Syrian Ministry of Defense requests volunteers to join the Syrian army
The Ministry announced Syrian Defense About new volunteer contracts in the ranks of the regime’s army for a period of five and ten years, including entitlements, benefits and financial rewards.
The Ministry of Defense stated in its announcement that the contracts are renewable once based on the volunteer’s desire and the approval of the General Command, provided that he is not over 32 years old. Those currently performing compulsory or reserve service and are under 32 years old are also entitled to apply for volunteer contracts, in addition to those who have failed to perform compulsory service.
A Syrian opposition military source told Akhbar Alaan: The Syrian regime has gone bankrupt in terms of human resources and is now looking for volunteers, after losing many soldiers, whether on the battlefields during the past years, or the large defections that occurred in the army, in addition to the refusal and evasion of many Syrians from performing military service (compulsory conscription).
The source added to Akhbar Alaan: Many young men of service age who were in regime areas fled to Turkey and other European countries, taking the risk of traveling either by land or via death boats because they refused to perform service.
Previous reports confirmed that the “Special Forces” regiments, numbered 15, 35, 41, 44, 47, and 53, were completely destroyed between 2012 and 2013. These regiments rely on infantry forces and are organizationally subordinate to different divisions in the regime’s army.
SDF areas
The source explained that a large number of young men from the areas of Aleppo, Homs, Hama and even Damascus fled to the areas of Al-Jazeera and the eastern areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) because they are not forced to undergo conscription and are not handed over to the Syrian regime.
They now live and teach in those areas, and if they want to join the SDF, they receive high salaries that exceed those announced by the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
Iran’s militias
The source added to Akhbar Alaan that the Iranian and Hezbollah militias were the ones fighting during the past period, and in return they were committing massacres and major violations, in addition to seizing a lot of land and residential buildings and turning them into their headquarters.
In addition to the looting and theft operations carried out in different areas of the capital, Damascus.
He added that the Syrian regime may have begun to sense the danger from these militias, especially in light of its multiple attempts to get closer to the Gulf States and several other Arab countries, and perhaps this indicates the existence of a dispute between it and its partners in the multiple crimes, especially Iran, so it wants to create an army loyal to it in particular.
Will compulsory military service be abolished?
The source answered this question by saying: Compulsory military service in Syria will be abolished sooner or later, despite the Syrian regime’s attempts and claims to change the concept of military service by reducing the duration to several months.
He indicated that there is international pressure on the Syrian regime and Bashar al-Assad in particular to cancel compulsory military service, which represents a direct threat to Israel’s security.
Volunteer salaries
The contracts included benefits and privileges, a salary with compensation ranging between one million, eight hundred thousand and two million Syrian pounds, and a monthly salary that the volunteer receives according to his rank.
In addition to the salary, there are compensations, most notably the field compensation of 100% of the fixed salary, a housing allowance of 100%, the military burden of 100%, the combat mission compensation of 100 thousand Syrian pounds, and a transportation allowance of 150 thousand Syrian pounds, in addition to a non-refundable marriage grant worth two million Syrian pounds.
The Ministry of Defense added an announcement Syrian regime Any increase in salaries will include the salaries of volunteers with their benefits and compensations, in addition to exempting them from compulsory service if they complete five years of service, and exempting them from reserve service for anyone who completes a ten-year contract.
Accepted volunteers will receive a start-up bonus, which includes four monthly lump sum salaries after one year of a five-year volunteer contract, and eight monthly lump sum salaries after one year of a ten-year volunteer contract.
Volunteers also receive an annual reward, which includes two monthly lump sum salaries that the volunteer receives at the end of each year of the five-year volunteer contract, and four monthly lump sum salaries at the end of each year of the ten-year volunteer contract.
Volunteer salaries according to the Syrian Ministry of Defense
Army with a new concept
Last June, the Director General of the General Administration of the Syrian regime’s Ministry of Defense, Ahmed Suleiman, announced that the concept of compulsory service in the regime’s forces would change in the coming period, indicating the possibility of reducing the duration of compulsory service completely.
Suleiman said that the elements may train for a certain period and then return to their civilian lives, noting that this change will be done gradually and quietly.
The official in the Syrian regime’s army claimed that what is currently happening is an internal affair and is not intended as a message to anyone, and does not aim to prepare for war, but rather is an inevitable entitlement. He revealed that there are studies related to several issues and features.
The Syrian regime is constantly trying to strengthen its military establishment and support its forces at all levels with volunteers to compensate for the human losses its army has suffered over the past years, as it suffers from a severe shortage of human resources in its ranks.
The number of soldiers in the Syrian regime army and reserve forces before 2011 was estimated at about 769 thousand soldiers, while defections began in its ranks with the outbreak of the revolution in Syria in 2011, and the announcement of the formation of the “Free Army”, in addition to the killing of thousands of its members during battles with the Syrian opposition factions.
