The UAE has been trying to train its own citizens for special operations for over a decade and in 2010 appeared to be recruiting non-Moslem foreigners for a special security battalion that may or may not be involved with SOC. By 2011 this battalion of 800 troops and appeared to be composed of Western contractors who were already combat veterans. This force was recruited from men who had combat experience and were then organized as a counter-terrorism and rapid reaction force. Officially this new battalion was to provide security for key facilities in UAE but that may have just been a cover story. Apparently there was also special operations training for some of the men in the “contractor” battalion. Some of these foreign troops already had special operations training and experience in their home country. It is unclear if the UAE commandos in Yemen were all UAE citizens or largely men from the contractor battalion or even special operations troops from foreign countries wearing UAE uniforms. It is known that the head of the PGC is a retired Australian general who spent most of his career in special operations.