Kuwait

The territory of what is now the State of Kuwait (دولة الكويت) was once part of the Ottoman Empire, but emerged as an independent shiekhdom under the protection of Great Britain after the First World War. Granted full independence in 1961, the nation remained out of the limelight until 1990 when it was invaded and annexed by neighboring Iraq. A subsequent military intervention to expel Iraqi forces by the United States as well as several Arab and European nations, resulted in the seven month long Persian Gulf War (or the First Gulf War).

Prior to the Iraqi invasion, the Kuwaiti Armed Forces were relatively small in size (16,000 Army, 18,000 National Police, and a small contingent of National Guards). Since the Gulf War, however, significant efforts have been taken to increase the size and efficaciousness of the Kuwaiti armed services, including establishing defence cooperation agreements with the United States, United Kingdom and France. Although it has not been a direct combatant in the Iraq War (Second Gulf War), Kuwait is a major deployment center for coalition personnel and is permanent host to an American battalion task force.

Historically organized around British standards, the Kuwaiti Army and National Police each issued a single camouflage uniform based on the British DPM design prior to 1991. Since then, the nation has adopted a multitude of different designs, including special patterns for the Royal Guard, Commandos, Intallation Guards, and Ministry of Interior special forces.

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