Trucial Oman Scouts The Trucial Oman Scouts was a paramilitary force raised by the British to serve in their Trucial States History . The Trucial Oman Scouts were established at Sharjah originally as the Trucial Oman Levies in 1951 . They were originally to be used as an internal security and rural patrol force . It was commanded by a British Army Major with two Jordanian officers seconded from the Arab Legion . Its ranks consisted of 32 other ranks also seconded from the Arab Legion . It was later expanded to 30 British officers in command positions with a handful of Arab officers . Its soldiers were locally recruited mostly from Abu Dhabi . It finally reached Battalion strength . In 1952 , Otto Thwaites , the British Major commanding the Trucial Oman Levies , was shot dead along with a Jordanian Sergeant Major and a British Royal Air Force medical doctor by Arab soldiers of the Trucial Oman Levies when their vehicle with 4 occupants was ambushed outside Buraimi . The only survivor was a British REME Sergeant . Trucial Oman Levies soldiers were believed to be selling their ammunition to the Saudi garrison . In 1955 had 500 paramilitary personnel who were organized into 3 Rifle Squadrons and by 1956 had 500 paramilitary personnel organized into 4 Rifle Squadrons including 1 Squadron based at the Al Buraimi Oasis . The Trucial Oman Levies were renamed the Trucial Oman Scouts in 1956 . By 1957 the Scouts included 160 British officers & soldiers and by 1960 had 1 , 000 paramilitary personnel . During the 1962 - 1965 Dhofar Rebellion it was believed that many members of the Dhofar Liberation Front were former soldiers of the Sultan of Oman ' s Armed Forces ( SAF ) , or of the Trucial Oman Scouts . In 1964 the scouts had 1 , 324 men which including 38 British officers and 85 British other ranks . It was organized 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 Signals Squadron , a Motor Transport Squadron , a Medical Centre , a Workshop , a Cadet Squadron , a Cadet School , and a Training Depot . In 1967 a Captain in the Trucial Oman Scouts a Percival Prentice ( G - AOPL ) from Shackleton Aviation at Sywell and flew it to Sharjah where , later it was flown on to South Africa where it remained until it ceased flying . In 1969 British General Roland Gibbs was appointed 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 Sultan of Oman ' s Land Forces . The Scouts then expanded from 1 , 600 to 1 , 700 personnel in 1970 to 2 , 500 in 1971 . The Trucial Oman Scouts were a highly respected impartial paramilitary armed regular internal security and rural police force and were regarded as a well trained , well paid , and efficient military unit . It cost the United Kingdom two million pounds a year to maintain the Scouts in 1971 . Deployment . Headquartered in Sharjah the Scouts maintained with small garrisons based in most of the coastal towns and other key posts . The Scouts had a base in Dubai since 1952 and maintain a permanent garrison at Buraimi Oasis of 1 Field Squadron Recruitment . The UDF was organized as highly mobile light armored cavalry and included 40 % locally recruited Arab personnel including : 50 Jordanian NCOs , Omanis ( bulk of troops ) , Iranians , Indians , and Pakistanis . It remained under the command and control of 30 British officers until the mid 1980s . Head Quarters at Sharjah [ since 1951 ] Operations . The only major military operation the Trucial Oman Scouts were involved in was in October 1955 Clash at the disputed Al Buraimi Oasis . Two Field Squadrons were deployed , along with troops from the Sultan of Muscat and Oman personal guard to forcibly evict a 40 man Saudi Arabian armed police garrison in an old fort and the village . The Saudi garrison had been based there since August 1952 when they forcibly occupied the Buraimi Oasis following an armed clash in which 3 people were killed with 9 people killed in October 1955 , including 7 Saudi policemen / military personnel and 2 Scouts . In 1971 the Scouts were renamed Union Defence Force ( U . D . F . ) upon the formation of United Arab Emirates ( U . A . E . ) and consisted of 2 , 500 regular military personnel . In May 1976 the Union Defence Force unified its military forces of the various U . A . E states and they then lost their unit ' s individual identity . In 1975 had 3 250 regular military personnel organised into 6 Mobile Squadrons , an Air Detachment with 7 helicopters , and was equipped with Scorpion light tank s , Ferret armoured car s , Land Rovers , eight 81mm Mortar s , and two Dhow s . UDF Deployments . The Union Defense Force were used on two occasions in Sharjah Emirate . Sharjah Coup attempt . In January 1972 during an attempted coup d ' etat in which 18 armed supporters of the former ruler of Sharjah , who actually included the former ruler , Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan ( who ruled from 1951 until deposed by British in 1965 ) , attacked and seized the palace . Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammad Al Qassimi , ruler since 1965 , was killed along with one of his bodyguards in the process . The palace was then surrounded by Sharjah soldiers and troops of the Union Defense Force . Several UDF troops were wounded , including a British Captain , before the rebels surrendered next morning . Sheikh Saqr was then exiled . Sharjah - Fujairah border war . In February 1972 there was a brief Border War between Bedu tribesmen from Sharjah and Fujairah over a disputed area that only covered a quarter of an acre but included water wells and date palm trees . Twenty - two people were killed and another 12 were wounded before UDF troops were able to impose a ceasefire .