Les Jones

Guns > Saudi Security Service Training

From Farnum's Quips, a mailiing list for military and police, and students of firearms instructor John Farnum.

Saudi "Security Service" education, from a friend who is involved in contract training.

"Saudi 'Security Service' personnel all carry a S&W M10 revolver in 38Spl. On duty, it is carried unloaded. Speed loaders are forbidden (must watch out for that Western moral corruption). Madness, I know, but that is a direct order from the Saudi Ministry of Interior.

They also teach their personnel to fire warning shots (many of them), and, for the ultimate in lunacy, they shoot at the legs rather than center of visible mass. The forgoing is largely irrelevant anyway, because the men are all told that if they ever fire a shot from their revolver for any reason, they will go to prison. They are just 'beans,' and they know it. The Saudi government considers them utterly expendable.

Our 'training' course here in Virginia is seven days long. With religious breaks, it comes out to two days of actual training. Each student shoots a total of twenty-five actual rounds of ammunition. Upon graduation, none of them could fight their way out of a Riyadh whorehouse!"

Comment: This is yet another example of incompetence, elevated to an art form, complements of our Saudi "allies." Anyone who thinks the Saudis would or could put of a credible fight is dreaming.

This echoes the training problems Norville de Atkine recounted in his article, Why Arabs Lose Wars. Namely, a highly hierarchical command structure, a complete disregard for the welfare of the troops, and a culture that puts personal status above actual accomplishments.