The Office of Chief of Staff of the Sultan’s Armed Forces () is the authority responsible for the coordination of multiple aspects related to operations, training, qualifications, services, media and the dissemination of military culture throughout the Sultan's Armed Forces in Oman. A number of the joint military institutions in the Sultan’s Armed Forces fall within its purview.
History In 1955, the first central administrative command was formed of what was then known as the Muscat Armed Forces. The Muscat Infantry Commander was appointed as the Administrative Commander of all of the armed forces at the time. This was followed on 23 April 1958 by the appointment of a commander of the Sultan's Armed Forces. December 11, 1975 marked the occasion of the formal end of military operations in the Dhofar rebellion after the Sultan’s Armed Forces successfully achieved lasting peace, security and stability in the Dhofar Governorate. Shortly afterwards, planning was initiated to restructure the Defence Forces.
In 1976, the Sultan’s Armed Forces was reorganized into separate land, air and sea forces, with respective commanders for each service. The position of Commander of the Sultan’s Armed Forces was henceforth abolished which represented a major reappraisal of how the Defence Forces would be organized going forward. Subsequently, in 1979, the position of Chief of Defence Staff was created, although the first incumbent of this post, General Sir Timothy May Creasey, was not appointed until 5 August 1981. In 1987, the Ministry of Defence underwent further restructuring, resulting in the post of Chief of Defence Staff being replaced by Chief of Staff of the Sultan's Armed Forces.
List of chiefs of staff Portrait Name Term of office Took office Left office Time in office 1 GeneralSir Timothy May Creasey 5 August 1981 December 1984 2 Lieutenant GeneralSir John Peter Barry Condliffe Watts December 1984 March 1987 3 Lieutenant GeneralHamid bin Said bin Mohammed Al Aufi 26 March 1987 12 December 1990 4 Lieutenant GeneralKhamis bin Hamad bin Salim Al Kalbani 12 December 1990 21 June 2003 5 Lieutenant GeneralAhmed bin Harith bin Nasser Al Nabhani 8 July 2003 18 January 2021 6 Vice AdmiralAbdullah bin Khamis bin Abdullah Al Raisi 18 January 2021 Incumbent
Timeline
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