12th AWC KASOTC Special Operations Display ~ Part One

Explosive finale of the two minute long Jordanian Royal Guard dynamic dispay for 12AWC at KASOTC in Jordan, June 2022 [© Bob Morrison]

A Royal Guard display kicked off the 12th Annual Warrior Competition (AWC) at KASOTC (King Abdullah II Special Operations Center) in Jordan, writes Bob Morrison.

In a formal Press Release issued 5th June 2022, the Jordan Armed Forces or JAF issued the following statement: “Within the annual training plans and programmes implemented by the General Command of JAF to raise the level of efficiency and readiness of its members, in a way that contributes to enhancing its capacity and effectiveness to meet operational requirements and confront potential threats, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Major General Yousef Ahmed Al-Hunaiti, sponsored the launch of the activities of the 12th Annual Warrior Competition at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center (KASOTC), with the participation of 40 teams representing 25 countries.”

A three vehicle convoy with a VIP dignitary in the centre approaches and ambush site [© Bob Morrison]

At the Official Opening Ceremony for 12th AWC a number of dynamic displays were undertaken back-to-back by the armed forces and security services, commencing with a scenario which saw the protection of a VIP travelling in a vehicle convoy which came under attack from a heavily armed group of insurgents using improvised explosive devices and assault rifles. The dignitary’s escorts were members of the elite Royal Guard, who reacted to the initial attack by deploying from accompanying vehicles to lay down a barrage of live fire to give cover while the intended target was driven out of harm’s way and heavier firepower was brought forward to effectively deal with the attackers.

On a remote stretch of road (*actually the KASOTC Parade Ground where the live-fire could be safely viewed but when training this would take place in a more built-up part of the facility*) a group of insurgents detonates explosive devices, a fraction too early, and opens fire on the VIP convoy [© Bob Morrison]

With the smoke still rising over the temporarily halted convoy Royal Guard outriders leapfrog forward to engage the attackers and cover the extraction of the VIP ~ the GMC Suburban fleet consists of both armoured and unarmoured (mostly for training) SUVs [© Bob Morrison]

Dismounted Royal Guards engage the attackers as the convoy vehicles are slammed into reverse to expedite a high speed J-turn [© Bob Morrison]

The synchronised J-turn extraction seen from slightly different angles, first during the rehearsal and then on the main day ~ the silver grey VIP vehicle, tucked almost out of sight in the first photo, was swapped for black on the Sunday [© Bob Morrison]

More fire support arrives on the scene in the form of heavier GMC Sierra four-door twin-wheel pick-up trucks with one-man machine gun turrets over the cargo bed [© Bob Morrison]

The final nail in the insurgents’ coffin, so to speak, was the arrival of another brace of GMC Sierras armed with miniguns which not only decimated the targets but also had a good go at drilling through the quarry face [© Bob Morrison]

In addition to watching this high tempo display on the big day, from the crowded enclosure where an actually very well behaved media scrum jostled for elbow room behind a safety cordon, which was an absolute necessity as so many vehicles were speeding past while the air was full of flying rounds, we were also granted the privilege of watching and photographing the dress rehearsal with a little less in the way of restrictions. The only other photographers present at the rehearsal were some of the JAF Combat Camera Team, with whom I have worked at KASOTC since 2014 (when I first met the legendary but now retired Mansur) so most of the photographs from this were not only from slightly better angles but no heads, elbows or TV camera lenses were able to annoyingly sneak into the corner of the frame.

A brace of Royal Guards wearing distinctive KA2 RG digital pattern during competitions later in the week
[© Bob Morrison]

On the big day almost all of the Royal Guard were clothed in black uniform but for the rehearsal a few of them wore their distinctive KA2 RG digital camouflage combat dress and if I had not spotted this, plus the uniformed senior Royal Guard officer who marshalled the final run-through, it could have been hard to tell which elite Jordanian formation was participating as insignia worn was minimal. Finally, this entire scenario lasted only a few seconds over two minutes from that initial trio of vehicles approaching from my right to that final special effects explosion in the lead image on this page. Impressive!

One last shot for the vehicle aficionados showing the front of one of the turreted pick-up trucks as it passed at the end of the display [© Bob Morrison]

¤ For Part Two I plan to turn my cameras on Special Unit 71 (formerly 71 CTB) as ‘black’ teams storm a multi-level building with vehicles and helicopters while ‘camo’ teams pin down supporting insurgents by using assault rifles and light machine guns in a fast-moving live fire assault.