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Armed Forces (Saudi Arabia)

Last modified: 2024-09-07 by ian macdonald
Keywords: minister of defence | chief of general staff | air force ensign | astrolabe | swords: 2 (yellow) | palmtree | roundel | naval base | helm wheel |
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Minister of Defence

[Minister of Defence] image by Joseph McMillan

Source: Album des Pavillons 2000 [pay00]


Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces

[Chief of General Staff] image by Joseph McMillan

Source: Album des Pavillons 2000 [pay00]


Royal Saudi Army

Royal Saudi Army] image by Santiago Dotor, António Martins-Tuválkin, Mario Fabretto and Miles Li, 09 July 2008


Saudi Border Guards

[Saudi Border Guards] image by Zoltan Horvath, 01 March 2015

I found a picture, where chief of Saudi Border Guard is interviewed, its flag can bee seen behind him. This is a yellow flag with Saudi flag in the canton, a blue horizontal stripe runs along the lower edge, and Border Guard emblem is placed in the fly.
Image of flag: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/S8G-RyD4J-o/0.jpg
Zoltan Horvath, 01 March 2015


National Guard

There is also the National Guard, which is a sort of Royal Guards-cum-Security Force, seperate from the regular army. I haven't seen a flag for any of these forces – that doesn't necessarily mean such flags don't exist though!
Miles Li, 10 July 2008

The National Guard is yet another Saudi paramilitary unit, and I have recently been told that there is now a Saudi Coast Guard as well, tasked with anti-smuggling, maritime safety, and other roles. However this is a new force which was only established in January of this year - Joe McMillan may know something about it. There was a brief news story several weeks ago on BBC in the Northeast and Cumbria which showed about a dozen Saudi Coast Guard personnel visiting the British Coastguard station and also the Royal National Lifeboat.
Ron Lahav, 10 July 2008


Ikhwan

Predecessor of the Saudi Arabian National Guard

[Saudi Border Guards] image by Esteban Rivera, 9 January 2023

The Ikhwan (Arabic: الإخوان, romanized: al-ʾikhwān‎, The Brethren), commonly known as Ikhwan men taa Allah (Arabic: إخوان من أطاع الله), was a Wahhabi religious militia made up of traditionally nomadic tribesmen which formed a significant military force of the ruler Ibn Saud and played an important role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Ikhwan first appeared around 1902. They were the product of clergy who aimed to break up the Bedouin tribes and settle them around the wells and oases of the sedentary Arab populations, mainly those of the Najd, on the grounds that nomadic life was incompatible with the strict conformity of their interpretation of Islam. The newly Islamicized Bedouin would be converted from nomad raiders to soldiers for Islam. The cleric/teachers of the Ikhwan were dedicated to their idea of the purification and the unification of Islam, and some of the newly converted Ikhwan rebelled against their emir Ibn Saud, accusing him of religious laxity. The conquest of the Hejaz in 1924 brought all of the current Saudi state under Ibn Saud's control. The monarch then found himself in conflict with elements of the Ikhwan. He crushed their power at the Battle of Sabilla in 1929, following which the militia was reorganised into the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikhwan and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabian_National_Guard

Historical picture of the original flag.

Esteban Rivera, 9 January 2023


Other Military Flags?

I understand that there are at least two paramilitary police forces in the KSA, a Frontier Force and Gendarmerie, not to mention the Religious Police. Do these forces also have flags? I have recently been told that there is now a Saudi Coast Guard as well, tasked with anti-smuggling, maritime safety, and other roles. However this is a new force which was only established in January of this year.
Ron Lahav, 10 July 2008

Here's the flag 'in the cloth' at a joint Saudi-Pakistani exercise in 2006; I guess the flag on the right is the Pakistani Army flag.
Ian Sumner, 10 July 2008

The first illustration definitely shows a Saudi military flag, possibly a regimental or unit flag. The Guard.com site seems to be that of a private security company. The uniform looks more like that of a private outfit. We really do nead some Arabic-speaking members of the List!
Ron Lahav, 10 July 2008