In Qatar, the first course of a British-run staff college is due to begin this September and Kuwait has just chosen the UK to help run its own equivalent of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

BBC: 'East of Suez': Are UK forces returning?

The current sultan trained as an officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK and served in the British Army in the early 1960s.

ECONOMIST: Oman preserves friendly ties with both Iran and the West

Lt Chesterman studied mechanical engineering at the University of Southampton before attending the Britannia Royal Naval College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

BBC: Lt Andrew Chesterman