Military
Oman's armed forces, the Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF), including Royal Household troops, numbered 120,000 in 2010, consisting of: 105,000 personnel in the Royal Army of Oman (RAO), equipped with over 120 main battle tanks and 37 Scorpion tanks; 8,100 personnel in the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) operating 180–200 combat aircraft, trainers, transports and helicopters; and 6,200 personnel in the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) sailing 64 patrol and coastal vessels. Paramilitary units include the Tribal Home Guard (Firqats) of 8,000 personnel organized in small tribal teams, a Royal Oman Police (ROP) coast guard of 400, and a small ROP air wing. Funded directly by the Sultan, the elite Royal Household brigade, naval unit, and air unit number 6,400, including two special forces regiments. Oman holds one of the world's largest stocks of Scud missiles, ranging at an estimate of over 30,000 ballistic missiles. In 2008 Oman spent 7.7% of GDP on military expenditures. According to Times Online, Oman is home to the world's only camel-backed bagpipe military band.
Read more about this topic: Languages Of Oman
Famous quotes containing the word military:
“The schoolmaster is abroad! And I trust to him armed with his primer against the soldier in full military array.”
—Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832)
“War both needs and generates certain virtues; not the highest, but what may be called the preliminary virtues, as valour, veracity, the spirit of obedience, the habit of discipline. Any of these, and of others like them, when possessed by a nation, and no matter how generated, will give them a military advantage, and make them more likely to stay in the race of nations.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“The military and the clergy cause us much annoyance; the clergy and the military, they empty our wallets and rob our intelligence.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)