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The Sultan's Special Force At the invitation of the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), Northwood, I travelled to the Sultanate of Oman to make sketches during Exercise Saif Sareea 2, which was held between 15 August and 26 October 2001. It was the largest single deployment of the British Armed Forces since the Gulf War in 1991 and trialled the newly-formed Joint Rapid Reaction Force. I completed a set of drawings of the British and Omani forces, which were framed and presented to the Headquarters of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces (SOAF) at the end of the exercise. The Sultan’s Special Force is an elite military unit that emerged from British SAS involvement in the Dhofar Rebellion of the 1960s and 70s. The SSF was developed from the most capable of the Omani forces trained by the SAS, using lessons learned from the conflict to create a specialized Omani unit. At Exercise Control, I met the British SAS commander of the SSF; he asked me to accompany a patrol in the desert. I spent the day with the Omani soldiers, following which the commander commissioned this painting. It shows the patrol having halted, the vehicles forming a defensive laager, while the soldiers brew a pot of tea on a brushwood camp fire. Commissioned by the Sultan’s Special Force. Medium: Oil on Canvas Owner: The Sultan's Special Force Price(s): |