Syrian Arab Army الجيش العربي السوري |
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Syrian Arab Army Flag
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Active | 1 August 1945 1971 (current form) |
Country | Syria |
Type | Army |
Role | Land warfare |
Size |
Active personnel: Military age: 18 Conscription:
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve; re-enlistment obligation 5 years, with retirement after 15 years or age 40 (enlisted) or 20 years or age 45
Budget: |
Part of | Syrian Armed Forces |
Garrison/HQ | Damascus |
Motto(s) | "حماة الديار" (Humat ad-Diyar) |
Colors | Green, Red, White |
Anniversaries | August 1st |
Engagements |
1948 Arab–Israeli War |
Commanders | |
President of Syria | FM Bashar al-Assad |
Minister of Defense | Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij |
Chief of Army Staff | Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayyoub |
Active personnel:
125,000 in April 2015
Reserve personnel:
100,000 in National Defence Forces in April 2015
Budget:
$1.8 billion (FY11)Percent of GDP:
3.5% (FY11)
1948 Arab–Israeli War
War of Attrition
Yom Kippur War/October War
Operation Desert Storm
The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) (Arabic: الجيش العربي السوري al-Jaysh al-’Arabī as-Sūrī), is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the most senior posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. The Syrian Army originated in local military forces formed by the French after World War I, after France obtained a mandate over the region. It officially came into being in 1945, before Syria obtained full independence the following year.
Since 1946, it has played a major role in Syria's governance, mounting five military coups (two in 1949, including the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état and the August 1949 coup by Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi), and in 1954, 1963, 1966, and 1970. It has fought four wars with Israel (1948, the Six Day War in 1967, the October War of 1973, and 1982 in Lebanon) and one with Jordan (Black September in Jordan, 1970). An armored division was also deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990–91 during the Persian Gulf War, but saw little action. From 1976 to 2005 it was the major pillar of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Internally, it played a major part in suppressing the 1979–82 Islamist uprising in Syria, and since early 2011 has been heavily engaged in fighting the Syrian Civil War, the most violent and prolonged war the Syrian Army has taken part in since its establishment in the 1940s.