Richard Bennett wrote in 2001 that "three corps [were] formed in 1985 to give the Army more flexibility and to improve combat efficiency by decentralising the command structure, absorbing at least some of the lessons learned during the 1982 Lebanon War.

"[4] He said that the 1st Corps covered southern Syria, in particular the heavily fortified defense zone between Damascus and the Golan Heights and south to Daraa near the border with Jordan.

[2] Bennett's estimate of the 2001 order of battle was: Bennett said the 1st Corps also had four independent special forces regiments, including two trained for helicopter-inserted commando operations against the Israeli signals intelligence and observation posts on Mount Hermon and elsewhere in the Golan Heights.

[6] Tom Cooper wrote that prior to the Syrian Civil War, the 1st Corps' main role was defence against an Israeli invasion over the Golan Heights or through Jordan.

The corps commander Major General Faraq Shehada was seized as a prisoner of war on 29 June 2012.