The Saudi Arabian National Guard or SANG (aka White Army) is one of five branches or services of the Saudi Arabian Defence Forces/military. It serves both as defence force against external threats but as a security force against internal threats. It 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 25,000, with a reserve of 40,000 and 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 highranking member of the royal family, usually a Crown Prince. It consists of a mobile force of two mechanized brigades and four motorized infantry brigades. The militia portion consists of around 24 battalions of fowj, tribal warriors on "retainer". The force was extensively reorganized and retrained by the Vinnel Corporation (using over a thousand US Vietnam War veterans) in the 1980s and performed well in the Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm especially in the battle for Khafji. White army may refer to: The military arm of the White movement, a loose coalition of anti-Bolshevik forces in the Russian Civil War The Saudi Arabian National Guard The National Guard of Kuwait This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. ... Defence Forces (or Defense Forces) is the title of the armed forces of certain countries. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... This article is about the holy city in Saudi Arabia. ... This article is about the Saudi city of Medina. ... A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ... This is a list of kings of Saudi Arabia: King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud) (1902/1932-1953) King Saud, son of King Abdul Aziz (1953-1964) King Faisal, son of King Abdul Aziz (1964-1975) King Khalid, son of King Abdul Aziz (1975-1982) King Fahd, son of King Abdul... A Crown Prince or Crown Princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. ... A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ... The Vietnam War was fought from 1957 to 1975 between Soviet and Chinese-supported Vietnamese nationalist and Communist forces and an array of Western and pro-Western forces, most notably the United States. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The 1991 Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations mandated by the United Nations and led by the United States. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ...

History

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 penninsula 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 Muslim Brotherhood, also called Muslim Brethren (Arabic: جميعة الإخوان المسلمين jamiat al-Ikhwan al-muslimin, literally Society of Muslim Brothers; often only الإخوان المسلمون, Ikhwan ul Muslimoon (Muslim Brothers) or simply الإخوان Ikhwan (the Brothers) is an Islamic organization with a political approach to Islam. ... Ibn Saud Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman ibn Faisal Al Saud ( 1880 - November 9, 1953) was the first monarch of Saudi Arabia. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

Command

The SANG's communications and chain of Command is completely separate from regular Saudi Arabian military channels with a senior member of the royal family as its head. Prince Amir Abd Allah commanded the SANG for three decades since 1962 and three of his sons held high positions within the organization. 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. Riyadh from space, April 1994 Minestry of interior Faisaliah Centre King Fahad Int. ...

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. Military police (MPs) are the police of a military organization, generally concerning themselves with law enforcement and security. ...

Equipment

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 to include 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, used in Iraq An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, equipped with protection against hostile attacks and often mounted weapons. ... East German BRDMs on parade during celebrations of the 40th anniversary of East Germany in 1989 Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are light armoured fighting vehicles for the transport of infantry. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...

See Also

• National Guard
• Saudi Arabia