14th Special Forces Division

14th Special Forces Division فرقة القوات الخاصة الرابعة عشرة SYR-commandos-ins.svg 200 Syrian Special Forces Patch 1968 – 2024 Ba'athist Syria 23px Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces (1980–2024).svg 23px Syrian Arab Armed Forces 2nd Corps Flag of the Syrian Arab Army.svg Syrian Arab Army Special forces Close-quarters combatCounter-insurgencyCounter-terrorismDirect actionRaidingReconnaissanceSpecial operationsUnconventional warfareUrban warfare 3 regiments Damascus Current Commander Maj. Gen. Ali Asaad Reserve Bureau Commander Brigade Commanders 80px Tactical color marking Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War Islamist uprising in Syria Siege of Aleppo Hama Massacre Syrian Civil War Siege of Homs Damascus offensive Battle of Harasta (2017–2018) Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018)https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/confirmed-syrian-armys-full-order-battle-east-damascus-offensive/ Confirmed: Syrian Army's full order of battle for east Damascus offensive 18 February 2018 Al-Masdar News 20 February 2018 13 May 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190513115127/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/confirmed-syrian-armys-full-order-battle-east-damascus-offensive/ dead 2018 Southern Syria offensive As-Suwayda offensive (August–November 2018)https://international-review.org/understanding-syrias-military-deployments-in-idlib/ Understanding Syria's Military Deployments in Idlib 12 March 2019 22 March 2023 Gregory Waters International Review Maj. Gen. Ali HaydarMaj. Gen. Bassel al-AssadMaj. Gen. Ali Habib MahmudMaj. Gen. Mufid HassanMajor General Mofied Hasan, Commander of the 14th Division.Maj. Gen. Fuad Masaoudhttps://www.muhsenalmustafa.com/the-chain-of-command-in-the-syrian-military Chain of Command in the Syrian Military: Formal and Informal Tracks Omran Center for strategic studies 9 November 2021 31 March 2024 Muhsen al-Mustafa 14th Special Forces Division February 2013 36th 'Special Forces' Regiment 554th 'Special Forces' Regiment 556th 'Special Forces' Regiment The 14th Special Forces Division (ar فرقة القوات الخاصة الرابعة عشرة) was a division of the Syrian Armed Forces specializing in light infantry operations.Syria - The Special Forces and the Elite Units The Division was part of the Syrian Army's 2nd Corps. Role Syrians used the term "Special Forces" to describe the 14th, 15th divisions, as well as the independent 'special forces' regiments, but they more closely resembled conventional light infantry units than Western Special Forces in both mission and composition. The term "Special Forces" was applied ostensibly because of their specialized training in airborne and air assault operations, but they were regarded as light infantry forces and elite only in relation to the conventional armored and mechanized brigades of the Syrian Army.Holliday Joseph The Syrian Army Doctrinal Order of Battle https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/SyrianArmy-DocOOB.pdf Institute for the Study of War 2022-03-24 2013 Command structure 14th Special Forces Division (2019)Holliday, 2013, p.10 36th Special Forces Regiment 554th Special Forces Regiment 556th Special Forces Regiment Combat history The 14th Special Forces Division was established to command three Special Forces Regiments after the mid 1990s restructuring of Ali Haydar’s consolidated Special Forces Command.Holliday Joseph The Assad Regime from counterinsurgency to civil war http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/TheAssadRegime-web.pdf Institute for the Study of War 2022-03-24 2013 2019-11-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20191104025918/http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/TheAssadRegime-web.pdf dead Haydar's Special Forces expanded in size to 25,000 men, and formed a key part of the Syrian government's security apparatus. The Special Forces were trained in airborne operations, and were rivaled on power only by the Defense Companies controlled by Hafez's brother, Rifaat. As such, the 14th Division became a strong counter-weight to the Defense Companies, as both these formations were largely airborne divisions. New members were traditionally recruited from the Alawite sect to ensure loyalty to the government. Intelligence sources state it is likely that such units were involved in crushing popular dissent and neutralizing ringleaders.https://www.channel4.com/news/syrias-army-holds-the-key-to-assad-regimes-future Syria's army holds the key to Assad regime's future Channel 4 News 13 June 2011 Syrian intervention in Lebanon Under the command of Ali Haidar, the Special Forces units were deployed to Lebanon as part of the Syrian intervention in the Lebanese Civil War. It provided support to Kamal Jumblatt and in some cases cooperating with the Lebanese National Movement and Lebanese National Resistance Front. During the war they engaged with PLO units under the command of Yasser Arafat.Sami M. Moubayed Steel and Silk 2006 Cune Press 55 Syrian Civil War The government committed much of the 14th Special Forces Division to the assault of Homs, in which it fought some of the strongest rebel positions of Homs’ southwest Baba Amr, Inshaat, and Jobar neighborhoods.https://www.mei.edu/publications/lion-and-eagle-syrian-arab-armys-destruction-and-rebirth#pt9 The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth Middle East Institute Gregory Waters 18 July 2019 20 September 2022 Opposition reports specifically cited activity from the 556th Special Forces Regiment, but most frequently cited the 14th Special Forces Division generally. Activity was reported in different parts of the city during similar time-frames, suggesting that at least one additional regiment from the 14th Special Forces was involved in the operation of recapturing Homs. Since 2019, it was reorganized and rebuild with new graduates of the military academies.https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1139516868929175552?t=sEUHx1vAx2APcb2BpL_k6w&s=19 This is also planned to be used to rebuild the 14th & 15th Special Forces Divisions and old units of the Republican Guard. Gregory Waters 14 June 2019 11 November 2023 Twitter The old battalions and brigades were destroyed, and had to be rebuilt from scratch.https://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1045011379038519296?t=b-otIUhUoOnekVnQ31VBlg&s=19 SAA rebuilding has been ongoing but the 14th & 15th Divs are really messed up (don't even have battalion or brigade numbers anymore) & will likely have to be rebuilt from scratch. Gregory Waters 30 March 2024 26 September 2024 Twitter See also 15th Special Forces Division 25th Special Mission Forces Division 4th Armored Division Republican Guard List of paratrooper forces List of military special forces units References Category:Divisions of Syria Category:Military units and formations established in the 1990s Category:Special forces units and formations Category:Special forces of Syria Category:Damascus Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 2024