To mark International Women’s Day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson released statistics about the role women play in the military.
About half of the soldiers in officer courses are women. Over the last three years, an average Of 55% of all staff officers in the Officers Training Course were women. Over half - 53% - of the women who graduated the course became officers in combat support positions. Overall, an average of 3% of all combat officers was women, and the percentage of women combat officers has grown over the past decade.
The IDF also listed some of the jobs and units which have roles currently filled by women in the IDF: the 76th Battalion of the Combat Engineering Brigade, whose job is to neutralize Atomic, Biological, and Chemical (ABC) warfare threats in the battlefield during combat in real time. The soldiers go into the heart of enemy territory along with other combat troops during wartime, and help protect them from unconventional weapons; 334th Battalion of the Artillery Corps, which specializes in MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) launchers and has a primary role in all artillery operations, and whose soldiers commit to an additional 12 months of mandatory military service, as well as to reserve duty; Electronic Warfare Combat Soldiers; Caracal Battalion, which guards the borders with Egypt and Jordan - both male and female soldiers in Caracal sign up for three years of service, in accordance with a worldview which demands total gender equality; Oketz Unit , whose soldiers are partnered with dogs who sniff out explosives, track down terrorists, and neutralize security threats; and Aerial Defense Systems, which includes manning the new Iron Dome system, which is due to become operational in the coming months.
Since the groundbreaking lawsuit of Alice Miller, who sought to be the first IAF pilot, the pilot’s course opened to women and welcomed them into its ranks. The last course alone saw two fighter pilots and one navigator successfully graduate.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 8, 2011
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