Since the tank battles of the Yom Kippur War, the Golan Heights
has been thoroughly mined.
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Photo credit: Dror Artzi - JiniAUGUST 1, 2011
The Engineering Corps, due to its unique abilities, has seen demand for its services increase over the past few years. During Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in late 2008, nearly every Engineering Corps soldier was deployed for combat.
Lilach Shoval
Engineering Corps tunnel combat training exercise. | Photo credit: Ziv Koren | |||||
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The Israel Defense Forces Engineering Corps will begin intensive training in underground warfare, such as fighting in tunnels and bunkers, one of the most important new fronts of current warfare. The training exercises were announced in correlation with the IDF's August 2011 draft cycle.
“Underground fighting has become our enemies’ major operational method in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip,” said IDF Chief Combat Engineering Officer Brig. Gen. Moshe Sheli. “This is a great challenge for our units. We have developed a number of methods for fighting in this realm, although there are still some unresolved challenges. I believe that we will solve the issue of uncovering underground fighting areas, such as caves and underground bunkers, in the next two years and we will be able to make great technological strides in this field.”
The Engineering Corps, due to its unique abilities, has seen its demand increase over the past few years. During Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in late 2008, nearly every Engineering Corps soldier was deployed for combat.
Sheli was reluctant to give details on operational matters, but in recent months Engineering Corps soldiers have been laying new mines along the Israel-Syria border. Many older mines failed to explode during the Nakba Day demonstrations on May 15, when Syrians breached the border from Majdal Shams. A number of Engineering Corps units are also stationed around the Gaza Strip as part of a cooperative security effort.
Due to media exposure and positive public relations by Engineering Corps officers, new IDF recruits are increasingly listing the Corps among their top choices for their army draft. According to Sheli, recruitment numbers from the August 2011 draft are some of the best the Corps has seen in recent years, and in reflection of its increased value, the number of Engineering Corps troops was raised. The most significant increase was seen in the Engineering Corps elite "Yahalom" ["Diamond"] commando unit, which specializes in underground warfare and bomb diffusion.
“Today there is no need to explain the need for field units to teenagers,” Sheli said. “These kids have lived in the shadow of operations over the course of the past five years and they understand that this is the time to contribute.”
The drive to produce various productive technologies, similar to the IDF Armored Corps “windbreaker” anti-tank missile shield system, has also been recently bolstered. These technologies will hopefully replace live defense systems in the future.
“The threat of the anti-tank missile is one of the most significant challenges of today’s battlefield,” Sheli said without expounding on the details. “We need to keep developing new technologies to neutralize this threat.”
