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Army combat units and teenagers

What is the teenagers stance about combat service in the IDF and why most of the teenagers among us avoids this kind of service in the IDF?

Work by Idan David Dorot

Teacher: Nellie Deutsch Grade 12 25.10.2008

Introduction

What is so unattractive in combat service in the IDF?? Is it the fear from death and from the risks involves in that kind of service or it’s a cause of laziness? My name is Idan Dorot and I am going to serve in a combat unit in the IDF [my goal is the IAF rescue unit "669"] and I choose this subject because there are soldiers that risking their life so we will be able to live in safety and its hard for me to hear teenagers slender combat service. I am going to research and find out what is the main reason of teenagers to evade from this kind of service in one of the strongest and developed army in the world, IDF. My goal is to convince as much as teenagers as possible to change their mind and serve as combat soldiers because its important.

Hope that you'll enjoy my project Idan

Table of contents

Introduction…………….2

About the IDF………………4-5

IDF… AIR LNAD AND SEA………..5-8

Teenagers……………………..9

Research and Findings……………..10-14

Bibliography……………15

About the IDF

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), are Israel's military forces, comprising the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel. The IDF is headed by its Chief of General Staff, subordinate to the Defense Minister of Israel, the current Chief of Staff, since 2007, is Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi. The Israel Defense Forces were officially formed out of the Haganah at the order of Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion on May 26, 1948, as a conscript army, and incorporated the three Jewish underground organizations - the Haganah (including Palmach), Irgun and Lehi. It served as Israel's armed forces in all the country's wars - the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the 1956 Sinai War, the 1967 Six-Day War, the War of Attrition, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1982 Lebanon War and the 2006 Lebanon War. While originally the IDF fully operated on three fronts—against Lebanon and Syria in the north, Jordan and Iraq in the east, and Egypt in the south—after the 1979 Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty, its activities have mainly been concentrated in southern Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, including the First and Second Intifada. The Israel Defense Forces differs from most armed forces in the world in many ways, including the conscription of women and the structure, with close relations between the ground forces, air force and navy. Since its founding, the IDF has striven to be a unique army fitting Israel's specific requirements, and has also developed numerous local technologies, such as the Merkava main battle tank, Uzi submachine gun, and the Galil and Tavor assault rifles. It also has close military relations with the United States, including financial aid from the US, which also fostered development cooperation, such as on the F-15I jet, THEL laser defense system, the Arrow missile defense system, etc. While supporters often call the IDF the "most moral army in the world", citing among other things its code of conduct, it has often been criticized by opponents especially for its activities in Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, including allegations of disregard for Arab civilian life, property, and human rights.

IDF… LAND AIR AND SEA

The IDF Combat units are divided to 3 main parts, AIR LAND AND SEA.

AIR: The IAF [Israel air force] is the most prestigious and desired force in the IDF. The IAF uses airplanes such as the F-16I Sufa and Helicopters such as the AH-64D. Although that the IAF is a Air force they have a commando unit "Shaldag" that carries out counter-terrorism missions, hostage rescue operations and reconnaissance missions in the land. One of the most famous air force unit is the "669" unit. Its an Airborne Rescue And Evacuation unit. The unit founded in 1974, based on lessons learned from the 1973 Yom Kippur War. When there is no war the unit rescues civilians in danger. ___________________________________________________

LAND: In land there are many units and each unit is in charge of one "line". Each unit stands in the border between and Arab country and protects it from terrorist entries to Israel. There are many infantry in the IDF so I will right about 5 of them [Golani, Givati, Tzanhanim, Armored Crops, and Nahal]

Golani: The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade which was formed on February 28, 1948 when the Levanoni Brigade in the upper Galilee was merged with the Carmeli Brigade to form the Golani Brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the Israel Defense Forces GIVATI: The Givati Brigade Functions as the amphibious force and is one of the infantry brigades in the Israel Defense Forces. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets. The Brigade's symbol is the fox, alluding to Shualei Shimshon, a unit in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Tzanhanim: The Paratroopers Brigade, also known as the 35th Brigade, is a unit of paratroopers within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and forms a major part of the Infantry Corps. It has a history of carrying out special forces-style missions dating back to the 1950s. It is currently involved primarily in counter terror operations within the West Bank. NAHAL: Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas. Later, the program branched out into volunteering and social welfare projects. ARMORED CORPS: The Israeli Armored Corps is a corps of the Israel Defense Forces, since 1998 subordinate to GOC Army Headquarters. The Armored Corps is the principal maneuvering corps, and primarily bases its strength on Main Battle Tanks. The Armored Corps is the decisive corps in GOC Army Headquarters, and bases its "crushing power" on its "fists of steel": a combination of mobility, armor, and firepower. During wars, its role is, on the one hand, to lead the first line of the attacking forces and to clear the area of the enemy, while on the other hand, to block the armor forces of the enemy and to destroy its tanks and armor. During peacetime, it reinforces the Infantry Corps while it performs security tasks, with the tanks serving as a mobile bunker. [There are more brigades and units in the IDF land force. If you want to read more you're welcome] ________________________________________ SEA: The Israel sea force uses battle ships and submarines but the most interesting unit in the Israel sea force is the SHYTET-13. SHAYETET-13: Shayetet 13 is the Israel Defense Forces naval Special Forces unit. The unit (S'13) is considered one of the top-three SF units in Israel (along with Sayeret Matkal - the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit - and Shaldag Unit - the Air Force commando unit). S'13 is the unit that specializes in maritime hostage rescue and counter-terrorist missions. only a handful of Shayetet 13 missions have been publicized or otherwise missions publicly attributed to the unit. ___________________________________________________

Nobody except those who taking part in the Sayeret really knows what is going on inside. SAYERET MATKAL: Sayeret Matkal (General Staff Reconnaissance Unit) is the main unit of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Its main roles are counter-terrorism, deep reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, but the unit is first and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, used to obtain strategic intelligence behind enemy lines. Sayeret Matkal is also in charge of hostage rescue missions outside Israeli borders. The unit is modeled on the British SAS, and organizationally reports to the Directorate of Military Intelligence. Its IDF nickname is simply "The Unit". The unit's motto is "Who Dares Wins" The unit is best known for Operation Thunderbolt, commonly known as Operation Entebbe, in which it rescued more than 100 Air France airline passengers hijacked and flown to Uganda by PLO terrorists, losing only the assault element commander, Yonatan Netanyahu, to enemy gunfire. Three hostages were also killed. ___________________________________________________
 * 1) the top 3 SF [Special Forces] of the IDF is: Shaldag unit, Shayetet-13 and the top secret unit "Sayeret Matkal".

TEENAGERS

The definition of teenager: A teenager, or teen, is a young person whose age is between thirteen and nineteen. They are called teenagers because their age number ends in "teen". Teenagers go through a lot of changes* during this time. This is called adolescence or puberty. In the United States, some teenagers go to middle school and some go to high school. In the United Kingdom (UK), teenagers and non-teens mix in secondary school. The teenager trying to be different that’s the only way he knows that will help him to unify his identity so he thinks to himself "well everybody going to the army in the age of 18 so Ill be different I wont go". And then the teenager start to tell everybody that he is not going to serve in the army and he starts influence his friends and its spreading around. That’s just my opinion… it may be because of the fear of death or because of laziness or many other reasons, for my opinion this is the main reason!
 * I think that the key to the answer of my question "What is so unattractive in combat service in the IDF?? Is it the fear from death and from the risks involves in that kind of service or it’s a cause of laziness?" is this sentence "Teenagers go through a lot of changes". It's not the fear of death and not laziness. It’s the changes, in those ages [13-18] the teenager needs to unify they're identity and one of the things that influence the most is the surroundings.

RESARCH AND FINDINGS

To find the answer for my question I used a research tool called "Survey", after that I turned the survey answers to a diagram that shows what is the main reason that teenagers avoids combat service.

I gave the Surveys to 40 teenagers [only males] in the age of 16-17. Those are my research subjects.

Surveys

Survey No. 1: What is your stance about combat service in the IDF

- Do you think that its worth to serve in the IDF in a combat units? 1. Yes, it's important to save Israel from disaster and help giving all Israel civilians a sensation of security. 2. No, it's not worth risking my self for this country.

- What is your stance about the IDF?

1. The IDF is one of the strongest army's in the world and it will be a great honor for me to serve in the IDF and help my country.

2. The IDF is a strong army but I don't want to take part in his combat activities.

3. The IDF is a conqueror army I hate the idea of taking part of it.

Survey No. 2: Why most of the teenagers avoids combat service in the IDF?

- Do you want to serve as a fighter in one of the IDF combat units?

1. Yes 2. No

- If not, Why?

1.	The risk is too high and I don’t want to take it 2.	 I afraid to die 3.	 The combat units activities and training is too hard for me I don’t want to train like this for just serve my country 4.	 My medical profile doesn't allow me.

Findings

Do you think that its worth to serve in the IDF in a combat units? 1. Yes, it's important to save Israel from disaster and help giving all Israel civilians a sensation of security. 24/40	60% 2. No, it's not worth risking my self for this country 16/40	40%

What is your stance about the IDF? 1. The IDF is one of the strongest army's in the world and it will be a great honor for me to serve in the IDF and help my country. 18/40	45%

2. The IDF is a strong army but I don't want to take part in his combat activities. 20/40	50% 3. The IDF is a conqueror army I hate the idea of taking part of it. 2/40	5%

Do you want to serve as a fighter in one of the IDF combat units? 1. Yes	18/40	45% 2. No	22/40	55%

If not, Why? 1. The risk is too high and I don’t want to take it 	11/22	50% 2. I afraid to die 2/22	9% 3. The combat units activities and training is too hard for me I don’t want to train like this for just serve my country 5/22	22% 4. My medical profile doesn't allow me. 4/22	19%

In conclusion

Turns out that most of the teenagers don’t want to serve as fighters in the IDF. Although most of the subjects declared that’s it important to the continuity of Israel they declared that they don’t want to take a part in the units [most of them because of the risks]. For my opinion this generation of teenagers that want to feel safe but don’t willing to take part in the IDF combat units and help saving the sensation of security among Israel civilians most come to an end and fast, if not this " epidemic" will get bigger and more teenagers will refuse to serve in the combat unit and Israel will be in a big problem. It's still good to hear that there are more like me that willing to risk they're life and contribute to our beloved country... ISRAEL

HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY WORK. IDAN

Bibliography

www.Wikipedia.com

www.aka.idf.il

www.shavuz.co.il

-Thanks to Bar Kauffman, one of the assistants in "Yuval Eilam pre army preparation".

-Thanks to the 40 kids who agreed to cooperate and answered the survey.

-Thanks to Nellie Deutsch who helped me during the work. =Writing Practice= Follow the writing course

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