In a first, female tank crews deployed to Egyptian border
The IDF is holding its second pilot program to help determine if women should be integrated on a regular basis into armored units.
By ANNA AHRONHEIMFemale crews will operate a Merkava IV tank near Egyptian border as part of final test in pilot program(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)For the first time in Israel’s history, 15 female combat fighters have been deployed to the Egyptian border as part of an ongoing program to assess whether to integrate women into the IDF Armored Corps.The company of all-female tank operators will be deployed to serve under the command of the Paran Brigade as tank operators in the mixed-gender Caracal Battalion.They will operate Merkava IV tanks now that they have completed their training at the IDF’s Armored Corps School at the Shizafon base in the Negev, where they learned how to operate tanks.The 15 combat fighters finished advanced training as part of a fresh pilot program launched by the IDF to assess if women should serve in tanks after the initial trial was deemed inconclusive. Some 19 women began the second pilot and completed basic training with troops from the mixed-gender Border Defense units; only 15 completed advanced training as tank operators.While the 15 will take part in operational duty, their deployment does not mean the pilot program was successfully completed. According to the IDF, its success will be determined by a number of factors, including long-term operational activity and quality of force building.The military had successfully completed a pilot program to train women on tanks, the IDF announced in June 2018. Two-thirds of the women who started the program finished, including four who became tank commanders. But despite the successful pilot program, women would not be able to serve in the Armored Corps, the IDF announced in April 2019.The second pilot program is at least twice the size of the previous one. The military has increased the height and weight requirements of women who want to take part in the program, meaning they now have to be taller and weigh more, and increased the time that they will be deployed to carry out operational missions along the borders with Egypt and Jordan.IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi, General Staff officers and Armored Corps senior officers have held extensive discussions examining the integration of women into tanks to be deployed along the borders, the IDF said.The discussions included a thorough clarification of the achievements and results of the initial pilot, as well as insights and analysis of medical data from women in combat roles in other corps in the military.Following the discussions, Kohavi decided that while the pilot showed the real potential for women in the Armored Corps, there were also several gaps, including the difficulty of loading shells.
Loading shells is only one of several challenges for women who want to serve in tanks, a senior officer who serves in the 53rd Armored Battalion told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview. Discussing the recent fighting between Israel and terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, the officer said troops need to spend a lot of time in their tanks, suggesting it might be uncomfortable for women. In January 2020, two of the women who completed the pilot, Osnat Levi and Noga Shina, along with one of the officers who accompanied their training, Afik Shema, filed a petition against the decision to bar women from the Armored Corps.Last September, 19-year-old Or Abramson from the settlement of Karnei Shomron and Maayan Halberstadt of Jerusalem filed a petition, seeking to have the military explain why women are barred from serving as tank drivers, gunners, radio operators and commanders.Their petition, which calls for the Supreme Court to change regulations to allow women to serve in frontline combat positions, claims that the IDF’s refusal to let them serve in tanks is a substantial violation of their equal rights.
