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The Desert Force (Al-Badia Force), AKA Desert Patrol, was a paramilitary
Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organisation are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status....
 force of Transjordan. Its main task was to guard Jordanian borders with neighboring Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
 and Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
 as well as to provide protection for oil
Oil

An oil is a chemical substance that is in a viscosity liquid state at room temperature or slightly warmer, and is both hydrophobic and lipophilic ....
 pipe lines of Iraqi Petroleum Company (IPC). It also participated in campaigns of Syria and Iraq
Iraqforce

Iraqforce was a United Kingdom and Commonwealth formation that fought in the Middle East during World War II. Iraqforce was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Quinan and was variously part of British India Command, Middle East Command and finally Persia and Iraq Command....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

Desert Patrol was formed as as a semi-independent part of the Arab Legion in February 1931 by Glubb Pasha to secure Transjordan's desert region of the country, effectively everything east of the cultivated area that formed Trans-Jordan’s western border with Palestine.






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The Desert Force (Al-Badia Force), AKA Desert Patrol, was a paramilitary
Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organisation are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status....
 force of Transjordan. Its main task was to guard Jordanian borders with neighboring Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
 and Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
 as well as to provide protection for oil
Oil

An oil is a chemical substance that is in a viscosity liquid state at room temperature or slightly warmer, and is both hydrophobic and lipophilic ....
 pipe lines of Iraqi Petroleum Company (IPC). It also participated in campaigns of Syria and Iraq
Iraqforce

Iraqforce was a United Kingdom and Commonwealth formation that fought in the Middle East during World War II. Iraqforce was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Quinan and was variously part of British India Command, Middle East Command and finally Persia and Iraq Command....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

History

The Desert Patrol was formed as as a semi-independent part of the Arab Legion in February 1931 by Glubb Pasha to secure Transjordan's desert region of the country, effectively everything east of the cultivated area that formed Trans-Jordan’s western border with Palestine. The patrol replaced the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force in the desert. Initially it had 20 men in four trucks with Lewis
Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun is a pre-World War I era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and most widely used by the forces of the British Empire....
 and Vickers machine gun
Vickers machine gun

The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the Water cooling .303 British machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army....
s. Additional men were located in small forts throughout the region and relied on camels for mobility. Glubb recruited mainly Bedouins for the Patrol and helped establish strong links between the Bedouin and the monarchy that survive today. The remaining four-fifths of the Arab Legion at this time were police and gendarmerie serving in the cultivated area. Over the next five to ten years, Glubb successfully pacified the tribes.

Between 1936 and 1939, forces were expanded in response to threats posed by the Arab Revolt
Arab Revolt

The Arab Revolt was initiated by the Sherif Hussein ibn Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Turks and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen....
 in Palestine and civil disturbances in Syria. The Patrol now consisted of 350 Bedouins organised into two truck mounted companies

World War Two

The Patrol formed the basis of the Mechanized regiment of the Arab Legion.

Photos



External links & references



See also

  • Arab Legion
    Arab Legion

    The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th Century....
  • TJFF