Defense Companies (Syria)

Brigades for the Defense of the Revolution (Defense Companies / Defense Brigades)
سرايا الدفاع
Brigades for the Defense of the Revolution (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; 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	Damascus Mezzeh Military Airport
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	Yom Kippur War; Lebanese Civil War; Islamist uprising in Syria;
Commanders
Ceremonial chief	Maj. Gen. Rifaat al-Assad
Notable; commanders	Maj. Gen. Rifaat al-Assad; Maj. Gen. Adnan Makhlouf;

The Brigades for the Defense of the Revolution,^[1] commonly referred to as Defense Companies, Defense Corps or Defense Brigades (Arabic: سرايا الدفاع; Sarāyā ad-Difāʿ) were an all-Alawite 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.^[2]

In 1984 the 55,000 strong Defense Companies was broken up and merged into the Syrian Arab Army expanding the Republican Guard, and the 14th Special Forces Division comprising 5 Special Forces regiments. The rump force then became the 569th Armored Division, which years later became the 4th Armoured division^[3]^[4]

^ [1]
^ Bou Nassif, Hicham (2020). Endgames: Military Response to Protest in Arab Autocracies. New York, NY 10006, USA: Cambridge University Press. pp. 131, 194. ISBN 978-1-108-84124-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ The Syrian Army: Doctrinal Order of Battle, Joseph Holliday, February 2013
^ Campell, Kirk (2009). Civil-Military Relations And Political Liberalization: A Comparative Study Of The Military's Corporateness And Political Values In Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Pakistan (PDF). UMI Microform. p. 228.

[1] [1]

[2] Bou Nassif, Hicham (2020). Endgames: Military Response to Protest in Arab Autocracies. New York, NY 10006, USA: Cambridge University Press. pp. 131, 194. ISBN 978-1-108-84124-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

[3] The Syrian Army: Doctrinal Order of Battle, Joseph Holliday, February 2013

[campell-4] Campell, Kirk (2009). Civil-Military Relations And Political Liberalization: A Comparative Study Of The Military's Corporateness And Political Values In Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Pakistan (PDF). UMI Microform. p. 228.

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