| Companies for the Defense of the Revolution | |
|---|---|
| سرايا الدفاع عن الثورة | |
 Defense Companies shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | 1971–1984 |
| Country |  Ba'athist Syria |
| Allegiance |  Syrian Arab Armed Forces (Ba'athist Syria) |
| Branch | Airborne forces Armoured Corps |
| Type | Praetorian Guard Shock troops Special operations force |
| Role | Airborne forces Armoured warfare Counter-insurgency Direct action Raiding Special operations Urban warfare |
| Size | 55,000(peak in 1982) |
| Part of | Division Command HQ 5 Brigades 26 Battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | Mezzeh Air Base,Damascus |
| Equipment | T-72 tanks BM-21 Grad Mil Mi-24DAttack helicopters 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) 2S4 Tyulpanheavy mortars Ilyushin Il-76Transport aircraft |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Ceremonial chief | Maj. Gen.Rifaat al-Assad |
| Notable commanders |
|
TheCompanies for the Defense of the Revolution (Arabic:سرايا الدفاع عن الثورة;Sarāyā ad-Difāʿʿan al-thawra),[1] commonly referred to asDefense Companies,Defense Corps orDefense Brigades (Arabic:سرايا الدفاع;Sarāyā ad-Difāʿ) and informally called "Rifaat's boys",[2] were a Syrian all-Alawite paramilitary force commanded byRifaat al-Assad. Their task was to safeguard and defend the government ofHafez al-Assad, and the capitalDamascus, from internal and external attack.[3]
In 1984, the 55,000 strong (according to other sources, 60,000-70,000 strong[4]) Defense Companies was dismantled and merged into theSyrian Arab Armed Forces expanding theRepublican Guard, and the14th Special Forces Division comprising 5 Special Forces regiments. The rump force then became the 569th Armored Division which later became the4th Armoured Division.[5][6]
The lessons of theSix-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 incombined arms operations involving a combined deployment of armoured, artillery and airborne infantry units. Top Syrian military commanders andHafez 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 theSoviet Union in order to build up such a unit.
The Defense Companies were founded in 1971[7] under this plan and were organizationally and operationally independent of the regular armed forces. They were under the command ofRifaat al-Assad, thepresident's brother. The Defense Companies were garrisoned outside Damascus, with the primary mission of countering attemptedcoups and challenges to the Assad government. Thesespecial forces, however, also had military missions beyond the role of apraetorian guard.
The Defense Companies were initially trained by SovietSpetsnaz special forces,VDV airborne forces, and theSoviet Army Tank Corps. They had regular Soviet advisors and conducted frequentwar games and field exercises with theSoviet Army. Their expertise lay in Soviet-style combined arms operations involving armour, mechanized, artillery, and airborne forces. Defense Companies commanders were known to be personally close to several high-ranking Soviet military officials, likeVasily Margelov andDmitri Sukhorukov, commanders of theSoviet Airborne Forces (VDV).
The Defence Companies served in Syria's first armed intervention in theLebanese Civil War in 1976, especially the initial offensive operations againstPLO andPSP positions inSidon and theChouf, and were involved in internal security operations during the nationwide strikes and demonstrations inAleppo in March 1980 and in June 1980. Lt. Col. Nassif ran a revenge operation after an attempted assassination of the President in 1980, in which a Battalion of Defense Company soldierskilled up to 1,000Tadmor Prison inmates suspected of belonging to theMuslim Brotherhood. In Spring 1982, 2 brigades of the Defence Companies and other elite armoured formations were deployed inHama to quell anIslamist uprising, in what became known as theHama Massacre. In Lebanon, Defense Companies units supported pro-SyrianLebanese militias, and cooperated closely with the Tripoli-basedArab Red Knights of theArab Democratic Party (founded in 1981 by Rifaat al Assad and composed largely of LebaneseAlawites), and theLebanese Baath Party and its militia, theAssad Battalion.
The Defense Companies were also deployed against Jordan. In late February 1981, some of their senior commanders, including Colonel Adnan Barakat, were alleged to have been involved in an abortive assassination attempt againstJordanian Prime MinisterMudar Badran. Members of the Defense Companies also reportedly have been sent abroad to monitor Syrian political exiles and to impede their activities. Following a power struggle between Rifaat al Assad and his rivals in the armed forces in early 1984, the Defense Companies were renamed Unit 569 and reorganized as a standard armored division with four armored and three mechanized brigades.[8]
Members of the approximately 55,000 strong Defense Companies were organised into companies of 120 to 200 men, which in turn were organized into Battalions of about 600 to 800 men, under aLt. Col. Battalion Commanders were directly under the command of the Division Commander,Rifaat al-Assad, who actually held the rank ofBrigadier throughout this period. There were separateAviation squadrons andArtillery battalions within the Defense Companies. Most Defense Company soldiers, including Tank crewmen and Artillery personnel, received advancedcommando andparachute training, as well as basic training in Tank warfare. The unit included a female parachutist corps. All or most of these were organized into 12 brigades.[9]
The Defense Companies were equipped with some of the most modern weapons available to theSyrian Army, includingT-72 tanks,BM-21 Gradrocket artillery units,2S4 Tyulpan heavy mortar vehicles,122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) field artillery howitzers, andMil Mi-24D andMil Mi-8attack helicopters, and could demand logistical help and support from the regular military. The Defense Company paratroop units were usually deployed from theAN-22 orIL-76 aircraft.
At their peak in 1983–84, the force had about 1200T-72 Tanks, 120Mil Mi-8 and 75Mil Mi-24D attack helicopters, and three battalions (around 50 launch trucks) ofBM-21 Grad systems. During this period (1973–1984), the whole Syrian Military only had 7 Grad battalions, and 3 of them were with the Defense Companies, illustrating the unit's importance in the Syrian Military hierarchy. They were also equipped with 4 units of the very powerful2S4 Tyulpan 240-mm self-propelled heavy mortar vehicles. The 3rd and 10th Armoured Divisions were the only other Syrian division having access to this weapons system.
Training consisted primarily of infantry training combined with Special Forces commando training modelled on the Soviet system. Recruits who passed this initial stage were given parachute training as well as advanced training either in airborne operations, artillery, Armour or Mechanized forces. Training for recruits usually was for 1 year whereas for officers it was for 2 years including a 4-month course at Soviet military academies. Howerever, almost all Defense Companies personnel were qualified paratroopers as well as had to pass a basic course on familiarization with Tanks and Tank warfare. Tank training and doctrine was focused on using Tanks and Armoured formations inurban warfare environments, close-quarters combat, and deployment of Tank units alongside Airborne special forces used asshock troops. According to several Defense Company commanders, they developed their own military theories and doctrines, especially a new armoured doctrine in which the Tank itself was to substitute as a Commando soldier in close-quarters urban combat. The Tank was to be considered as an individual commando in an urban combat situation, and thus Tank training was very intensive and focused on attaining unimaginable feats with the Tank. This included engaging targets at less than 20 metres range, firing the main gun from within a building, and so on. These tactics were developed by Saraya officers during the Muslim brotherhood insurgency in Hama and Aleppo, and in Lebanon. This strategy was used extensively by successor units of the Saraya in theSyrian Civil War.
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After basic training, the Saraya conducted their advanced courses at secret locations in the Damascus Countryside, Tartous mountains, and in Syrian-controlled parts of Lebanon. Much of the initial generations of Saraya soldiers had been trained in the Soviet Union.
The Saraya al-Difa wore combat uniforms quite distinct from the regular Syrian military, their uniform consisted ofvertical lizard-pattern or USwoodland pattern camouflagefatigues along with Sovietcombat boots,helmets andbulletproof vests. Headgear consisted of orange berets.[10]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Country Studies.Federal Research Division.
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