Northern Frontier Regiment
Royal Army of Oman
ActiveFrom 1957 to date
Country Oman
TypeInfantry
RoleMotorised infantry
SizeOne battalion
Garrison/HQMalik bin Faham Camp, Ibri, Oman
EngagementsJebel Akhdar & Dhofar Wars
Decorations
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Lt Col Colin Maxwell OM[1]

The Northern Frontier Regiment (NFR) was formed in March 1957 and was one of the first two properly constituted infantry regiments that Sultan Said bin Taimur of Oman formed.[2][3] The regiment's crest is two crossed drawn traditional Khanjar daggers pointing downwards, with scrolls carrying the regimental title in Arabic i.e. Kateeba al Hudood al Shamleeah.[4][5] Members of the Regiment who served in Dhofar are entitled to wear the General Service Medal Oman, its ribbon design illustrated on the right (see Decorations).[6]

Unit history

The NFR and Muscat Regiment are the two most senior infantry regiments in RAO; and were formed from earlier less formal units of doubtful capabilities and were an attempt by British advisors to the Sultan to develop a more credible armed forces to respond to a number of persistent threats from some interior tribes and their financial sponsors in Saudi Arabia. These tensions came to a head in the Jebel Akhdar War in which the regiment played a particularly active part. Once the rebels were driven from the mountain NFR established a base at one of the main villages (Saiq).[7][8]

The Sultanate of Oman (with Dhofar highlighted)
A Dhofar Brigade defensive position in 1972
A Short SC.7 Skyvan resupplying Dhofar Brigade units in 1971
The Northern Frontier Regiment on parade at the National Stadium in Ruwi in 1981

The unit would also see service in the Dhofar War along with other regiments of the Sultan's small army, which mostly supporting the Dhofar Brigade's operations in the 1970s fighting Communist insurgents in the south of the country.[9][10] The NFR were one of the first regiments from Northern Oman to be deployed south to Dhofar to suppress a rebellion in 1964.[11][12] During the Dhofar Campaign NFR lost many killed and wounded including one of the first British military advisors killed on operations - Captain Alan William Woodman (formerly of the Royal Marines) killed on 13 March 1966.[13]

The NFR remains on the Order of Battle of the Royal Army of Oman and is based in Ibri.[14][15]

Commanding officers

NFR's Commanding officers have included:

  • Lieutenant Colonel (later Brigadier) Colin Maxwell - who set up the regiment in 1957 which was based in and around Nizwa during the Jebel Akhdar Campaign[16][17]
  • Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Sanders[18]
  • Lieutenant Colonel Michael Harvey[19]
  • Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Ray MBE[20]

UK personnel Killed in Action whilst Serving with the Regiment

The following UK seconded and contract personnel were killed in action (KIA) whilst serving with NFR:[21]

  • Acting Sergeant Alan Frederick Hedges RM KIA Jebel Akhdar 16 April 1958
  • Colour Sergeant Jack Lovell Halford RM BEM KIA Jebel Akhdar 17 June 1958
  • Captain Alan William Woodman (late Sgt RM) KIA Dhofar 13 March 1966
  • Captain Hamish Brian Emslie MC (late Capt RM) KIA Dhofar 24 May 1966
  • Local Captain Stuart James Rae (late RM) KIA Dhofar 12 June 1971

See also

References

  1. ↑ UK, National Archives. "Recommendation for Award for Maxwell, C C Rank: Colonel Regiment: Northern Frontier Regiment, WO 373/187/321". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Valeri, Marc (2009). Oman: Politics and Society in the Qaboos State. Hurst. p. 53. ISBN 9781850659334. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Peter Kemp, David Smiley (1975). Arabian assignment. London: Leo Cooper. pp. 22–23. ISBN 0850521815.
  4. ↑ Bill, Thomas. "Griffin Badges NFR Badge". griffinbadges. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "Northern Frontier Regiment, Oman - British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum". www.britishbadgeforum.com. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Sultan of Muscat's Armed Forces General Service Medal with clasp for Dhofar". www.iwm.org.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  7. ↑ J E, Peterson. "Britain and the 'Oman War', Page 292" (PDF). Britain and 'The Oman War': An Arabian Entanglement. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  8. ↑ Fiennes, Ranulph (2015). Heat: Extreme Adventures at the Highest Temperatures on Earth. Simon and Schuster. p. 33. ISBN 9781471137952. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Beckett, Ian; Pimlott, John (2011). Counter Insurgency: Lessons from History. Pen and Sword. p. 36. ISBN 9781473813373. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  10. ↑ Wooddisse, J (2004). Recollections of the Oman : a few memories of eighteen months with A Company, Northern Frontier Regiment, Sultan's Armed Forces 1964-1965. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ↑ McKeown, J H. "Britain and Oman, the Dhofar War and its significance, Page 22" (PDF). University of Cambridge. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Worrall, James J. (2013). State Building and Counter Insurgency in Oman: Political, Military and Diplomatic Relations at the End of Empire. I.B.Tauris. p. 280. ISBN 9781848856349. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  13. ↑ Worrall, James J. (2013). State Building and Counter Insurgency in Oman: Political, Military and Diplomatic Relations at the End of Empire. I.B.Tauris. p. 282. ISBN 9781848856349. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  14. ↑ "Oman Yellow Pages MoD Units". www.omantel-yellowpages.com. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  15. ↑ "Declassified NPIC Report" (PDF). CIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  16. ↑ Allen, Calvin H.; Rigsbee II, W. Lynn (2014). Oman Under Qaboos: From Coup to Constitution, 1970-1996. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 9781135314309. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  17. ↑ Deane-Drummond, A. J. (1992). Arrows of Fortune. Pen and Sword. pp. 167–168. ISBN 9780850523232. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  18. ↑ Peterson, J. E. (2013). Oman's Insurgencies: The Sultanate's Struggle for Supremacy. Saqi. ISBN 9780863567025. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  19. ↑ Takriti, Abdel Razzaq (2013). Monsoon Revolution: Republicans, Sultans, and Empires in Oman, 1965-1976. OUP Oxford. pp. 142–143. ISBN 9780199674435. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  20. ↑ Ray, Bryan (2012). Dangerous frontiers. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1848848573.
  21. ↑ "Palace Barracks Memorial Oman War Dead". www.palacebarracksmemorialgarden.co.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
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