The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية) officially came into existence on December 7th, 1948, out of what was previously part of the Ottoman Empire and later the British Mandate of Palestine and Transjordan. Jordan fought alongside Egypt, Syria and Iraq during the Six-Day War (June 1967), and again (with the Arab League) during the Yom Kippur War (1973), yet has also experienced internal strife from various PLO groups operating within Jordanian territory. The country presently makes great efforts to remain at peace with all of its neighbors and promotes diplomatic solutions to regional problems.
The Jordanian Armed Forces (القوّات المسلّحة الاردنيّة) have a long history drawing on both British and American military traditions. As the Arab Legion (1920-1956), Jordanian troops fought alongside the Allies during the Second World War and later clashed with Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Jordan has a highly-trained special forces branch (the Royal Jordanian Special Forces) among its other branches of service.
