| His Royal Highness Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz |
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| Occupation Author Retired General, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces Education Graduate, The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England, 1968 Master of Military Science, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1979 Master of Political Science, Auburn University at Montgomery, 1980 Graduate (with honors), Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, 1980 Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, Auburn University at Montgomery, 1991 Numerous advanced military training courses Military Service Active Service, Royal Saudi Forces, 1968-1991 General, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces, 1991 - Present Commander, Joint Forces and Theater of Operations, Desert Shield/Storm, 1990-91 Also held a variety of posts with the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces, culminating in his promotion from Commander at the start of Desert Shield Unusual Honors Commander of the Order of Merit, bestowed by the President of the United States Honorary knighthood, bestowed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom Grand Officer de la Legion d'Honneur, bestowed by the President of the Republic of France Has received decorations of similar merit from Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Hungary Has earned more than a dozen top honors from the Saudi Arabian government and military Other Father of seven Published Desert Warrior: A Personal View of the Gulf War by the Joint Forces Commander in 1995 |
Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin
Abd al-Aziz began his military career during his teens in
the 1960s. By age 41, he was to find himself working
side-by-side with Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf to protect
Kuwaiti sovereignty during the Gulf Crisis. Born into the Royal Saudi family of al Saud, Prince Khaled is the grandson of his nation's founder, King Abd al-Aziz, and the son of Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz. As a youth, he left home to attend Great Britain's world-famous military academy at Sandhurst and continued his training with regular stints at U.S. Armed Forces sites. Then in 1979 Prince Khaled embarked on what is to date his only civilian degree, a Master of Political Science at AUM.
" . . . (F)acts and theories were not all I was taught here. Here, I was taught to think, to analyze, to weigh all factors and to arrive at my own conclusions based on rational thought, not on personal prejudice or pre-conceived ideas, or the emotions of the moment -- and, most of all, not on the prepackaged answers that are so freely and aggressively offered by the media of our modern world." In his autobiography, Desert Warrior, the general describes his time in Montgomery -- where he also earned Air War Certification at Maxwell Air Force Base -- as the most demanding of his academic life. He adds: "The course at Maxwell lasted 10 months and focused on global strategic issues as well as on problems of management and economics which, as it turned out, was what I most needed during the Gulf crisis . . . Had I had some inkling of the challenges to come, I would have worked still harder." By age 40, the prince had developed his reputation as a strategic air defense expert and diplomat. His career had already taken him on a number of secret missions, including the successful purchase of medium-range surface-to-surface missiles from China. Then in 1991 he was named Commander of the Joint Forces and Theater of Operations working to quash Saddam Hussein's bid to take over Kuwait. Prince Khaled's role required him to act as both a military and cultural intermediary between his own government and Western forces -- using his experience of British and American customs to ensure that differences in religion, philosophy and protocol did not prevent the Joint Forces from acting as a team. Following a successful campaign, Prince Khaled chose to retire from the military and pursue other interests, including his 478-page book, which spans the modern history of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 1995 he was presented with AUM's second annual Distinguished Alumnus Award. |
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