Muscat Regiment

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}} {{Infobox military unit |unit_name=Muscat Regiment | image= File:Royal Army of Oman Seal.svg | image_size = 150 |caption=Royal Army of Oman |dates=From 1957 to date |country={{flag|Oman}} |allegiance= |branch= |type=Infantry |role=Motorised infantry |size=One battalion |command_structure= |garrison=Bid Bid, Oman |equipment=  |current_commander= |ceremonial_chief= |colonel_of_the_regiment= |notable_commanders=  |identification_symbol= |identification_symbol_2=  |nickname= |patron= |motto= |colors= |march= |mascot= |battles=Jebel Akhdar & Dhofar Wars |anniversaries= |decorations=File:Armed Forces General Service Medal (Oman).png |battle_honours= }} The '''Muscat Regiment''' (MR) was formed in March 1957 and was one of the first two properly constituted infantry regiments that Sultan Said bin Taimur of Oman formed.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Valeri|first1=Marc|title=Oman: Politics and Society in the Qaboos State|date=2009|publisher=Hurst|isbn=9781850659334|page=53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MKzlyho2KQkC&dq=northern+frontier+regiment+oman&pg=PA53|accessdate=5 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Peter Kemp|first1=David Smiley|title=Arabian assignment|date=1975|publisher=Leo Cooper|location=London|isbn=0850521815|pages=22–23}}</ref> The regiment's crest is two crossed Omani swords overlain vertically with a single traditional Khanjar dagger sheathed, with scrolls carrying the regimental title in Arabic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Griffin Badges Muscat Regiment|url=https://cameronian50.wixsite.com/griffinbadges/oman?lightbox=dataItem-j1lgfrh2|website=griffinbadges|accessdate=6 August 2017}}</ref> The regiment's headdress is a distinctive scarlet Tam o' Shanter style cap, rather than a beret.<ref>{{cite web|title=Muscat Regiment tam o shanter worn by officer in photograph|url=https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=active&rlz=1C1GGRV_enGB751GB751&biw=1536&bih=736&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=Muscat+Regiment+tam+o+shanter&oq=Muscat+Regiment+tam+o+shanter&gs_l=psy-ab.3...7197.11645.0.12367.13.13.0.0.0.0.211.1074.12j0j1.13.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.0.0.rVAnKV2n9a8#imgrc=CvZ5sEUdAGs3MM:|website=www.google.co.uk|accessdate=6 August 2017}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web|title=Sultan of Muscat's Armed Forces General Service Medal with clasp for Dhofar|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30011182|website=www.iwm.org.uk|accessdate=5 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Unit history== The MR and Northern Frontier 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fiennes|first1=Ranulph|title=Heat: Extreme Adventures at the Highest Temperatures on Earth|date=2015|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781471137952|page=33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kX7CgAAQBAJ&dq=northern+frontier+regiment+oman&pg=PA33|accessdate=5 August 2017|language=en}}</ref> thumb|The Sultanate of Oman (with Dhofar highlighted) thumb|A Dhofar Brigade defensive position in 1972 [[File:Oman. Dhofar 1971 (8610521959).jpg|thumb|A Short SC.7 Skyvan resupplying Dhofar Brigade units in 1971]] 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<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beckett|first1=Ian|last2=Pimlott|first2=John|title=Counter Insurgency: Lessons from History|date=2011|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=9781473813373|page=36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jA5AAwAAQBAJ&dq=northern+frontier+regiment+oman&pg=PA230|accessdate=5 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Worrall|first1=James J.|title=State Building and Counter Insurgency in Oman: Political, Military and Diplomatic Relations at the End of Empire|date=2013|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9781848856349|page=282|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vw9gAgAAQBAJ&dq=Northern+Frontier+Regiment+dhofar&pg=PA280|accessdate=5 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>

The MR remains on the Order of Battle of the Royal Army of Oman and is based in Bidbid.<ref>{{cite web|title=Oman Yellow Pages MoD Units|url=http://www.omantel-yellowpages.com/wap/MinDetails.aspx?id=30|website=www.omantel-yellowpages.com|accessdate=5 August 2017}}</ref>

==Commanding officers== MR's Commanding officers have included: * Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Jim "Bill" Bowen 1961–1962<ref>{{cite web|title=Colonel T J 'Bill' Bowen Obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1326409/Colonel-T-J-Bill-Bowen.html|website=Telegraph.co.uk|accessdate=6 August 2017|language=en}}</ref> * Lieutenant Colonel John Murdoch Cooper 1962–1966 * Lieutenant Colonel Peter Thwaites 1967<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thwaites|first1=Peter|title=Muscat command|date=1995|publisher=Leo Cooper|location=London|isbn=0850524113}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [https://www.oman.org.uk/ Sultan's Armed Forces Association] * [http://www.mod.gov.om/en-US/RAO/Pages/about-us.aspx Royal Army of Oman]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muscat Regiment (Oman)}} Category:Military of Oman Category:Dhofar War Category:Wars involving Oman Category:Rebellions in Oman