Syria’s Defense Ministry advisory board held its first session on Sunday, March 29, chaired by Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, during which members discussed its mechanisms, responsibilities, and a number of other issues.
According to Abu Qasra, the board’s role is to provide studies, opinions, and recommendations that help unify efforts and support the development of the Syrian army in the coming phase, within what he described on his X account as a “supportive national framework.”
He said the move comes as part of the process of rebuilding the Syrian army on solid foundations.
The board’s importance lies in strengthening the strategic vision that supports decision-making at the Defense Ministry and in assessing challenges and opportunities in a “comprehensive and responsible” way, the minister added.
According to the Ministry of Defense’s Media and Communication Administration, the advisory board includes a number of experienced officers: Major General Mohammed Nour Khalouf, Major General Mohammed al-Haj Ali, Major General Abdul Aziz al-Shallal, Major General Salim Idris, Brigadier General Riad al-Asaad, Brigadier General Fadlallah al-Hajji, and Brigadier General Abdulrahman al-Sheikh.
The advisory board will also include additional officers in the future.
Syria’s Defense Ministry announced the promotion of Colonel Riyad al-Asaad to the rank of brigadier general, as part of his continued role within the military institution.
The promotion came before the first session of the Defense Ministry’s advisory board, according to a post by Assem Ghalyoun, head of the ministry’s Media and Communication Administration.
Riad al-Asaad had been a colonel in the Syrian Air Force before defecting on July 4, 2011, as the Syrian revolution expanded.
On July 29 of the same year, he founded the Free Syrian Army and was declared its commander days later.
Comprehensive evaluation process for officers
The Syrian Defense Ministry had previously announced the launch of a comprehensive evaluation process for officers within the military institution, in a step aimed at restructuring the army and building an organizational foundation based on competence and professional expertise.
These measures come as part of a process through which the ministry seeks to transform the military institution from a faction-based structure with multiple backgrounds into a more institutionalized and disciplined army operating under unified military standards.
The ministry said that “thousands of officers” in leadership positions and across different specializations are being evaluated, with a particular focus on infantry commanders. The process is being overseen by the army’s top command, led by Chief of Staff Major General Ali al-Naasan, followed by specialized committees.
The tests covered several subjects, most notably terrain analysis, tactics, and map reading, within what the ministry described as standards designed to measure leadership and knowledge-based skills that reflect competence and the ability to assume field responsibility.
The ministry said the distribution of tasks and responsibilities will be based on actual experience, away from any other considerations, while the results of the evaluation will help classify commanders according to expertise and specialization and build a database.
After the evaluation is completed, the process will open the way for officers without formal academic graduation to continue their training through organized educational programs that match the requirements of the current phase and raise the scientific, practical, and operational readiness of military cadres.
According to information obtained by Enab Baladi from a Defense Ministry staff member, the first phase of the evaluation covered chiefs of staff, battalion and brigade commanders, and heads of departments and offices. Later phases will include company commanders and operations officers within brigades.
According to what Enab Baladi reviewed, the evaluation also included questions related to the behavior of officers and personnel, as well as technological, tactical, psychological, and analytical questions.
The tests were not easy. Many field officers received poor evaluations despite holding important positions within the army and having gained battlefield experience during the years of the revolution.
Field and academic experience
Military expert Brigadier General Abdullah al-Asaad previously told Enab Baladi that the army restructuring process is based on integrating the field experience acquired by fighters during 14 years of revolution with academic expertise rooted in the land, naval, and air forces system, as well as all related specializations, such as distributing fighters according to their specialties and placing them in military colleges, which he described as important for the fighters.
When recruits with educational qualifications, whether secondary school or university degrees, are transferred to military colleges after evaluation, they undergo officer training courses in which they study different branches of weapons, tactics, training methods, and other subjects, after which they graduate as lieutenants and then join the army, which will consist of colleges, institutes, and academies, al-Asaad said.
The Defense Ministry said through its official accounts that officers will receive their military ranks according to an “appropriate organizational mechanism.”
The ministry added that the goal is not only classification, but also the development of the army on a professional basis and a military doctrine founded on discipline and laws, granting ranks according to proper procedures and selecting commanders based on competence, experience, specialization, and academic achievement.
It considered the officer evaluation process a fundamental pillar in building the Syrian army, saying the military institution is entering a more disciplined and stable phase based on accurate data and a fair classification of competencies to strengthen its ability to perform its national duty efficiently and responsibly.
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