1 R WELSH support to the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard

In early 2020, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh deployed three independent Short Term Training Teams, consisting of four soldiers per team, to support the British Military Mission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. One team was centred in Riyadh conducting Marksmanship and another in Dammam, focused on Urban Operations. The teams supported the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG). As overall Team Leader, I will focus on my team’s experience supporting the Internal Security and Patrols course run in the Western Sector with the support of Corporals McDonald, Merril and Tipping. We were to be based in Jeddah; home of the Islamic Port and gateway to pilgrimages to the holy cities – only 70KM from the city of Mecca; the birthplace of Muhammad and the site of the Scared Mosque, al-Masjid al-Haram.

The SANG is known as the “White Army” recruiting only from tribes loyal to King Salaman to act as the internal security force within Saudi Arabia itself. Their recent concerns surrounded the uncertainty of neighbouring countries during the Arab Spring and providing reinforcements to the South Border to assist the [Field] Army against the Houthi Rebels in Yemen. One of our students volunteered and was sent South only days after the course ended. The SANG Brigade Commander set the true context of the course when he ensured the remaining students that the Battalions were to begin transitioning into Mec