Middle East: Trucial Oman Scouts; arrangements leading to formation of Union Defence Force

This file contains the Defence Secretariat papers concerning security arrangements for the Trucial States as the British military withdrawal from the Gulf approaches and the UAE is born. It covers:

• Major General Sir John Willoughby’s proposals for developing the Union Defence Force (UDF), the armed forces of the soon-to-be independent UAE (including naval and air forces); with an expanded TOS forming the core of this
• The confused defence landscape of the nascent UAE; comprising the Abu Dhabi Defence Force (ADDF), Trucial Oman Scouts (TOS), and the proposed Dubai Defence Force, as well as two Ministries of Defence
• The need to increase pay in the TOS following a pay rise in the ADDF, with tables displaying pay scales in the force
• Plans for the handover of the TOS to the UAE as the core of the UDF, including financial incentives for servicemen and the disposal of equipment and assets
• The preparation of a Directive to the Commander of the UDF, setting out the role and obligations of the future force and of British seconded officers
• Draft Terms and Conditions of Service for seconded British personnel in the UDF
• The termination of the special treaties with Ras Al Khaimah, which is not included in the UAE fold and faces a military threat from Iran concerning the Tunb islands; and the fate of the TOS squadron in Ras Al Khaimah
• Plans for the reorganisation and expansion of the UAE’s Ministry of Defence, including plans to develop an intelligence wing