| Saudi Arabian National Guard al-Ḥaras al-Waṭanī الحرس الوطني |
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|---|---|
| Founded | 1930s - Present |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Allegiance | Saudi Arabia |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Land Force |
| Role | Land warfare |
| Size | 125,000 |
| Part of | King of Saudi Arabia |
| Garrison/HQ | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Nickname | SANG, The White Army |
| Battle honours | Grand Mosque Seizure Gulf War |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah |
| Notable commanders |
King Abdullah |
The Saudi Arabian National Guard (Arabic: الحرس الوطني, al-Ḥaras al-Waṭanī) (SANG, also known as the White Army) is a separate military force of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is not part of the Saudi Arabian Defence Forces, due to its specific role as a counterbalance to the regular military. It serves both as defence force against external threats and as a security force against internal threats. Its duties include protecting the royal family, guarding against coups, protecting strategic facilities and resources, and protecting the Holy Places of Mecca and Medina. It is both a standing force of 125,000, with a tribal militia of 25,000. The SANG is the King's private army consisting of personnel drawn from tribes loyal to the King and Royal Family. It is always commanded by a high ranking member of the royal family. The force was extensively reorganized and retrained by the Vinnell Corporation (using over a thousand US Vietnam War veterans) in the 1980s and performed well in the Persian Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm especially in the battle for Khafji.
U.S. support continues, delivered both through private contractors and the United States Army's Office of the Program Manager Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program.
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The SANG was founded as the successor to the Ikhwan, the tribal army of Abdul al Aziz ibn Saud. The Ikhwan had helped Abd al Aziz conquer the Arabian peninsula and take it from Ottoman Turkey in World War I. However, the Ikhwan committed many excesses and atrocities not just on Turks 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 centralized control. The SANG was also known as the White Army during this time due to the wearing of traditional Arab dress instead of uniforms.
The Saudi Arabian National Guard's communications and chain of Command has maintained a separate network from regular Saudi Arabian military channels with a senior member of the royal family as its head. King Abdullah commanded SANG for three decades, from 1962 until 17 November 2010, when he appointed his son, Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, as the new commander.[1] In addition, three of his sons hold high positions within the organization. SANG's Deputy Commander is Prince Badr, who is a senior member of the Al Saud. Its General Headquarters, located in Riyadh, directly controls the three regional sectors and the training facilities and the King Abdul Aziz 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 and Military Police and logistical battalions, but also the irregular fowj battalions.
The SANG has been restructured with the help of the Vinnell Corporation into a light mechanised force equipped with over a thousand Cadillac Gage Commando armored fighting vehicles (now being replaced with LAV-25's). Its mobile force consists of three mechanized brigades and five motorized infantry brigades. The militia portion consists of around 24 battalions of fowj, tribal warriors on "retainer".
The Eight Brigades are:
The two original motorised brigades, IMBS and KAAB, had M-102 howitzers (IMBS) and 155mm M-198 howitzers, plus TOW anti-tank guided missile systems in the anti-tank platoons of the line motorised companies; two in each company in the IMBS and six in the KAAB. The two brigades each had a headquarters company, four line motorised battalions, a field artillery battalion, a support battalion, and air defence, signals, and engineers companies.[2]
Riyadh Regional Headquarter, which is located in Riyadh, controls:
Eastern Regional Headquarter, which is located in Dammam, controls:
Western Regional Headquarter, which is located in Jeddah, controls:
Independent Battalions:
The SANG is, by tradition, issued equipment not issued to the regular military, it doesn't possess any tanks but does possess several thousand wheeled armored fighting vehicles and Armoured personnel carriers. It does possess its own helicopters and light aircraft and all the remaining types of military hardware including artillery. When in modern uniforms personnel wear a green beret, the Muslim color for purity. Many soldiers wear for everyday use the American desert style uniform (called DCU or Desert Camouflage Uniform), used in Iraq and other desert regions throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions.
A $2.2 billion Foreign Military Sale contract for 724 LAV-II 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carriers, in 10 different variants has been placed for delivery in 2001.
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