A fine and most complete Armed Forces of the Sultanate of Oman Distinguished Service Medal, Dhofar campaign and Arabian Peninsula operations group awarded to Corporal Ahmad Salim, Trucial Oman Scouts, who saw service between circa 1965 and 1980, being most probably awarded the Oman Distinguished Service Medal for long and distinguished service.
Group of 6: Sultanate of Oman: Distinguished Service Medal, unnamed as issued; As-Samood Medal, unnamed as issued; Oman Peace Medal 1976, unnamed as issued; 1980 Tenth Anniversary Medal, unnamed as issued; Accession Medal 1970, unnamed as issued; Great Britain: General Service Medal 1918-1962, EIIR Dei.Grat. bust, 1 Clasp: Arabian Peninsula; (766 CPL. AHMAD SALIM. T.O.S.), mounted swing style as worn on original ribbons.
Condition: Good Very Fine.
Ahmad Salim was originally in the service of the British Crown as a Corporal (No.766) with the Trucial Oman Scouts, and served in the Arabian Peninsula operations in the period from 1st January 1957 to 30th June 1960. His unit, which prior to 1956 was known as the Trucial Oman Levies, was a predecessor paramilitary force that operated in the Trucial States under British control from 1951 to 1971, after which they were renamed to the Union Defence Force with the formation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. The Trucial Oman Scouts were a highly respected and impartial gendarmerie and were regarded as well trained, well paid, and efficient. By 1957, the Scouts included 160 British officers and soldiers and, by 1960, had 1,000 paramilitary personnel.
By 1964 the Scouts had 1,500 Arab officers, NCOs and men, with 100 British officers, warrant officers and NCOs. It was organised into five rifle squadrons, each with three British and three Arab officers and 145 Arab other ranks, and one group equipped with machine guns and 3-inch mortars. There were also a reserve squadron, a signals squadron, a motor transport squadron, a medical centre, a workshop, a cadet squadron, a cadet school, and a training depot.
Two companies of the Trucial Oman Scouts fought in the Jebel Akbar War in the Sultanate of Oman between 1955 and 1959, a rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat. Ahmad Salim was not involved in these particular operations however as his medal combination indicates, he would go on to see service during the campaign in Dhofar between 23 May 1965 and 2 December 1975, this being indicated by his awards of the As-Samood Medal and the Oman Peace Medal 1976.
By 1965, the British Government was investing some £2 million annually in maintaining the Scouts, which ultimately reported to the Political Resident of the time. Former TOS commander Freddie De Butts cites this relationship as a cause behind the formation of the Abu Dhabi Defence Force in 1965. This was followed by the formation of similar forces by the Rulers of other emirates.
In 1969, British General Roland Gibbs became Commander of British Land Forces in the Persian Gulf, where he re-organised the Trucial Oman Scouts and laid the foundations for what is now the Sultanate of Oamn’s Land Forces. The Scouts then expanded from 1,600 to 1,700 personnel in 1970 and to 2,500 in 1971.
Further to this in the same period Ahmad Salim was serving at the time of the accession to the throne of Oman of Sultan Qaboos, who had deposed his own father, resulting in the award of the Accession Medal 1970, and was still in service a further ten years later in 1980 when he was awarded the 10th Anniversary Medal. Ahmad Salim was one of the founding members of the land force of the Sultanate of Oman. In May 1976, the Union Defence Force unified and incorporated the military forces of the various UAE emirates. The former state units then lost their individual identities.
Ahmad Salim was ultimately awarded the Sultan's Distinguished Service Medal of Oman, which was instituted in 1967 by Sultan Said bin Taimur. It recognises distinguished service, devotion to duty, and acts of gallantry that are not performed in the face of the enemy. The medal may also be awarded for long and distinguished service, and it seems that Ahmad Salim was most probably decorated with the medal for long and distinguished service in a career spanning some 25 years.
