Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has enacted a law permitting retired officers possessing university degrees to re-enter military reserve forces.
According to the law, released on Monday and published by the Ministry of Defense, officers with a university degree, including doctorate, master’s degree, or bachelor’s degree, who have retired, can be called back for reserve duty, extending year by year until they reach the age of seventy.
The legislation outlines that these officers will assume the status of “advisory officers when required, with their positions considered as additions to the existing staff.”
Furthermore, the law specifies that officers holding a university degree will be eligible for promotion from the rank of brigadier general to major general, without being constrained by the certified staff.
The law also requires that officers promoted to higher ranks must engage in “creative work or obtain a court patent, in one of the areas that serve the interest of the armed forces.”
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The law in question is part of a series of legislative measures and decrees implemented by the Assad regime concerning compulsory and reserve military service.
Among these significant decisions is the recent issuance of a “general amnesty” decree on November 16, addressing internal and external desertion offences. Subsequently, there was a decision to facilitate volunteering for individuals and non-commissioned officers, with the specified conditions made public by the Ministry of Defense on its official website on November 21.
In the same vein, earlier this month, President Assad issued a decree authorizing a reserve military service allowance of $4,800 or its equivalent in Syrian pounds for individuals aged 40 and above who are currently serving or have not yet enrolled.
A subsequent administrative decision by Assad, dated December 4, mandated the cessation of recall for reserve officers (invitees enrolled), while non-commissioned officers and reserve personnel were to be retained and called up for those completing six years or more.
Concurrently, the Ministry of Defense issued a circular last week addressing the “acceptance of requests to regularize the status of individuals charged with security and recruitment service who entered or left Syria illegally.”
The swift succession of these legislative measures, all occurring within a month, suggests that the Assad regime is actively engaged in comprehensive military service reforms.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
