Defense Companies
| Defense Companies/Defense Brigades سرايا الدفاع |
|
|---|---|
Defense Companies shoulder sleeve insignia
|
|
| Active | 1971–1984 |
| Country |
 Syria
|
| Allegiance | Syrian Armed Forces |
| Branch |
Airborne Forces Armoured Corps |
| Type |
Praetorian Guard Special Forces Shock Troops |
| Role | Airborne Operations Tank Warfare |
| Size | 55,000 (peak in 1982) |
| Part of | Division Command HQ 5 Brigades 26 Battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | Damascus |
| Equipment |
T-72 tanks BM-21 Grad Mil Mi-24D Attack helicopters 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) 2S4 Tyulpan heavy mortars Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Ceremonial chief | Rifaat al-Assad |
| Notable commanders |
Rifaat al-Assad |
Lebanese Civil War
Islamic uprising in Syria
The Defense Companies (Arabic: سرايا الدفاع; Saraya ad-Difa) were a paramilitary force in Syria that were commanded by Rifaat al-Assad. Their task was to defend the Assad government, and Damascus, from internal and external attack. In 1984 the 55,000 strong Defense Companies was broken up and merged into the Syrian Arab Army as the Republican Guard, and the 14th Special Forces Division, comprising 5 Special Forces regiments. The rump force then became the as the 569th Armored Division, which years later to become the 4th Armoured division
The lessons of the Six-Day War of 1967 pointed to the fact of the weak airborne and heavy armor capabilities of the Syrian Military. There was a perceptible lack of expertise in combined arms operations involving a combined deployment of armoured, artillery and airborne infantry units. Top Syrian military commanders and Hafez al Assad recognized the need to create a powerful and operationally self-sufficient Divisional command that would incorporate all the elements of modern combined arms. Also the political instability of the preceding decade in Syria pointed to the necessity of having a large and well-equipped body of highly loyal soldiers with strategic responsibilities of dealing with threats to the Ba'athist government. From 1968 onwards many Alawite officers and soldiers from the regular Army were sent for advanced training to the Soviet Union in order to build up such a unit.
The Defense Companies were founded in 1971 under this plan and were organizationally and operationally independent of the regular armed forces. They were under the command of Rifaat al-Assad, the president's brother. The Defense Companies were garrisoned outside Damascus, with the primary mission of countering attempted coups and challenges to the Assad government. These special forces, however, also had military missions beyond the role of a praetorian guard.
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Wikipedia