Naji Jamil was born in Deir ez-Zor in 1932. He joined the Military College, graduating in 1954. He was then sent to the United Kingdom to study military aviation. Jamil began his career as a fighter pilot in the
Syrian Air Force. He rose through the ranks and, by the time of the
October War in 1973, he was commander of the Air Force and therefore commandant of all aerial operations. He was also present in his function for the initial stage of the
Syrian intervention in the Lebanon. Like other
Ba'athist officers, he participated in the
1963 and the
1966 Syrian military coups. He sided with
Hafez al-Assad (the preceding Air Force commander) and
Mustafa Tlass in their struggle against their rival
Salah Jadid, until Assad succeeded in assuming power following the
Corrective Movement in 1970. During his eight years in this position, Jamil became known as one of Hafez al-Assad's most prominent officers, as well as a
Sunni Muslim personality whose presence Assad ensured at the height of his power as part of his four-man Regional Command. Concurrent with his role as Air Force commander, Jamil was appointed the Head of the
National Security Bureau which oversees and coordinates between all of Syria's extensive security services from 1971 to 1978. Jamil was strangely widely reported as being executed in 1982, despite being alive and retaining his military rank. Jamil died in 2014 in Damascus. == References ==