November 2010

Pictures of the Month

Operations Room
• Senior Operative in the “Army of Islam” downed by Israel Air Force
whilst planning the kidnapping of Israelis in Sinai. READ MORE

• Major Emmanuel Levy and Major Amihay Itkis killed in the crashing of
an F-16I in the region of the Ramon Crater in the Negev Desert.
READ MORE

• A force of the “Kfir” Division has successfully apprehended a Palestinian

in his attempt to stab Israelis at the critical and closely observed Gush
Etzion Junction. READ MORE

Personal Meeting
• Captain (Reserves) Ezra Lakyia received a medal of honor on
his combat in the Judea/Samaria Region at the height of the
2nd Intifada. Last August (2009), Ezra’s reserves battalion was
involved in an ambush on Israel’s Northern border during which the
battalion commander was killed and Ezra was severely wounded.
He now learns once again to walk – “ If one places everything in
its correct proportion and believes that all will be good – so it will
be” - says Ezra in an interview to IDF Newsletter. READ MORE

Challenges of the Moment

• The IDF Medical Corps - A leader in Operational Medicine. State
of the art technology along with highly trained and motivated,
combat-ready medical crews aiming for the highest standards of
medical applications both on the battle field and in times of calm,
all place the IDF MEdical Corps at the helm in both saving lives as
well as reducing the risk of long term incapacity. READ MORE

• The IDF’s largest ever Medical Corps Training Course has just
held its concluding drill. 50 newly trained and highly motivated
doctors will, according to the Head of the Medical Corps “provide
an updated medical service to all conscripts”. READ MORE

On the Agenda
• IDF Spokesperson Film Unit photographers have a year-round task of
training soldiers from the various Combat units in photo-documenting
the Battle Field in real time. We now join the “Egoz” Unit - “This is an
important course so that the public at large worldwide must be informed
as to what actually happens on the battle field”. READ MORE

IDF Events
• “GoodBye Kosher Spam – Welcome Shawarma!” – The IDF takes
leave of the classic battle rations! READ MORE

• As befitting the Intelligence Community, a medal for exemplary

achievement in a “complicated operation” was granted by the Chief of
Staff to an intelligence combatant, behind closed doors. READ MORE

• Some 2,000 men and women from 60 IDF Units participated in the IDF
Combat Fitness Competition at the Wingate National Sports’ Institute.
READ MORE

• The Chief Coordinating Officer for the Territories of Judea and Samaria
introduces newly trained cadets on the frontier posts. READ MORE

- Next month – The graduation ceremony of the 161st Pilot's Course.

IDF Spokesperson's Unit Public Affairs Branch

Check us out at:

SUBSCRIBE Contact Us
to our mailing list
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

IDF-ISA Operation Targets Senior Salafist Terror Organization Operative in the

Gaza Strip

Senior Army of Islam Operative, Islam Yasin, was killed during an IDF-ISA operation
Wednesday (Nov. 17), Yasin heavily involved in planning and directing terror attacks
against Israelis .

In a joint IDF-ISA operation in the northern Gaza Strip, forces targeted a senior operative
from the Army of Islam terror organization on Wednesday (Nov. 17). During the operation,
the operative, Jabalia (Gaza Strip) resident Islam Yasin (born 1975), was killed.

Islam Yasin was a senior operative in the Army of Islam terror organization and an
assistant close to the head of the terrorist group, Mamtaz Dur'mush. Most recently, Yasin
had been personally involved in planning and directing a terror attack in which Israelis
would be kidnapped from the Sinai Peninsula.

Yasin worked closely with Muhammad Jamal Fares Namnam, killed in a targeted IDF-ISA
operation on Nov. 3rd, who was also involved in the  attack noted above. It is important
to note that despite the targeted attack on Namnam, the terorist cell has continued
operating with the intention of executing the attack. 
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

Bodies of F-16I Crew Members Identified

On Wednesday night (Nov. 10), an IAF fighter jet crashed in

a crater in southern Israel during routine training. The crew
member's bodies have been found and identified .

Identification of the bodies of Maj. Amichay Itkis and Maj.

Emanuel Levy, crew members of the F-16I fighter jet which
crashed on Wednesday night (Nov. 10) at the Ramon Crater, has been completed. The
families of the pilot and navigator have been notified.

A two-seater F-16I fighter jet (dubbed Soufa, or storm) crashed at the Ramon
Crater (southern Israel) during training on Wednesday night (Nov. 10). Search and rescue
forces were immediately called to the area and began conducting extensive searches
for the plane and its two crew members. 

The jet's black box (a flight recorder) was disovered during searches on Thursday (Nov.

11) and has been sent to a US lab for research in an effort to understand the cause of
the crash using its recorded material.

The Crash

Air Force Chief of Staff, Brig. Gen. Nimrod Shefer,

said on Thursday (Nov. 11) that “the crew which flew
the Soufa jet that crashed last night was a veteran
crew, able and experienced, which we trust fully.”
According to the Brig. Gen., “Maj. Itkis was considered
an experienced pilot very familiar with the Soufa
jet and the navigator, too, Maj. Levy, was one of its
first navigators.”

IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nechushtan, members of the Military Rabbinate and
representatives from the Ramon Airbase arrived at the crash site mid-day on Thursday.
The crew's squadron commander and the commander of Ramon Airbase presented Maj.
Gen. Nechushtan ongoing developments of the search at the crash site.  

IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nechushtan, ordered an investigation committee to be

formed on Wednesday (Nov. 10) and headed
by an officer with the rank of Colonel to examine
circumstances for the event. In addition, the
IAF Commander has ordered a stop to all
training for Soufa jets.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

IDF Thwarts an Attempted Stabbing in the Gush Etzion Juncture

The IDF thwarted an attempted stabbing by a Palestinian in the Gush Etzion

juncture on Thursday (Nov. 25), not the first in the area laden with daily conflicts.
IDF forces from combat Kfir Brigade thwarted an attempted stabbing in the Gush
Etzion juncture on Thursday (Nov. 25) when a Palestinian man tried to stab
civilians in the area. The forces stopped the Palestinian and confiscated his
knife. The Palestinian was transferred over to Israel Police.
A year ago, an Israeli woman was lightly to moderately wounded in a stabbing in
the same area when a terrorist armed with a knife approached her as she waited
at the Gush Etzion juncture’s bus stop. The terrorist stabbed the woman in her
back, wounding her and fleeing the scene right away. IDF forces immediately
began a search for the terrorist, putting up roadblocks in the area.
The Gush Etzion juncture is a central one connecting communities in Gush
Etzion, Efrat and Hebron and the road coming from Beit Shemesh. The region
is one of those constantly under threat in the Judea and Samaria region, the
juncture seeing daily conflicts between Israeli civilians and Palestinians. IDF
forces are constantly present in the juncture, standing at numerous lookout and
security points every hour of the day.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1
‫‏‬

A soldier who wakes every day and does the same thing is a hero"

Capt. (res.) Ezra Lakia talks about his experience fighting terrorists in the second intifada and his most recent injury
during a shooting on the northern border.

These days, Ezra Lakia is learning to walk again. Like his young son, Yoav, he walks slowly on the grassy knolls of
Kfar HaRif on the border of Shfela and the Coastal Plain – testing every step, going along with his feet being pushed
to the ground and coming back up, adapting. 

At the beginning of August of 2010, Capt. (res.) Lakia was called for reserve duty in the northern border. The battalion’s
forces, under battalion commander Lt. Col. (res.) Dov Harari, were asked to guard bush cutting activities around the
security fence near Kibbutz Misgav-Am – and was injured in a planned ambush by snipers from the Lebanese Army.
Lt. Col. Harari was killed on the spot and Lakia – standing just meters away, was heavily injured from shrapnel that
penetrated his entire body. 
Today, despite his body’s refusal, he fights to do physical activity every day and get back in control. “The fact that
officers were hurt doing this task is not inconsequential, this is the situation in the IDF, officers march ahead in front
of everyone,” says Lakia. “In this case I didn’t even tell my wife I got injured during military activity, so she wouldn’t
worry and act too hastily possibly causing as accident. I told her I fell on a stone and it hurt a bit, and that’s why I
was on the way to the hospital in Haifa.”
The calculated way Lakia acts is the result of rich operational experience. The shocking event which took place this
summer wasn’t his first close-range encounter. Eight years ago, when he was deputy company commander in the
Haruv battalion of the Kfir Brigade, he got rid of two terrorists near Kfar Tzara in the Samaria region and lead forces
to stop another. Thanks to the professionalism, leadership and bravery which he exhibited during the attack, Lakia
received the 162nd division commander’s citation (decorations awarded to those who exhibit extraordinary behavior).
The year 2002 was filled with terrorist attacks frightening citizens in the entire country. Those days saw a record
number of attacks during the intifada and Lakia, then a lieutenant in his regular military service, realized he was
given the responsibility of stopping attacks on innocent civilians as well. “On July 21st of that year a terrible attack
took place in the Immanuel community when a bomb was detonated on a bus, taking the lives of nine innocent
people,” he remembers. “As a result of the attack it was decided, using intelligence we had that my battalion would
‘close’ the area around Kfar Tzara. We understood that a group of terrorists was still in the area, planning another
attack and we started looking for it.”
“For two days we searched the entire division, we turned every rock and didn’t find anything. On July 23rd, around
7 a.m., we started doing a new search. They sent two platoons to the area – one from the advance company (the
first to enter a battle field) and one from the assisting company – and I commanded the latter. We were a force of
12 people altogether, but the area in front of us was difficult to search because it was open fields with terraces and
entanglements a meter high.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

“At the end of a long hour of searching in which we found nothing, we saw suspicious movement half a kilometer away from
us. We didn’t know what it was, and we didn’t have incriminating or tangible evidence to know for sure it was terrorists. I
decided to split the platoon into two forces. With the first force I went out in order to do a full flanking of the area and the
second force would stay as backup and monitor our progress.
“The lookout force directed us to a suspicious area, though it still wasn’t clear if it was terrorists or old tracks. We came to
a point very close to the area, twenty meters away, and still didn’t see anything. Suddenly out of nowhere, fire opened on
us from the bushes with rifles on automatic (rifles shooting non-stop). At this point we understood exactly who we were up
against and in a second opened heavy fire in their direction.

“The assault lasted ten seconds, during which all actions were done automatically and exactly the way we’d trained. I wasn’t
surprised that all our soldiers attacked perfectly and reacted at lighting speed. During an encounter - in order to surprise -
there is something important one must do, but the terrorists didn’t think to do it wisely. Though they opened fire first and we
were taken by surprise, ultimately all three terrorists were killed and no one on our side was killed or injured. In my opinion,
the main reason for this, aside from the advantage of numbers that we had, was our ability to act quickly without thinking
too much. When you’re delayed you can lose precious time and I’m positive that if we were delayed by just a few seconds,
the event would have ended completely differently. At the end of the day you could sum up the even as a decisive victory.

Lakia, who learned from previous experience, could not yet say it was the end of the event. He wanted to make sure
the danger was indeed over. “We were just meters away from the terrorists and when we approached their bodies we
discovered that all three were armed and wearing bomb belts. One even had a military vest,” he remembers. “We found
lots of magazines, transistors, and communication devices like walkie-talkies on them. But what surprised us was that they
were equipped with large amounts of water which they held in water bottles and coolers, as well as snacks and dried fruit.
We understood these weren’t people who came to do a quick shooting and be done with it, but a group who did serious
planning about the steps it would take. Their mission was to kill as many people as possible. The trackers, who found their
foot prints later backed up our assumptions that they had been in the area a long time.
 “When we came back, our soldiers welcomed us warmly and there was a sense of pride that we were able to do the mission
well and to defeat the terrorists. And still, it wasn’t anything huge and beautiful, we mostly wanted to quickly go back to the
routine activities we always do.
 “Usually, activity in the area of Shechem was very demanding and intense, but I loved it because I’m used to doing a lot.
Even after the event my soldiers and I didn’t have a dull moment or a moment of rest, and you couldn’t even talk about a
real vacation. We went back to our area the same day and they called us to go out to another mission – that was the routine
in the area those days. 

“Sometimes people ask what heroism is in my opinion, and I answer that a soldier who wakes every day and does the same
thing is a hero, sometimes important activities but always exhausting, and can still hold it together. To guard for eight hour
shifts which don’t end, and then for the eight hours of ‘rest’ deal with tiny things which come up and with sudden wake up
calls – that’s real heroism in my eyes. To keep going and not give up, to hold on to optimism and know our security situation
needs alertness and awareness of little details – those are the characteristics of a hero.
“I really don’t think I’m a hero and don’t like the description. What we did we did as a battalion, and it’s not an act I carried
out alone in a heroic matter. It was everyone’s work and that’s why all soldiers left with a feeling of pride and a head held
high. It wasn’t my first encounter with a group of terrorists, but it was definitely the closest – and we later discovered that the
same group of terrorists carried out shooting attacks on the route near Immanuel. In my opinion, the fact that the terrorists
weren’t able to run away from us even though they were very experienced was a success of the entire battalion.
“Today I try to be optimistic as much as possible. It’s difficult and frustrating to go from an intensive routine and non-stop
activity to a state where it takes you half an hour to walk a short distance, but that’s life. I go through physiotherapy and try
to recover as fast as I can in the best way possible. It’s important to take everything in proportion and to believe everything
will be ok – and that’s what will happen. Right now it’s hard and I’m going stir crazy and am dying to start doing things that
I did before the injury but I believe that day will come soon.”
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

Photos from the Battlefield: a New Course for Combat Soldiers

Combat soldiers will now take part in photography lessons, enabling both their units
and the army at large to show viewers around the world images straight from the
battlefield.

While most soldiers in the Egoz combat unit are doing exhausting Krav Maga (hand-
to-hand combat) exercises, learning camouflage techniques and navigating morning
to night, six of their friends are taking part in something completely different. These
six soldiers, picked from their entire class which completed the combat course,
will now sit in a classroom for one week learning about the aperture adjuster,
proper composition, shutter and speed. No, there’s no mistake here - these are all
photography terms. And these are Egoz combat soldiers learning photography.

The course, taught by IDF field photographers from the Spokesperson unit, was
created in order to teach these select soldiers the basics of photography. The results
will bring authentic footage of operational activities from the soldiers’ points of view,
their photos a potentially useful tool for Israel’s efforts in explaining the army.
The course lasts five days and is routinely taught in all combat brigades, each time a
small group of soldiers being picked from each unit. “The goal is that in each platoon,
there will be a photographer,” explains 1st Sgt. Or Rodansky, a field photographer
who gives the course.

In addition to this course, every three months an additional course is put on in the
Golani Brigade’s training base including as many as 30 soldiers. The course lasts
two weeks, the soldiers who take it having been specifically chosen. “The sorting
process mainly tests the soldier’s basic knowledge of photography, whether or not
he understands the subject,” explains 1st Sgt. Rodansky. “In addition, there are
different prerequisites like the soldier’s position in the unit and how much time he has
left in his service. It’s always better to choose soldiers who are in the center of the
action like those who shoot or those who work closely with the battalion commander
and are thus on the field first. Soldiers we won’t take could be snipers or soldiers
who have less than a year and eight months left in their service.”
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

A few of Israel’s senior photographers volunteered at these courses on the Golani training base
to help teach soldiers photography. Among those coming this year are Yaron Brener, a Ynet
photographer, Elad Gershgoren, a photographer for various newspapers, Eliran Hayat and
Yossi Aloni, both photographers for Israel’s popular newspaper Maariv.

The Egoz soldiers currently taking part in the course were not sorted out but were sent to
the course by their commanders. “This is the first time I am doing photography not as an
amateur,” said Sgt. Yoav. “The course is important because the world needs to know what’s
really happening on the battlefield. Footage from the field can help Israel’s image and it’s also
very interesting.”

It’s difficult trying to teach so much in such a short period of time, so the focus is placed on
several topics. “It’s impossible to teach four years worth of material in five days, therefore our
main goal is to practice photographing most things and to focus on what’s photographically
problematic about a situation,” says 1st Sgt. Rodansky.
During Operation Cast Lead, for example, combat soldiers took video footage of a school
booby-trapped by Hamas. But soldiers filmed only the cables surrounding the school and did
not capture footage of the actual bomb. As a result, viewers did not understand what was
problematic about the imagery. “This only proves how important the course is,” says 1st Sgt.
Rodansky. “If 20% of the time soldiers apply 70% of what they’ve learned here and come out
with just one good photo, it’s worth the round-the-clock training all year. The influence these
photos have is huge.”
 November 2010

Back to Page 1
Operational Medicine in the IDF
Within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) the IDF Medical Corps provides the professional authority
in the field of medicine. The corps is responsible for providing optimal medical treatment for IDF
soldiers during war, ongoing security duty and in periods of calm, promoting health within the
IDF and advancing military medicine.
By virtue of this the medical corps sets medical treatment policy and medical assistance doctrine
and builds the professional system at the various levels. Over the years the system has been
perfected and currently it provides a total response that includes imaging systems, treatment,
monitoring and training at world class levels.

The operational medical system in the IDF constitutes a qualitative elite unit of therapists
(physicians, paramedics and medics) united by a single goal-saving lives. The caregiver in
the field courageously takes quick decisions, under pressure, in real-time and under fire. This
objective accompanies medical st aff personnel not only in emergencies but also in routine and
even when out of uniform.
In the IDF Medical Corps has invested many years in developing professional capability
while advancing know how, conducting medical research, staging many exercises to simulate
emergency situations, using innovative technologies and providing advanced training for all the
professional bodies in the corps.

The Principles of Emergency Medicine:

The medical system operates on a constant basis to preserve its fitness for emergency situations
and promoting a medical response on the battlefield in order to save the lives of all wounded
who can be saved.

The principles of medical care for saving the lives of the

wounded, as they were formulated in the corps command
and imparted to all the care givers, include a rapid response
for treating life endangering wounds, while performing
resuscitation activities and field operations as needed. After
getting the wounded person away from the dangers of the
battlefield and providing preliminary treatment, the wounded
person is transferred to the subsequent treatment echelons,
where he is provided with progressively advanced levels of
treatment. Inter alia company medical units are deployed on
the battlefield who have emergency care capabilities as well
as surgical units capable of performing operations using advanced surgical techniques.
The Medical Corps insists on persistently improving the medical response awarded the wounded
and for this purpose there is constant debriefing on incidents involving wounds. Lessons are
drawn and medical policy is updated. Learning lessons is a cornerstone of medical corps activity
as a progressive organization that is always learning. very the lessons learned is to also serve
to direct the research and development of methods, tool tools and new technologies in order to
improve treatment of the wounded.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

The main objectives of the medical system on the battlefield are to save lives, reduce the
prospects of disability, prevent suffering and sustain combat continuity of war, irrespective
of whether we are dealing with physical support (evacuating the wounded so the unit can
continue fighting) or moral or psychological support (the psychological health system).

The challenges that the Medical Corps contends with and the principles that is has emblazoned
on its banner dictate meeting the highest standards of advanced medical treatment, rapid and
efficient evacuation of the wounded from the battlefields and assuring the efficient supply of
medical equipment to the forward combat expanse.

The Technologies Employed by Emergency Medicine

The Medical Corps employs a broad variety of advanced technological tools in order to provide
the most professional response during times of emergency and routine, and to contend with
the many challenges involved in this work.
As an example one can note the "micro respirator" a project for developing and equipping
the corps with new respiration devices, intended to improve the capabilities for the artificial
respiration of the wounded while improving survivability and focusing on saving lives on the
battlefield.

This is a small and lightweight (about 4 kg) respirator that is portable and transportable that
was developed in collaboration between the IDF Medical Corps and an American company
One can also the corps' equipping itself with an innovative tourniquet which can one employ by
oneself using one hand. This tourniquet I like the hemostatic bandage, that includes material
stimulating blood clotting and arresting the bleeding, was initially employed during Operation
Cast Lead.

The IDF Medical Corps Is Involved in Developing Evacuation Devices, Based on Advanced
Robotics.
For example one can note the development of unmanned evacuation vehicles such as the
pilotless medical helicopter and the unmanned vehicle.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

The Operational Medical System during Operation Cast Lead

Many medical forces participated during operation Cast Lead including a female physician
and female paramedics who entered the area of the Gaza Strip.
During the operation IDF Medical Corps forces deployed in the field alongside the fighting
forces, devotedly treated the wounded in the heart of the Gaza Strip and evacuated and
evacuated them speedily to the hospitals. The evacuation of the wounded was performed
by various surface vehicles and helicopters. The Israel Air Force in coordination with the
medical forces and upon their demand, landed helicopters including units from the extrication
and rescue team of the Israel Air Force in the combat zones within the Gaza Strip. It is self-
explanatory that such landings involve grave danger and therefore the decision whether to
request helicopter borne evacuation out of the combat area requires a professional judgment
on the part of the care giving teams.
The vast esteem for the professionalism of the medical teams found expression in the distribution
of commendations for valor following operation Cast Lead when 4 out of the 8 recipients of the
commendation for valor came from the IDF medical system.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

A Much Needed Increase in Doctors on the Field

Approximately 50 new doctors will complete a medical course set to substantially

increase the number of IDF medical personnel .

The Medical Corps held a training exercise on Wednesday (Oct. 27) concluding the
biggest Medics’ Course in IDF history. Approximately 50 new doctors will complete
the course next week, and will be sent to their respective air, sea and land-bound
units.

The concluding exercise constitutes an effort to increase the number of much needed
doctors in IDF battalions. After the course, each battalion will have its own doctor
when before, many battalions had only a paramedic or a temporary doctor.

Head Medical Officer, Brig. Gen. Dr. Nachman Esh, tested the doctors-to-be and
wished the participants well.  “These are motivated doctors with a spark in their eye;
they are qualified and want to do their jobs. There is no doubt that from now on, with
IDF units’ use of doctors, all soldiers who need medical attention will receive it.”

A senior officer in the Medical Corps told IDF Website that the new benefits in the
doctors’ training program, including having more of their tuition reimbursed as well
as compensation and a widespread campaign supporting the essential enlistment to
the IDF medical system, were the main reasons for the notable and much needed
improvement in the medical field. The Medical Corps expects that the number of
doctors in the IDF will fall between the years 2013-2014, but will rise again in the
year 2015, when students from the Tzameret track of the IDF’s Medical School are
expected to finish their studies.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1
Goodbye Kosher Spam, Welcome Shawarma!

The field ration is about to get an upgrade with three new flavors and the historic kosher spam
making its way out .

As was reported in several media outlets, the field ration (a meal combat soldiers take on the
field during missions or training) is about to change: the army is currently developing a new,
durable meat meal to replace the traditional kosher spam already on its way to being out of use.
Since the removal of kosher spam from field rations, soldiers have had to make do with frozen
cans of tuna, but the Logistic Equipment Department (LED) of the Technological and Logistics
Directorate is planning to replace them with a hot meat meal soon.

In future field rations, soldiers will find a portion of meat encased in an aluminum package,
along with a special bag which heats upon contact with water, the result of a chemical reaction.
Hundreds of infantry soldiers will try the new rations by December, after which the decision of
whether to integrate the new solution or not will be made.

“This technology will allow us to give soldiers on the field a nutritious and delicious meat,”
explains Head of Food Technicalities Department of LED, Maj. Donna Steinfeld. “Preparation
is very simple and only takes a few minutes.”

The new field ration, available in three flavors – turkey shawarma, meat patties in tomato sauce
and goulash, lasts up to a year and a half before expiration, with LED now trying to extend the
period to three years. Every package inserted in the field ration will include four meat dishes,
the Food Technicalities Department considering adding carbohydrates to turn it into a full on-
the-field meal. The new technology comes from the US but soldiers will receive kosher rations
produced in Israel by a civilian company.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

Chief of Staff Grants Combat Soldier One of Highest Honors

The Chief of Staff awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service to an Intelligence Corps
fighter for his actions during an operation.
 
Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, granted the Medal of Distinguished
Service to an Intelligence Corps combat soldier in a special, private ceremony at his IDF
Headquarters office.

The Medal of Distinguished Service was given to the combat soldier for his exemplary actions
during a complex operation. The selection was examined and accepted by a confidential
General Staff committee.

The Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, spoke about the secret operation in the ceremony
saying, “The operation was of the utmost importance to the security of Israel and was
carried out with excellence beyond recognition, breaking every bound and going far beyond
expectation.” To the warrior the Chief of Staff said, “I feel honored to be your commander and
that of your colleagues.”

Head of the Intelligence Corps, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, said in the ceremony that “The Medal
of Distinguished Service was awarded to the combat soldier because of his demeanor, bravery,
determination and sole focus on the mission, all of which defined excellence and serves as
an example to all unknown warriors and others who must keep their identities secret.”
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

IDF Championship Tests Combat Soldiers' Fitness

The IDF’s championship for combat fitness began on Thursday (Nov. 18) and will include
navigation tests, Krav Maga (hand-to-hand combat), battalion-based competitions and more .

The IDF’s championship for combat fitness began on Thursday (Nov. 18) and is being held
at the Wingate institute. The Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, made an
announcement about the championships three weeks ago, it being held as a way to gauge the
fitness level of combat units in the IDF.

The championship includes the following competitions: navigation drills, shooting after physical
exertion, Krav Maga (hand-to-hand combat), platoon-based competitions, squad-based
competitions, a competitive trek and a naval competition. Soldiers from all combat units will
participate in the championship, which will be split into three groups: the first including soldiers
from infantry units, instruction bases, brigade training bases, battalions of the Infantry Corps,
Field Intelligence and the Shayetet Missile Ships. The second group includes soldiers from the
Armored Corps, Artillery Corps, Anti-Aircraft unit, Intelligence Corps, Home Front Command,
Military Police and female combat soldiers and the third group is comprised of soldiers from
elite and specialized units of the IDF.

The culmination ceremony in which the Chief of the General Staff trophy will be awarded will
take place next week in the presence of Ground Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman,
Chief of Infantry and Paratroopers, Brig. Gen. Michael Edelstein and Head of the Combat
Fitness Division, Col. Dr. Avi Moya.
 November 2010

Back to Page 1

New Positions to Assist Palestinian Population

The IDF and the COGAT recently decided to create more positions of officers assisting the
Palestinian civilian population during combat .

The unforgettable images from Operation Cast Lead in which Israeli soldiers can be seen fighting
among the Gaza Strip’s civilian population led the Civil Administration to make a decision: in
combat, a Population Assistance Officer will be assigned to every battalion, the officer being
in charge of population evacuation, the opening of humanitarian aid routes and evacuation of
injured civilians to hospitals.

An official order detailing the officer’s role in combat was recently written at the Coordinator
of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) headquarters in coordination with Ground
Forces. The order was written to define a training routine appropriate for the role’s requirements,
namely the issue of civilian populations at the site of military operations.

The position’s first training course will begin in December 2010 in the School for Communication
and Coordination in Tzrifin and will train reserve officers.

According to COGAT, the course is expected to educate as many as twenty reserve officers for
a week, covering the subject of the civilian component in combat.

The need for a role assisting civilian populations at a battalion level was raised following
humanitarian issues during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in January 2009. At the time,
Population Assistance Officers were assigned to entire brigades, operating under tremendous
pressure. Ultimately, their role was regarded as essential to the success of a mission. “During
a fight, civilians are a component that absolutely must be taken into account and influences
operations,” explained a representative from the School for Communication and Coordination.
“The operation made it even clearer that there is a need for these officers at the battalion level.”