Israeli Ground Forces
Israeli Ground Forces | |
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זרוע היבשה | |
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The Israeli Ground Forces (Hebrew: זרוע היבשה) are the ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the General Officer Commanding with the rank of Major General, the Mazi, subordinate to the Chief of General Staff.
An order from Defense Minister
The Ground Forces uses several technologies developed in Israel such as the
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2013) |
The IDF traces its roots to Jewish paramilitary organizations in the
After the
Following Israel's
This was the background for the Altalena Affair, a confrontation surrounding weapons purchased by the Irgun resulting in a standoff between Irgun members and the newly created IDF. The affair came to an end when Altalena, the ship carrying the arms, was shelled by the IDF. Following the affair, all independent Irgun and Lehi units were either disbanded or merged into the IDF. The Palmach, a leading component of the Haganah, also joined the IDF with provisions. Ben Gurion responded by disbanding its staff in 1949, after which many senior Palmach officers retired, notably its first commander, Yitzhak Sadeh.
The new army organized itself when the
Immediately after the 1948 war, the
The surprise of the Yom Kippur War and its aftermath completely changed the IDF's procedures and approach to warfare. Organizational changes were made and more time was dedicated to training for
It was involved in the
Organization
The IDF is an integrated military force, without a separate ground arm from 1948 to 1998, when the Ground Forces were formally brought under a single command now known as GOC Army Headquarters (Hebrew: מפקדת זרוע היבשה, Mifkedet Zro'a HaYabasha, abbreviated Mazi). The Ground Forces are not yet a formal arm of the IDF, in the same way that the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy are.
Structure
The Ground Forces include the following Corps:
|
|
|
Units
Ground Forces | ||
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Hebrew | English | Commander |
חֻלְיָה Hulya |
Fire Team | Mashak Hulya ("Fire Team Leader") Corporal or Sergeant |
כִּתָּה Kita |
Squad / Section | Mashak Kita ("Squad / Section Leader") Staff Sergeant |
מַחְלָקָה Mahlaka |
Platoon | Mefaked Mahlaka ("Platoon Commander") Lieutenant |
פְּלֻגָּה Pluga |
Company | Mefaked Pluga ("Company Commander") Captain |
סוֹלְלָה Solela |
Artillery Battery | Captain or Major |
סַיֶּרֶת Sayeret |
Reconnaissance | Captain or Major |
גְּדוּד Gdud |
Battalion | Lieutenant-Colonel |
חֲטִיבָה Hativa |
Brigade | Colonel |
אֻגְדָּה Ugda |
Division | (1948–1967) Major-General (1968–Present) Brigadier-General |
גַּיִס Gayis |
Army | Major-General |
Ranks, uniforms and insignia
Ranks
Unlike most militaries, the IDF uses the same rank names in all corps, including the air force and navy. For ground forces' officers, rank insignia are brass on a red background. Officer insignia are worn on epaulets on top of both shoulders. Insignia distinctive to each corps are worn on the cap.
Enlisted grades wear rank insignia on the sleeve, halfway between the shoulder and the elbow. For the ground forces, the insignia are white with blue interwoven threads backed with the appropriate corps color.
From the formation of the IDF until the late 1980s, sergeant major was a particularly important warrant officer rank, in line with usage in other armies. In the 1980s and 1990s the proliferating ranks of sergeant major became devalued, and now all professional non-commissioned officer ranks are a variation on sergeant major (rav samal) with the exception of rav nagad.
All translations here are the official translations of the IDF's website.[10]
- Sergeant First Class(Rav Samal)
- Master Sergeant(Rav Samal Rishon)
- Sergeant Major(Rav Samal Mitkadem)
- Warrant Officer(Rav Samal Bakhir)
- Master Warrant Officer(Rav Nagad Mishneh)
- Chief Warrant Officer(Rav Nagad)
Academic officers (Ktzinim Akadema'im)
- Professional Academic Officer (Katzin Miktzo'i Akadema'i)
- Senior Academic Officer (Katzin Akadema'i Bakhir)
Officers (Ktzinim)
- Second Lieutenant(Segen Mishneh) [1951–Present]
- Lieutenant (Segen)
- Captain(Seren)
- Major (Rav Seren)
- Lieutenant Colonel(Sgan Aluf)
- Colonel (Aluf Mishneh) [1950–Present]
- Brigadier General(Tat Aluf) [1968–Present]
- Major General (Aluf) [1948–Present]
- Lieutenant General(Rav Aluf)
Uniforms
The Israel Defense Forces has several types of uniforms:
- Service dress(מדי אלף Madei Alef – Uniform "A") – the everyday uniform, worn by everybody.
- Field dress( מדי ב Madei Bet – Uniform "B") – worn into combat, training, work on base.
The first two resemble each other but the Madei Alef is made of higher quality materials in a golden-olive while the madei bet is in
- Officers / Ceremonial dress (מדי שרד madei srad) – worn by officers, or during special events/ceremonies.
- mess dress– worn only abroad. There are several dress uniforms depending on the season and the branch.
The service uniform for all ground forces personnel is
Headgear included a service cap for dress and semi-dress and a
camouflage, Combat Engineers gray. Other beret colors are: black for armored corps, turquoise for artillery personnel. For all other ground personnel, except combat units, the beret for men was green and for women, black.In combat uniforms the
Some corps or units have small variations in their uniforms – for instance, military policemen wear a white belt and police hat. Paratroopers are issued a four pocket tunic (yarkit/yerkit) worn untucked with a pistol belt cinched tight around the waist over the shirt.[17]
Most IDF soldiers are issued black leather
Insignia
IDF soldiers have three types of insignia, other than rank insignia, which identify their corps, specific unit, and position.
A pin attached to the beret identifies a soldier's corps. Soldiers serving in staffs above corps level are often identified by the General Corps pin, despite not officially belonging to it, or the pin of a related corps. New recruits undergoing
While one cannot always identify the position/job of a soldier, two optional factors help make this identification: an aiguillette attached to the left shoulder strap and shirt pocket, and a pin indicating the soldier's work type, usually given by a professional course. Other pins may indicate the corps or additional courses taken. An optional battle pin indicates a war that a soldier has fought in.
Service
The military service is held in three different tracks:
- Regular service (שירות חובה): mandatory military service which is held according to the Israeli security service law.
- Permanent service (שירות קבע): military service which is held as part of a contractual agreement between the IDF and the permanent position-holder.
- Reserve service (שירות מילואים): a military service in which citizens are called for active duty of at most a month every year, in accordance with the Reserve Service Law, for training and ongoing military activities and especially for the purpose of increasing the military forces in case of a war.
Sometimes the IDF would also hold pre-military courses (קורס קדם צבאי or קד"צ) for soon-to-be regular service soldiers.
Women
Israel is one of only a few nations that conscript women or deploy them in combat roles. In practice, women can avoid conscription through a religious exemption and over a third of Israeli women do so.[18] As of 2010, 88% of all roles in the IDF are open to female candidates, and women were found in 69% of all IDF positions.[19]
According to the IDF, 535 female Israeli soldiers were killed in combat operations in the period 1962–2016,[20] and dozens before then. The IDF says that fewer than 4 percent of women are in combat positions. Rather, they are concentrated in "combat-support" positions which command a lower compensation and status than combat positions.[21]
Mission
The IDF's mission is to "defend the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Israel. To protect the inhabitants of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten the daily life."[22]
The Israeli military's primary principles derive from Israel's need to combat numerically superior opponents. One such principle, is the concept that Israel cannot afford to lose a single war. The IDF believes that this is possible if it can rapidly mobilize troops to insure that they engage the enemy in enemy territory.[23] In the 21st century, various nonconventional threats including terrorist organizations, subterranean infrastructure operated by Hamas, etc. have forced the IDF to modify its official defense doctrine.[24]
Field rations
One staple of these rations was loof, a type of Kosher spam made from chicken or beef that was phased out around 2008.[26] Food historian Gil Marks has written that: "Many Israeli soldiers insist that Loof uses all the parts of the cow that the hot dog manufacturers will not accept, but no one outside of the manufacturer and the kosher supervisors actually know what is inside."[27]
Weapons and equipment
The Ground Forces possess various domestic and foreign weapons and computer systems. Some equipment is from the United States, modified for IDF use, such as the
Israel has a domestic arms industry, which has developed weapons and vehicles such as the
.Israel has installed a variant of the
The Ground Forces possess advanced
Future
The IDF is planning a number of technological upgrades and structural reforms for the future. Training has been increased with greater cooperation between ground, air, and naval units.[31]
The Ground Forces are phasing out the M-16 rifle in favor of the IWI Tavor variants, most recently the IWI Tavor X95 flat-top ("Micro-Tavor Dor Gimel").[32] The outdated M113 armored personnel carriers are being replaced by the new Namer APCs, with 200 ordered in 2014, as well as obtaining the Eitan AFV, and upgrading the IDF Achzarit APCs.[33][34]
The backbone of the Artillery Corps, the M109 howitzer, will be phased out in favor of a still-undecided replacement, with the ATMOS 2000 and Artillery Gun Module under primary consideration.[35]
The IDF is planning a future tank to replace the Merkava, which will be able to fire lasers and electromagnetic pulses, run on a hybrid engine, with a crew as small as two, will be faster, and will be better-protected, with emphasis on active protection systems such as the Trophy over armor.[36][37]
The
See also
- Israeli Air Force
- Israeli Navy
- Israeli Intelligence Community
- Israel Border Police
- Israel Military Industries
Related subjects
- Arab–Israeli conflict
- List of brigades of the Israel Defense Forces
- Military history of Israel
References and footnotes
- ^ "General Staff". Israel Defense Forces. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9781032508955.
- ISBN 978-0-7914-0367-9.
- ^ Speedy (12 September 2011). "The Speedy Media: IDF's History". Thespeedymedia.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ "HAGANAH". encyclopedia.com. The Gale Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
The Haganah ("defense") was founded in June 1920...
- ^ "HAGANAH". encyclopedia.com. The Gale Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
The Haganah ("defense") was founded in June 1920...
- ISBN 978-965-05-0695-7.
- ^ Pa'il, Meir (1982). "The Infantry Brigades". In Yehuda Schiff (ed.). IDF in Its Corps: Army and Security Encyclopedia (in Hebrew). Vol. 11. Revivim Publishing. p. 15.
- ^ "Hezbollah hiding 100,000 missiles that can hit north, army says". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "IDF Ranks". IDF. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
- ^ Israeli Defence Forces since 1973, Osprey – Elite Series #8, Sam Katz 1986, ISNC 0-85045-887-8
- ^ a b "Guide to Israeli Militaria, Insignia, Badges, Uniforms & Unit Formations at Historama.com | The Online History Shop". Historama.com. 2 August 1945. Archived from the original on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ "GarinMahal – Your first day in the IDF". Archived from the original on 16 November 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Katz & Volstad, Israeli Elite Units since 1948 (1988), pp. 53-54; 56.
- ^ Katz & Volstad, Israeli Elite Units since 1948 (1988), pp. 54-55; 57-59.
- ^ Katz & Volstad, Israeli Elite Units since 1948 (1988), p. 60.
- ^ a b "Paratroopers Brigade". Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ Abuse of IDF Exemptions Questioned Archived 10 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine The Jewish Daily Forward, 16 December 2009
- ^ Statistics: Women's Service in the IDF for 2010 Archived 13 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine IDF, 25 August 2010
- ^ "Israeli woman who broke barriers downed by Hezbollah rocket as 2006 combat volunteer – Israel News". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ Gaza: It's a Man's War Archived 8 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Atlantic, 7 August 2014
- ^ "IDF desk – Doctrine, Mission". Dover.idf.il. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- Encyclopedia Britannica. Archivedfrom the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Archivedfrom the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Steinberg, Jessica. "The rationale behind the rations". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ "6 things you never knew about Spam" (Text.Article). The Daily Meal. 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ "Kosher Spam: a Breef history". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ "Weaponized Sentry-Tech Towers Protecting Hot Borders". Aviationweek.com. 4 December 2008. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ Palestine Chronicle (13 July 2010). "Israel's New 'Video Game' Executions". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 8 August 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "IDF observation balloon crashes near Gaza" Archived 6 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Ynet News 5 May 2012
- ^ "Analysis The Israeli Army's New Target: Itself". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Jerusalem Post: IDF phasing out M-16 in favor of Israeli-made Tavor (19 December 2012)
- ^ "Israel to upgrade more Achzarit APCs". Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Yehoshua, Yossi (22 September 2014). "Ya'alon approves addition of 200 advanced APCs for the IDF". ynet. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Administrator. "Israel Army wants to replace old 155mm howitzer M109 with Soltam or AGM artillery system 3010134 – October 2013 defense industry military news UK – Military army defense industry news year 2013". Archived from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Jerusalem Post: The IDF's future tank: Electromagnetic cannon
- ^ "IDF to discharge 100,000 reservists, slash officer corps". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
Further reading
- Marcus, Raphael D. Israel's Long War with Hezbollah: Military Innovation and Adaptation under Fire (Georgetown UP, 2018) online review
- Rosenthal, Donna (2003). The Israelis. Free Press. ISBN 978-0-7432-7035-9.
- Ostfeld, Zehava (1994). Shiftel, Shoshana (ed.). An Army is Born (in Hebrew). Israel Ministry of Defense. ISBN 978-965-05-0695-7.
- Gelber, Yoav (1986). Nucleus for a Standing Army (in Hebrew). Yad Ben Tzvi.
- Yehuda Shif, ed. (1982). IDF in Its Corps: Army and Security Encyclopedia (18 volumes) (in Hebrew). Revivim Publishing.
- Ron Tira, ed. (2009). The Nature of War: Conflicting Paradigms and Israeli Military Effectiveness. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-84519-378-2.
- Roislien, Hanne Eggen (2013). "Religion and Military Conscription: The Case of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)," Armed Forces & Society 39, No. 3, pp. 213–232.
- Country Briefing: Israel, Jane's Defence Weekly, 19 June 1996
External links