• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Saudi Royal Marines - Early Developments

The Saudi Corps had several false starts. In 1984 American military instructors were recruited for the Royal Saudi Marine Corps by SIBC Basil in Delaware. The Saudi billets had been set-up by the British and reflected their somewhat off-beat cut on naming and organizing a newly formed Marine Corps. By April 1985, the American instructors had turned out the very first class of Saudi "Camelnecks", and the Kingdeom had a ready made Corps of approximately 40 Amphibious Warriors.

Initially they were assigned to the Royal Saudi Navy Base in Jeddah and conducted classes that lasted about 3-month’s duration with the Officers and Enlisted personnel intermixed. The classes were elemental, and in many ways were a sort of Boot Camp, combined with anAdvanced Infantry Training Course. These taught elemental and advanced marksmanship, and infantry tactics (raids, ambushes, helicopter assaults, and night infantry tactics). The classes taught amphibious raids, andpracticed rubber boat training with the old U.S. Navy/Marine Corps seven man rubber boats.

Although well equipped, and provided with professional military advisors, by 1990 the Saudi forces were still not up to Western military standards. Islamic holidays, daily prayers, and familial obligations dramatically decreased the amount of training. The troops generally averaged an eighth grade education.

The officers were often well educated and most spoke at least some English, but they were discouraged from independent thought. Officers were seemingly selected because of their ability to absorb an education (ability to read, write, learn languages, etc.). This assumes that they were politically and socially well connected as well. After selection, they are sent to the Naval Academy in Pakistan for several years.

Military rank not withstanding, tribal prominence / hierarchy becomes a major “bone of contention”. When push comes to shove, no tribe is willing to take orders or accede to the precedence1 of another. There is an unspoken hierarchy of tribes, giving precedence to those considered to be higher on the totem pole than others. While it is never openly spoken of, a Lieutenant from a higher ranking tribe may well simply ignore the orders or directions of a Commander from a tribe considered to be of lesser importance.

In 1986, during the Iran-Iraq War, someone put a round or two through one of the ships of the Saudi Navy as it rounded the peninsula and headed north towards the fighting. This focused the attention of the Saudi Navy (and probably the Army too), and it was deemed necessary to start organizing their newly formed Marine Corps into an operating tactical unit – the Saudi Marine Battalion. The first Saudi Battalion of Camelnecks was squared away to defend the shores of Ras Al Gar.