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Saudi Arabia
Uniforms, Ranks, and Insignia
Uniforms worn by personnel of Saudi Arabia's armed services,
including the national guard, were closely patterned on the British
and United States models that influenced those forces during their
early development. The most common uniform colors were khaki or
olive drab for the army and national guard, blue or white for
the navy, and blue for the air force. Officers had semidress uniforms
for various functions and dress uniforms for formal occasions.
All personnel wore berets, and officers also had visored caps.
Members of the Royal Guard Regiment often wore the flowing white
thaub (robe) and white kaffiyah and qutrah
(traditional Arab headgear of skullcap and scarf). Berets were
usually of distinctive colors that designated branches, e.g.,
paratroops wore maroon, tank troops wore black, and the Royal
Guardsmen--when in conventional uniforms--wore bright green berets.
National guardsmen wore the traditional redcheckered Arab headdress,
although some more modern units wore red berets. Tribal units
often wore the thaub with crossed bandoliers. The brass
badge worn by all ranks depicted the national symbol--a date palm
with crossed sabers beneath a crown, all enclosed by a wreath.
There were ten grades of commissioned officers in the army, navy,
air force, and air defense force, corresponding to the grades
of second lieutenant (ensign) to general (admiral) in the United
States forces. The Saudi ranks in all services were known by the
same designations; for example, mulazim thani corresponded
to second lieutenant in the army, air defense force, and air force
and to ensign in the navy .
Enlisted rank structure was the same in all services, and ranks
were known by the same terms. There were seven enlisted ratings
plus the entry level of recruit. Chevrons to denote rank were
worn on both sleeves; the recruit had no chevron. The NCO grades
did not correspond exactly to those of the United States forces,
and the Saudi army or air force warrant officer (the navy had
none) corresponded more closely to master sergeant or sergeant
major rather than to any of the four grades of warrant officer
in the United States forces .
Data as of December 1992
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