Military Performance

Abstract

In Chapter 6 the various strands of the study come together as the actual performance of the Gulf armies is appraised. Given the limited involvement of GCC countries in military operations, the available evidence to base judgments upon their battlefield effectiveness is slender. Therefore, the analysis integrates lessons that may be learned from training and large-scale exercises GCC armies have participated in. To understand Gulf armies’ deficiencies, special attention is paid to the instruction and cultural aspects of the most prestigious military specialization, pilot training. In the second section the scant foreign deployment of Gulf militaries is examined, with special emphasis on the UAE, the only GCC army with extensive experience in this area. The bulk of this chapter centers on the ongoing civil war in Yemen in which the Saudi and Emirati armed forces have played a major role, thus allowing us the opportunity to assess their performance.