Saleh joined the North Yemeni Armed Forces in 1958 as an infantry soldier, and was admitted to the North Yemen Military Academy in 1960 [REF].
Governance in the Middle East and North Africa: A Handbook describes Saleh as being neither from a "sheikhly family" nor a "large or important tribe", but instead rising to power through "his own means", and creating a patronage system with his family at the top [REF].