The UAE Ministry of Defence has paid tribute to the first chief of staff of the Armed Forces, who died on Friday.
The ministry said Lt Gen Awad Mohammed Al Khalidi was appointed in 1976, when UAE leaders agreed to unify forces for the first time. The move on May 6 that year meant the defence forces of individual emirates were brought under one command structure.
Mr Al Khalidi was on secondment from the Jordanian armed forces at the time and there he held the rank held the rank of major general. He served as chief of staff in the UAE from 1976 to 1980.
Col (staff) Ali Al Kaabi, the UAE’s Defence Attache in the Jordan, accompanied by a military delegation, offered condolences on Sunday at Al Khalidiya in Mafraq governorate in Jordan, state news agency Wam reported.
The delegation conveyed the sincere condolences and sympathy of the leadership, government and people of the UAE to King Abdullah II of Jordan, as well as to the family.
Wam reported that Mr Al Khalidi was among the pioneering generation of Arab military leaders who contributed to the establishment and development of defence and security institutions across the region.
“He served his nation and his people as an officer, a military commander, a minister, and an ambassador, presenting throughout his career an exemplary model of loyalty, dedication and outstanding professional competence,” Wam said.
Mr Al Khalidi also served as ambassador to France and Greece, the Jordanian foreign ministry said.
The move to unify the armed forces came just a few years after the UAE was formed. It was a mammoth task but the efforts meant the UAE was able to send a contingent of peacekeeping troops to Lebanon by the end of the 1970s.
UAE leaders mark Armed Forces Day every year. President Sheikh Mohamed this year said the day represented a key chapter in the country's journey.
In a message addressed to members of the military, Sheikh Mohamed said the armed forces have stood strong to protect the Emirates and all who call it home.
