According to Muhsen AlMustafa, a researcher assistant specializing in civil-military relations at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, the Syrian regime is seeking to attract volunteers in order to “form a solid bloc within the army.” This “solid bloc” relies on volunteers who demonstrate greater loyalty to the regime compared to conscripts serving under compulsory service, who are seen as less reliable due to social and sectarian divisions, he told Al-Hurra.

He added that “the demobilization of groups from reserve and compulsory service is part of this strategy to ease burdens on certain civilian sectors,” and also “an attempt to reduce waves of asylum as many young people migrate to escape prolonged service, in addition to other reasons for displacement and migration.” While the exact future form of that “army” is still unclear, AlMustafa believes the goal is to “create a military force composed of individuals with stronger loyalty, higher skills, and attractive financial benefits, allowing the regime to reinforce its military and security grip more effectively.”

AlMustafa explained that “the term professional army is far too big for Assad’s army.” He noted that “the core criterion within it is loyalty, not professionalism, although the term ‘professional’ is usually applied to volunteer-based armies.” Nonetheless, this does not mean the regime’s future army “will not train or adopt new tactics, but it will fall far short of confronting an organized military force or another army, while maintaining a high destructive effectiveness against the Syrian people,” the researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies concluded.