريق Fariq | لواء Liwa | عميد Amid | عقيد Aqid | مقدم Muqaddam | رائد Ra'id | نقيب Naqib | ملازم أول Mulazim awwal | ملازم Mulazim | ||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabian National Guard |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| رئيس رقباء Rayiys ruqaba' | رقيب أول Raqib 'awal | رقيب Raqib | وكيل رقيب Wakil raqib | عريف Earif | جندي أول Jundiun awwal | جندي Jundiun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The SANG was transformed into a ministerial body on 27 May 2013.[34] PrinceMutaib bin Abdullah, former commander of the SANG, became the minister of national guard on the same day.[34] On 4 November 2017, Prince Mutaib was replaced by PrinceKhalid bin Abdulaziz bin Eyaf Al Saud [ar] (until December 2018)[35]
The National Guard, in contrast to the army, has institutionalized and cemented tribal, social, and religious ties in the kingdom because it is made up of young men drawn from the various ranks of the Bedu, tribes, and official Wahhabi religious establishment. Commanders, for instance, often head battalions largely made up of their own tribal cousins, which makes the leaders and their followers less susceptible to subversive ideas and outside ideologies. Since they and their families reap all of the benefits of being part of the state apparatus, they are supposed to have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. (p.69)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Jean R. Tartter (1993).Helen Chapin Metz (ed.).Saudi Arabia: A Country Study.Federal Research Division. Saudi Arabian National Guard.
| Defense | |
|---|---|
| Guard | |
| Security | |
| Academy | |
