The Royal Guard of Oman (RGO) (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: الحرس السلطاني العماني) is the

royal guard A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as the emperor or empress, king or queen, or prince or princess. They often are an elite unit of the regular arm ...

of the Sultan of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. It is a separate service within the Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF) and although equipped to carry out land defense operations, it is not part of the

Royal Army of Oman The Royal Army of Oman (Arabic: الجيش العماني, transliterated: ''al-Jaīsh al-'Umānī'') is the ground forces component of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces. It was founded in 1907 as the Muscat Garrison. It has a current strength ...

. The RGO is a personal security and ceremonial unit responsible for the protection of the Sultan and other senior members of the Royal Family. There are two other Royal Household partner organizations which directly interface with the RGO, they are: * The

Oman Royal Yacht Squadron The Oman Royal Yacht Squadron is the Sultan of Oman's personal fleet of pleasure craft ranging from the grand Al Said through to the traditional wooden-hulled sailing vessel Zinat al Bihaar. The Squadron is totally independent of the Royal Nav ...

- based in Muscat Harbor with moorings for larger

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

vessels in

Muttrah Muttrah, ( ar, مطرح) administratively a wilayah (province), is located in the Muscat Governorate of Oman. Before the discovery of oil in Oman, Muttrah was the center of commerce in Oman (Muscat). It is still a center of commerce as one of t ...

's Port Sultan Qaboos * The Royal Flight of Oman - based at

Muscat International Airport Muscat International Airport , formerly Seeb International Airport, is the main international airport in Oman and is located in Seeb, 32 km from the old city and capital Muscat within the Muscat metropolitan area. The airport serves as th ...

History of the Force

The RGO can trace its history back to the small groups of lightly armed Askaris that guarded the palaces and forts of the Sultans of Oman, many habitually recruited from East Africa or loyal local tribesmen. However, it was His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos bin Said Qaboos bin Said Al Said ( ar, قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد, ; 18 November 1940 – 10 January 2020) was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said ...

that decided to develop a more structured approach to royal protection. The RGO originated from the Oman Gendarmerie, which in the early 1970s became His Majesty's Body Guard known as the Royal Guard Squadron. In 1975 the squadron developed into the Royal Guard Regiment and was responsible for the protection of His Majesty and his guests; and by default the security of royal residences (palaces, etc.) and the Sultan's travelling camps This unit was grown in size and evolved into the multi-function RGO of today.

Organisation

The RGO is organised as a light mixed capability brigade-sized formation of at least 4,500 but no more than 5,000 personnel. It is equipped with a variety of wheeled armoured and soft-skinned combat vehicles; as well as light and heavy support weapons. The RGO also has a ceremonial equestrian unit that is based at the Royal Stables at Seeb. The RGO's motorcycle VIP convoy escort specialists have also created a display team known as the Red Helmets. The RGO has ceremonial bands (including bagpipe bands) and a school of music. The RGO also administers the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra and its own technical college, both based at separate sites in Seeb. The following is the brigade's military structure: * Headquarters Company *

Honour Guard A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

Battalion * RGO VIP Escort ** Motorcycle Escort ** Mounted Escort ** Red Helmets * Omani Royal Guard Military Band ** Infantry Band ** Royal Cavalry Mounted band ** Jazz Band **

Steel Band The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descriptio ...

Pipes and Drums A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

** Symphonic Orchestra ** School of Music * Armoured Company *

Royal Guard of Oman Technical College Royal Guard Of Oman Technical College and commonly known as RGOTC, is a public and military/Technical college in al Seeb on the governorate of Muscat at the Sultanate of Oman, owned by the Royal Guard of Oman and founded by Sultan Qaboos Al S ...

Base locations

The following are some of the official residences of the Sultan and will have a permanent RGO security presence: *The Al Alam Palace - Muscat, RGO personnel being billeted in the old Portuguese Fort Mirani adjacent to the palace *The Al Husn Palace - Salalah. The summer residence of the Sultan *The Qasar al Barakah Palace - Seeb *The Bayt al Mamoura Palace - Salalah. Also classed as a Royal Guesthouse *The Rubat Palace - Salalah *The Bait Bahjat al Andhar - Sohar *The Al Aman Barracks - Seeb. Headquarters and main force base, when there is no deployment.

Equipment

The RGO uses wheeled armoured fighting vehicles and is known to have: *Nine Italian Centauro 120mm (8x8) Mobile Gun Systems. These AFVs replaced older French VBC-90 mobile gun systems in the RGO inventory *56 French Renault

Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB (literally meaning "Armoured Forward Vehicle"; but more appropriately translated: "Armoured Vanguard Vehicle") is a French armoured personnel carrier and support vehicle designed and manufactured by Renault ...

(VAB) (6x6), including VPM-81 (81mm mortar carrier) and VDAA TA20 (anti aircraft) variants *French Truck-mounted MBDA VL MICA missile Ground Based Air Defense system. File:VAB, Oman 1981.jpg, A Royal Guard of Oman (RGO) VDAA TA20 armoured anti-aircraft AFV on parade in 1981 File:VAB and VBC-90 in Oman 1981.jpg, RGO VBC-90 (left) and RGO VAB (right) AFVs on a National Day Parade in 1981 File:Centauro Tank Iraq.jpg, The Centauro Mobile Gun System (not an RGO vehicle in this image)

References

External links