Royal Jordanian Army: Difference between revisions

{{More citations needed|date=February 2009}}

{{Infobox military unit

* [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]

* [[Reprisal operations|Retribution operations]]

* [[Black September in Jordan|Black September]]

* [[Yom Kippur War]]

* [[1999 East Timorese crisis]]

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| identification_symbol =[[File:Royal Jordanian Army Flag.svg|100px]]

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== History ==

*An Arab force, which was probably the battalion that had accompanied prince Abdullah to [[Amman]] from Ma'an.

 

*[[Transjordan Frontier Force]]: It had played an important role for the [[United Kingdom]] during [[World War II]], as it provided protection for British lines of communication extending from [[Iraq]] to [[Soviet Union]]. It also took part in the fighting against the [[France|French]] forces in [[Syria]].

*The [[Arab Legion]]: – During World War II, it was mainly tasked with maintaining law and order in the country. Moreover, it extended support to British Forces engaged in military actions in Syria, Iraq and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. A military detachment of this force participated in the [[Victory Day]] ceremonies in [[London]] on 8 June 1946, and the victory festival of [[Allies of World War II|Allied Forces]] in [[Jerusalem]].

 

Units of the Arab Legion were engaged in several battles with the Jewish forces including the following:

*Battle of [[Neve Yaakov]] settlement- 18 April 1948<ref>Gelber,2006, p. 90</ref>

*Massacre of [[Kfar Etzion]] 13–15 May 1948.

* Occupation of [[Latrun]] [[Tegart fort]] on 17 May 1948,<ref>Morris,2008, p. 132</ref> and later the [[Battles of Latrun]]

* [[Battle for Jerusalem (1948)]]

* Attacking and conquering [[Gezer (kibbutz)]] on 10 June 1948.<ref>Morris,2008, p. 230</ref>

 

===1949–1967===

 

;Jordanian Army Order of Battle, June 1967

*3 × Indp. Armoured Battalions (with [[Centurion tank|Centurion MK-V/VII]] or [[M47 Patton|Patton M-47]] MBTs)

*1 × Paratroop Battalion

 

====Equipment of Jordanian Armed Forces, June 1967====

*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Bren light machine gun]]

*{{flagicon|United States}} [[M1 Carbine]]

*{{flagicon|United States}} [[M2 Browning|Browning M-2HB]] .50 cal. machine gun

*297 × {{flagicon|United States}} [[M48 Patton|Patton M-48]](197)/M-48A-1(100) 90mm Main Battle Tanks

*49–160 × {{flagicon|United States}} [[M47 Patton|Patton M-47]] 90mm MBTs

*250 × {{flagicon|United States}} [[M113 armored personnel carrier|M-113]] [[armored personnel carrier]]s

*36 × M-52 105mm SPHs

*[[Brandt 120mm]] Heavy Mortar

*{{flagicon|United States}} [[M42 Duster|M-42 Bofors]] twin 40mm SP-AAGs

*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Land Rover series|Land Rover]] 4WD

*{{flagicon|United States}} [[M88 Recovery Vehicle|M-88 Recovery tank]]

*5 × {{flagicon|United States}} [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter]] (2 A, 3 B)

*4–6 × {{flagicon|United States}} [[Douglas C-47]] Dakota

*2 × {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Westland Whirlwind (helicopter)|Westland WS-55 Srs-4 Whirlwind]]

*3 × {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Westland Scout]] AH MK-1

After the 1967 war, the army was rearmed. In 1968, the army defended Jordan against Israeli troops that had invaded Jordanian territory in pursuit of Palestinian guerrillas – the [[Battle of Karameh]]. Palestinians claim a victory just for resisting Israeli troops; the Jordanians say that they forced the Israelis back; the Israelis say that they pulled back after hitting the Palestinians at which time they were bombed by the Jordanians.

 

 

 

In the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], the 40th Armoured Brigade was sent to the Syrian front.

 

===2000s Army===

 

Due to the critical position of Jordan (sandwiched between Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Israel), Jordan maintains a strong defensive army, with four regional commands, the Northern command, the Central Command, the Eastern Command and the Southern Command. As of August 2004, the army was reported to be 88,000 strong, and the Northern Command is reported to consist of (2 mech, 1 infantry, 1 artillery, 1 AD brigade), the Southern Command (1 armd, 1 infantry brigade), the Central Command (1 mech, 1 lt. inf, 1 arty, 1 AD brigade), the Eastern Command (2 mech, 1 arty, 1 AD brigade), and a strategic reserve (1 Royal armoured division with 3 armd, 1 arty, 1 AD brigades).<ref name="gloria-center" /><ref>IISS Military Balance 2004–2005, p.127-128</ref> An armoured division has become the core element of a strategic reserve.<ref name="orbat.com"/><ref name="ihracat">{{cite web|url=http://ihracat.ssm.gov.tr/TR/Documents/sofex2008/Mart%202008_%20Turkiye%20Urdun%20SSI%20Bilgi%20Notu.PDF |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-05-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122151459/http://ihracat.ssm.gov.tr/TR/Documents/sofex2008/Mart%202008_%20Turkiye%20Urdun%20SSI%20Bilgi%20Notu.PDF |archive-date=2009-11-22}}</ref> Each command is controlled by its Field General, but all of the commands are under the King of Jordan's control.

 

 

==Structure==

{{Location map many | Jordan

| float = right

| label = <small>[[Jordanian Northern Command|Northern Command]]</small>

| marksize = 8

[[File:Flickr - The U.S. Army - Operation Flexible Saif.jpg|thumbnail|right|Jordanian soldiers discuss battle strategies with a U.S. Soldier]]

[[File:USMC-120523-M-RO494-008.jpg|thumbnail|right|Forward observers from the Jordanian Army]]

:* Directorate of Joint Chiefs of Staff

:* Directorate of Royal Medical Services

! [[File:Jordanian Northern Command.png|100px]] !! [[File:Jordanian Central Command.png|100px]] !! [[File:Jordanian Eastern Command.png|100px]] !! [[File:Jordanian Southern Command.png|100px]]

|-

|}

 

! Number !! Unit Type !! Equipment !! Notes

|-

|-

|-

| [[RG-33|RG33L MRAP]], [[Humvee]], [[Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles|FMTV]], [[Navistar 7000 series]], DAF Military Trucks

|-

| Both Battalions subordinate to 40th Armored Brigade

|-

| Border Guard Battalion

|-

| Special Mission Battalion

| [[Saxon (vehicle)|Saxon APC]], [[Humvee]], Toyota pickups, Al-Tha'lab LRPV, [[Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles|FMTV]], [[Navistar 7000 series]], DAF Military Trucks

| 15th, 16th, 20th Special Mission Battalions, subordinated to [[Jordan Royal Guard|Special Royal Guard Command]]

|-

| Rapid Intervention Battalion (QRF)

| [[MRAP]], [[Humvee]], Toyota pickups, Al-Tha'lab LRPV, [[Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles|FMTV]], [[Navistar 7000 series]], DAF Military Trucks

|-

| Special Forces Battalion (SFG)

| [[Humvee]], Al-Tha'lab LRPV, GMC Suburban, AL-Jawad MKIV, [[Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles|FMTV]], [[Navistar 7000 series]]

| 71st Special Battalion - CT, 101st Special Battalion - Spec. Ops., Defense & protection Battalion under [[Special Operation Forces (Jordan)|King Abdullah II Special Forces Group]]

|-

| Two to Four battalions per Command Artillery.

|-

| After JAF 2017 reform, only two battalions remained in service (One battalion each in Central & Northern Command).

|-

| [[RG-31 Nyala|RG-31 Agrab Mk2 Mortar]], [[Humvee]], [[Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles|FMTV]], [[Navistar 7000 series]], DAF Military Trucks

| After JAF 2017 reform, two Mobile Mortar battalions were established.

|-

|-

| 28th MLRS (WM-120) Battalion and 29th MLRS (HIMARS) Battalion

|-

| [[Target Acquisition]] Battalion

|

|-

| [[air defense artillery|Field ADA Battalion]]

|-

| Military Police Group

| [[Humvee]], Toyota land cruiser

| Northern, Central, Southern, Capital Military Police Groups

|-

| [[Military engineering|Engineer Battalion]]

| [[M113 armored personnel carrier|M113A2]], [[Armored bulldozer|Armoured Tracked Bulldozer]] ([[Caterpillar Inc.|CAT]] [[Caterpillar D6|D6T]], [[Caterpillar D7|D7G/R]], [[Caterpillar D8|D8R]], [[Caterpillar D9|D9]], [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu D155A]]), [[Bulldozer|Wheeled Bulldozer]] ([[Caterpillar Inc.|CAT]] 924H, 966C/D/F/G/H, [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] WA300-1, WA320, WA380-3A, W470-3), [[excavator]]s, [[grader]]s (CAT 12G, 120M), [[dump truck]]s, [[Backhoe loader]]s, [[Loader (equipment)|loader]]s, [[M58 MICLIC]], [[Aardvark JSFU]], [[Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles|FMTV]], [[Navistar 7000 series]], DAF Military Trucks, Combat Dozer UDK1 and Bomb disposal robots.

| One Engineer Battalion per Command and General Support Engineering Battalion

|-

| Supply & Transport Battalion

| [[Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles|FMTV]], [[Navistar 7000 series]], DAF Military Trucks, Fuel Tankers, Toyota Trucks and many other vehicles.

| One Supply & Transport battalion per Command.

|-

| [[Command and control|Command Communication Group]]

| One Group per Command, one Group for Army Headquarter.

|-

| Medical Support Group

| [[M577|M577A2 Ambulance]], [[M113 armored personnel carrier|M113A2 Ambulance]], [[Humvee|HMMWV M997 Ambulance]], Toyota Land Cruiser Ambulance, Mobile Field Hospitals on trucks

| One Medical Support Group per command.

|-

| Maintenance Group

| [[M113 armored personnel carrier|M113A2]], [[M88 Recovery Vehicle]], [[M578 Light Recovery Vehicle]], [[M60 Patton|AL Monjed ARV]], [[Chieftain tank|Chieftain ARV]], [[YPR-765|YPR-806]], [[M35 2½ ton cargo truck|M109 Van]], [[M35 2½ ton cargo truck|M35 Trucks]], M800 & M900 Trucks, DAF Military Trucks

| One Maintenance Group per command.

|-

| Administrative Transport Group

|

| One Administrative Transport Group per command.

|-

| AFV Transporter Group

| [[Heavy Equipment Transport System]]

| Used to transport heavy equipment and armoured units.

|-

| Main Transportation Groups

|[[Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles|FMTV]], Fuel Tankers, Water Tankers, Toyota Trucks and many other vehicles.

|

|-

| Electricity & Water Group

|

|

|-

| [[Electronic Warfare]] Group

|

|

|-

| Chemical Support Group

|

Advanced courses for officer training are provided at two centres near Amman – the Jordanian Staff College and the War College. Generally, officers from senior captain to lieutenant colonel attend the Staff College, where they can earn a BA degree in military science, while more senior officers study at the War College, where a master's degree is offered.

 

 

The British Government arranges for senior Jordanian officers to attend the Royal College for Defence Studies in the UK. Britain's special relationship with Jordan has remained strong – this was underlined by the provision by the British Army of two short-term training teams

The US has provided significant assistance towards the training of Jordanian military personnel. Under the US International Military Education and Training Program (IMET), US$2 million was allotted to the training programme for Jordan in 2002, making it one of the largest IMET programmes of its kind in the world.

 

 

Secret military exchanges between Jordan and Taiwan, which had been going on for many years, were revealed in late 1999 after a Jordanian army NCO was killed in a parachute accident in Taiwan. Jordan has diplomatic relations with China but none with Taiwan. Reports in November 1999 indicated that Jordan sent two groups of about 10 servicemen to Taiwan every year for intensive military training, which included parachuting sessions in Pingtung County's Tsochou township, where the accident happened, jungle combat drills in Taichung County's mountainous Kukuan area, as well as winter training in the snow in Taiwan's Central Mountain Range. It was revealed that military

 

The quality of instructors from the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is highly regarded abroad, especially in the Arab world. SOCOM instructors have been providing training in Jordan to special operations troops from a range of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Lebanon. It is understood that Jordanian instructors have also provided training in the UAE to that country's troops. In April 2002, Jordanian special operations instructors left for Yemen to assist US forces in

 

Jordan has set up a centre specialising in training for special operations personnel. The King Abdullah Special Operations Training Centre is based at Yajooz, Amman.

The Jordanian Army is equipped with a mix of British and American tanks, including the [[Challenger 1|Al-Hussein]], [[Chieftain tank|Khalid]] and [[M60 Patton|M-60 Phoenix]]. The older [[Centurion tank]] and M-48A5 series are phased out, as the Challenger and M-60A3 undergo further upgrades.

 

 

 

Personal Equipment includes the US-supplied M-16 rifles (mainly A2 and some A3/A4), M-4A1, Taiwanese [[T65 assault rifle|T65]] assault rifles and [[T86 assault rifle|T86]] carbines, Browning HP automatic pistols; however, some units utilise the relatively uncommon Beretta Italian SS70/223 (the standard carbine of the Public Security Department and Police Force). The M-60 and FN-MAG are carried as the GPMG. The Badia forces generally carry the M-14 on camel back.