The UAE Presidential Guard is a military unit that operates outside the conventional framework of traditional armed forces like ground, marine and air forces. The UAE Presidential Guard differs in organisation, armament, training – and ultimately the missions it undertakes. Formally established in the 2010-2011 timeframe, the Presidential Guard was said to have been born out of the merger of several UAE Armed Forces units brought together under one command and one flag, which operates on land, sea and air. It is unclear whether the "Presidential Guard" designation is simply intended to reflect the elite status of the unit, or whether it also performs regime defense functions as well, but in truth it is probably a bit of both. It is, however, clearly a combat formation, and in no sense simply the Emirati counterpart of the American Secret Service.
