Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued a law permitting retired officers with university degrees to return to reserve service and promoting university degree-holding officers from the rank of Brigadier to Major General without being subject to the established quota. In detail, Assad, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces, issued Law No. 28 of 2023, which allows the call-up of officers holding university degrees (PhD, Master's, and Bachelor's) who have been retired for an additional reserve service period of one year, renewable up to the age of seventy, without being constrained by the specified age limit. During this period, they may be granted the status of advisory officer when necessary. Their positions are considered added to the establishment by order of the Commander-in-Chief based on the proposal of the Officers' Committee and the needs of the armed forces.
The law also permits the promotion of any officer holding a university degree from the rank of Brigadier to Major General without being subject to the approved quota, if they have made creative contributions or obtained a peer-reviewed patent in areas that serve the interests of the armed forces.
