Counter terrorism and Hostage Rescue
Table Of Contents
History
Note: All dates are in the North American format - month/day/year.
Israel has a long history of Special Forces (SF) units usage, dating even before
the official declaration of the Israeli state and the forming of the Israeli
official military - Israel Defense Force (IDF) - in 1948.
The Israeli SF units history can be divided into three time periods:
Activation of Special
units before the declaration of the Israel state
During the 1920's, 30's and 40's, Israel was under a British regime (a.k.a.
'Mandate'). The civilians were both Jews and Arabs and they frequently attacked
each other, usually over territorial disputes. The British mostly sided with
the Arabs, and while the Arabs were allowed to carry weapons, the Jews weren't
allowed to organize, carry arms and protect themselves. As a result, in 1920-1929
the Jews formed several underground resistance movements, with main purpose
of protecting fellow Jews from the Arab terrorist attacks.
The largest and most powerful of those underground movements was the 'Hagana'
('The Defense').
In 1941 the Hagana formed the PALMACH (The Smash Companies), the SF Units of
their time. among the PALMACH were the Mistaravim teams (known then as the 'Arab
Platoon'). These special teams were dressed as Arabs and were used to secretly
and covertly move weapons and warfare equipment. When the Israeli state was
formed, and the IDF could freely and openly move its equipment, there was no
longer a need for these teams and they were disbanded. But in 1987 when the
Intifada (the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli regime) broke in the
Occupied Territories, the Israeli security services (the IDF, the Israeli Border
Guard- MAGAV and the Israeli Police- IP), that were inspired by the success
of PALMACH's Mistaravim teams, formed four new units of Mistaravim: Sayeret
Duvedevan (belongs to the IDF), Sayeret Shimshon (belonged to the IDF and was
disbanded in 1995), Unit Gideonim (belongs to the IP) and Unit YAMAS (belongs
to the MAGAV).
While the PALMACH handled land based assignments well, the Hagana also needed
a dedicated maritime Special Unit. So, in 1943 the Hagana formed the 'PALYAM'
('The Sea Companies'). As its name suggests, the PALYAM was mainly an underwater
demolition and maritime activity Unit. In 1948, when the IDF was formed, the
PALYAM evolved into Shayetet 13, the IDF's naval commando Unit (a.k.a. S'13).
1948-1974 the establishment of the SF units after the declaration of the Israeli
state
In 1948 all the resistance movements were joined together in order to form the
IDF. One of the Hagana outfits - the Golany Unit, was turned into the IDF first
infantry brigade in February 48 - the Golany infantry brigade.
When reassigned under the IDF's command, the Golany infantry brigade formed
the Special Reconnaissance Platoon (SRP). The SRP was basically a Long Range
Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) Unit, acting as pathfinder for the infantry brigade.
But unlike the other Reconnaissance platoons that existed in each of the Golany
brigade's battalions, the SRP was "Special", meaning it was also in charged
on taking out key enemy strongholds, and execute more complex missions like
demolition and intelligence gathering. The SRP was in fact the first official
Israeli SF Unit.
In June 1948 the IDF formed its paratroopers airborne Unit - the T'zanhanim
company. The T'zanhanim was designed as an elite infantry Unit tasked with performing
the most demanding missions.
In the early 50's the Arabs (both terrorists and full fledged armies) launched
thousands of assaults against the Israeli borders, aimed mainly at civilians.
The IDF attacked in retaliation, but the regular infantry units (including the
T'zanhanim) were simply not up for the task. So in 1951 the IDF formed Unit
30- a classified Unit that belonged to the IDF's South command, and was designed
to execute retaliation missions while operating in small, well trained teams.
Unit 30's operatives lacked sufficient and proper SF training, and performed
poorly, so in 1952 the Unit was disbanded.
In August 1953 the IDF tried again to form a SF Unit, and created Unit 101 as
a Special Operations Unit design to perform complex missions far behind Israeli
borders. Unit 101 was composed of 20-25 men, most of them ex-T'zanhanim's graduates
and former Unit 30's personnel. The creation of Unit 101 is a major landmark
in Israeli SF history. Unit 101 established small unit maneuvers, activation
and insertion tactics that are utilized even today. beside from Sayeret Matkal,
the IDF's primary elite SF Unit (a.k.a. SM, unit 262), Unit 101 is considered
to be the unit with most influence on the Israeli SF units and on the infantry
corps in general. Beside from its tactical innovations, Unit 101 was also unique
in two ways:
1. It was the first time the IDF formed a brand new SF unit from scratch, rather
then reconstruct exiting LRRP Unit.
2. It was the first time the IDF formed a unit that received its orders directly
from the IDF's general stuff (the IDF's high command) and not by lower sub-commands.
Unit 101 only existed for five months and was disbanded after a raid in which
the Unit's members killed dozens of unarmed enemy citizens in a retaliation
act ("the Kibia Raid"). the Unit was incorporated into the T'zanhanim Unit,
which after the merger compose of two battalions - the 869 battalion (made out
of the original T'zanhanim's personal) and the 101 battalion (made out of Unit
101's personal). with the rise in personal the T'zanhanim Unit became an elite
infantry brigade rather the elite infantry company as it was before. this merger
was actually quite ironic since the T'zanhanim were the biggest opposition against
the creation of Unit 101. the T'zanhanim simply didn't want another competitor
in the retaliation missions that (until the forming of Unit 101) where they
"own property".
With the larger numbers of personnel, Arik Sharon, the former commander of Unit
101 and now the new commander of the T'zanhanim brigade, was able to launch
full scale SF attacks against the Arab terrorists, and the T'zanhanim pretty
much ruled all the Israeli SF operations in the rest of 50's.
In the late 50's the IDF noticed that, since the T'zanhanim Unit had turned
into a infantry brigade (rather then the SF unit it was before), it was lacking
a small SF unit. So in 1958 Avraham Arnan formed SM, answering directly to the
IDF's Military Intelligence General (one of the IDF's high command staff- MATKAL,
hence the name 'Sayeret Matkal'). In many ways, in its formation, SM combined
the operational experience gathered by Unit 101 and the unit structure of the
UK Special Air Service (SAS) - the role model for SF units world-wide.
After losing the prestigious SF title, the T'zanhanim brigade formed it own
SF Unit - Sayeret T'zanhanim in October 1958, mainly as response to the creation
of SM.
In the late 50's and especially in the 60's there was a new trend in the IDF.
Israel is operationally divided into three commands- South, North and Center.
After witnessing the successful formation of SM and Sayeret T'zanhanim in 1958,
each command also wanted a "Unit 101" of its own. So units like Sayeret Shaked
(South Command), Sayeret Shoualey Shimshon (South Command), Sayeret Harouv (Center
Command) and Sayeret Egoz (North Command) were formed. While those units were
supposed to be skilled LRRP units, performing delicate intelligence gathering
missions, most of them soon became a raids units competing with SM, S'13 and
Sayeret T'zanhanim on raids missions. those command-level raids Sayerets were
'loose cannon' units, acting as autonomous outfits, with no discipline what
so ever. after those units ran wild for few years in the 60's, they were all
disbanded once the IDF's commands realized that they could get the same level
of performance from the infantry Palsars (LRRP) units, already existing in each
of the infantry brigades, not to mention saving a lot of money in disbanding
four very expensive SF units.
. 
Left: Israeli SF soldier in typical combat gear in the early 80’s Right: Israeli SF in the 1990's - note the difference in combat gear
1974- The Acquiring of Counter Terrorism
and Hostage Rescue Team Capabilities.
Up until the 70's, the Israeli SF units (including SM) had a very limited Counter
Terrorism (CT) capability and no Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) capability whatsoever.
The IDF's SF units were mainly hard core elite infantry Reconnaissance units,
which focused their training on the missions they were originally design to
perform (mostly LRRP and open field infantry combat), and didn't train
in CT and in HRT because of budget problems and lack of awareness. Even in Close
Quarters Combat (CQB) exercises, that were very popular at the time, the units
used the infantry brigades "regular" CQB technique- meaning throwing a grenade
into the room and then spraying the room with gunfire, without focus on selective
fire or shot placement.
There were no civilian SF units and the IDF was the sole security organization
in charge on the security of Israeli state, both domestic and foreign. back
then with the IP handle only criminal nature crimes, and the MAGAV handle borders
protection.
Today the situation is completely different as most of the Israeli SF (both
military and civilian units) have a a very advanced CT and HRT capabilities.
also many civilians SF units were created, and the IP and the MAGAV are in charge
on the Israeli state domestic security. This change is happened due to the severe
Israeli security situation over the years.
In the 70's Israel, and the rest of the world, had witnessed a rise in brutal,
violent and sophisticated terrorism acts. Israel was the victim of many of them,
for example - the terrorist attack of the Israeli athletes in the Munich Olympic
Games in 1972, the Sabena airplane kidnapping (Operation Isotope) in 1972 and
the aircraft kidnapping in 1976 that later led to the Entebbe hostage rescue
mission (Operation Thunderbolt). The very worst and painful of those acts (from
the Israeli point of view) was the Mahalot Massacre incident.
In 05/15/74, three heavily-armed terrorists took over Mahalot High School in
north of Israel, and took several dozens teachers and students as hostages.
SM, then the Unit with the most advanced CT capability (together with Sayeret
Golany) was selected to carry out the rescue attempt. At the beginning of the
raid, SM's sniper was suppose to take out the terrorist who was guarding the
room in which most of the hostages were being held. The sniper, who was equipped
with World War 2 Mauser 98 (7.92 mm) and not used to short range head-shot shooting
fail to kill the target and only wounded him. The injured terrorist started
throwing grenades and began auto-firing at the hostages. More mistakes were
made, both in planning and execution and at the end of the SM's raid all three
terrorists were dead, but 21 children and four adult civilians were killed as
well. At least two of them by friendly fire - SM's entry team under-trained
in CQB pinpoint shooting, hit some hostages who were standing close to the terrorists.
After this fiasco in Mahalot, the Israeli government, with the IDF's General
Staff, made three important decisions (mainly because of the outraged public
opinion):
1. An all new civilian CT/HRT Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) Unit would
be created and named YAMAM. The YAMAM Unit belongs to MAGAV, much like the German
domestic CT/HRT Unit - GSG9.
2. Most of Israel's SF units would acquire advanced CT/HRT capabilities, with
SM and S'13 in the cutting edge.
3. SM and S'13 would form one team in each Unit that will specialize In CT/HRT
scenarios. These special teams were later named: Unit 269 (in SM) and D4 (in
S'13).
After the government made its decisions, the Israeli units began extensive and
massive training both alone and with foreign instructors. The instructors were
mainly from Britain's SAS, the American Navy SEALs and later from the American
Delta Force. Because of this training and the massive amount of field experience,
Israeli units soon had a tremendous CT/HRT capability. In 1980 SM And S'13 were
fully CT/HRT operational and the rest of the units were not far behind.
In 1985 another important step was made. The Mitkan Adam army base, the IDF's
Special training installation, was formed including the CT/HRT Warfare School
(a.k.a. Unit 707) And the IDF's sniper school. The CT/HRT units began structural
and organized training (instead of every unit by and for itself independent
training as was before), and soon all units had the same training and used the
same tactics which much helped in the case of joint unit operations.
Between 1980 and 1990, although all units were fully CT/HRT qualified and operational
ready, it was not quite sure which Unit would do what and when since no operational
plan was lay out . Every time a CT/HRT scenario happened, the two or three units
that were the closest to the zone, arrived and started arguing on who would
execute the raid. This often led to the fact that usually the Unit, which was
finally selected for the job, was not the best fitted one but rather the one
who arrived to the scene first, or the one who had the biggest influence in
senior officer ranks. In order to solve this problem a new plan was written
in 1990. The "Army of the Sky" (T'ZAVACH) plan stated which Unit does what and
when. T'ZAVACH is basically the plan by which (until this very day) Israel fights
terrorism both domestic and foreign.
General Organization
The Israeli CT/HRT units are divided into three kinds of units: Takeover units,
Engagement units and Assisting units.
Takeover Units
Takeover units are the units who have CT/HRT missions and capability as a primary
specialty . They are the units who spent most of their time training on this
particular expertise. They are also the units which in most cases will perform
The actual rescue attempt/raid.
There are three Takeover units in Israel:
1. Unit YAMAM - In charge on domestic (within Israel) CT/HRT missions.
2. SM - In charge on foreign (outside Israeli borders) CT/HRT missions.
3. S'13 - In charge on foreign (outside Israel borders) maritime CT/HRT missions.
In several specific Areas Of Operation (AO) such as the Israeli harbors, airports
and borders, all three units have the authority and jurisdiction to act, depending
on the decision being made by the Ministry of Defense with the IDF's Chief of
General Staff.
Note: Due to the YAMAM's 12 month training period, which is exclusively dedicated
to CT/HRT, the YAMAM is considered to be the best Takeover Unit in Israel.
Engagement
Units
Engagement units are the units who has CT/HRT missions and capability as a secondary
specialty. Their role is to close and secure the raid zone, gather intelligence
and wait for the designated Takeover Unit to come. Engagement units are only
allowed to do a rescue attempt if the terrorist/kidnappers are starting to kill
the hostages, other then that, they must wait for the designated Takeover Unit
to arrive.
The Engagement units are under the three IDF's Commands, based on their geographic
where about (the units were, of course, pre-located as balanced as possible).
The Commands are: North Command, Center Command and South Command.
There are nine Engagement units:
North Command
1. Sayeret Golany - attached to the Golany infantry brigade.
2. Sayeret Egoz - Egoz is the Engagement who is in charge on CT/HRT scenarios
within the Lebanon front. Sayeret Egoz is attached to the Golany infantry brigade.
Center Command
3. Sayeret T'zanhanim - attached to the T'zanhanim (paratroopers) infantry brigade.
4. Sayeret Nahal - attached to the Nahal infantry brigade.
5. Sayeret Duvedevan - Duvedevan is the Engagement Unit in charge on CT/HRT
missions in the Occupied Territories.
Note: until it was disbanded in 1995, Sayeret Shimshon was also an Engagement
Unit in the Occupied Territories (mainly in the Gaza Strip area). but unlike
Sayeret Duvedevan, Sayeret Shimshon belonged to the South Command.
South Command
6. Sayeret Givaty - attached to the Givaty infantry brigade.
7. LOTAR Eilat- LOTAR (counter terror) Eilat is a reserve Unit. The Unit's members
are former Takeover units, Engagement units and Unit 707 graduates, who live
in or near by the city of Eilat (the southeast city in Israel). Because there
is a big international harbor in the city Eilat, LOTAR Eilat specializes in
maritime operations and does frequent joint training with S'13.
8. Sayeret Shaldag (a.k.a. Unit 5101)- Shaldag belong to the Israeli Air Force
(IAF). In 1995, Unit 5101 acquired CT/HRT capabilities and became the first
and the only 'all commands' ("all Israel") Engagement Unit. Because Unit 5101
is an 'all Israel'-capable Unit, it is the only Engagement Unit who has a small
helicopter fleet attached exclusively to the Unit.
Civilian Unit:
9. Unit Nachshon- belongs to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS). Nachshon is in
charge on Jail House Hostage Rescue Situations (JHHRS). In this particular field
of expertise, Nachshon is also an all Israel Unit, meaning it will handle JHHRS
all over Israel, regardless of the prisons geographic location. in theory, Nachshon
should be the designated Takeover Unit in JHHRS, but in practice because of
political pressure and pride struggles, the YAMAM Unit is the most likely unit
to perform the actual raid. Unit Nachshon is considered as an engagement Unit
for JHHRS alone. In a standard CT/HRT scenario the IDF's engagement units will
respond rather then a civilian unit.
Because of their different roles and assignments Engagement units are also known
as "Outer Circle" units, while the Takeover units are known as "Inner Circle"
units.
Notes:
1. Sayeret Golany is currently considered the best Engagement Unit in the IDF
with Unit 5101 as second. Unit 5101 is soon to become Number one, and would
be the primary Engagement Unit in both domestic and foreign CT/HRT operations.
2. Although not officially stated in the T'ZAVACH plan, Nachshon as well as
all other top notch civilian SF units (Unit Gideonim and Unit YAMAS) have a
very advanced CT/HRT capability. in a regular text book CT/HRT scenario the
IDF's own engagement units will respond, but in a rare circumstances (like in
wartime and when multiple terrorist acts happen simultaneously) those units
will act as standard engagement units and will respond to the call.
Assisting Units
Assisting units are the units that help Engagement and Takeover units in their
CT/HRT missions. There are six assisting units:
1. Sayeret Yael, the IDF's elite demolition
unit - helps in situations in which 'hot entry' breaching (blowing up doors,
windows, etc.) is needed. Sayeret Yael
will, usually, only assists in operations in which the Takeover Unit is either
SM or S'13 (military operations). Sayeret Yael belongs to IDF's combat engineering
corps.
2. Palgat Terror- this Palga (company) is part of Unit 7149 (a.k.a. the Sting),
the IDF's SF K9 (dogs) warfare Unit. Palgat Terror deploy specially trained
assault dogs against terrorist and kidnappers.
3. The Target And Intelligence Unit (a.k.a. Unit YACMAM), the IDF's long range
observation and intelligence gathering unit - in charge on surveillance and
intelligence gathering in the terrorists' held zone, before and during the rescue
raid.
4. The TIBAM (computer planning) team. This team is made out of computer specialties
that scan and photo all major potential terrorists Takeover installations in
Israel (schools, public buildings, etc.), insert all the data (including the
blueprints) into a computer, create a three dimensional (3D) computer image
of the area, and then stored it on CD-ROMs. If a HRT scenario develops, the
TIBAM team will arrive to the zone, and using laptop computers and portable
printers, will provide the Takeover or Engagement units with the 3D model. With
the 3D model the entry team can plan its attack on the compound in a much more
vivid way, using the computer itself as the planning board (much like in the
'Rainbow Six' PC game).
The team itself is very small and is made of less then five man, but it has
a long list of reserve personal, which are all experts in a specific field -
architects, airplane and ships engineers and builders, and various other engineers
(structure, metals, etc.). when there as a specific need for those experts'
opinions, they can arrive within hours to the CT/HRT operation zone and advise
the relevant unit.
The TIBAM team is located in the Mitkan Adam army base under the command to
the base's intelligence officer.
5. Sayeret YACHSAP the IDF's long range
bombs disposal unit - in charge on all bomb disposal missions. like Sayeret
Yael, Sayeret YACHSAP also belongs to the IDF's combat engineering corps.
6, 7. There are two more communication and counter electronic warfare units.
One is in charge on radio surveillance (both long range and wire-tapping) from,
to and in the terrorists' held zone. The other Unit is in charge on blocking
the terrorists' outgoing and incoming radio transmission (using both electronic
means and physically cutting down wires or sabotaging the terrorists' antennas).
The communication units' locations and even names are classified.
note: unit YAMAM has its own dogs, demolition, bomb disposal, communication
and intelligence elements within the unit so it doesn't use the IDF's assisting
units' services.
Deployment
In a domestic CT/HRT scenario, the Unit, in which zone and command the scenario
happened, will respond (there is another internal divide in each command, this
internal divide is classified).
In foreign CT/HRT scenario, the best fitted Unit will be selected regardless
of their home commands. For example- in the Thunderbolt Operation (the Entebbe
airborne hostage rescue raid) in 1976 SM was the designated Takeover Unit with
Sayeret Golany (belongs To the North Command) and Sayeret T'zanhanim (belongs
to the Center Command) as the designated Engagement units. The two Engagement
units worked in the Outer Circle, preventing Idi Amin's (then the Ugandan president)
soldiers from getting close to zone in which the rescue attempt was being held
by SM (Inner Circle).
Inner Team Organization
Each CT/HRT team (both in Takeover units and in Engagement units) while on CT/HRT
alert has 28 members. Each team is made up of two 14 members regular teams,
who are combined together at the time of the alert (except from D4 and Unit
269 who are already 28 members of one integral team). The CT/HRT teams were
made twice as big then regular teams so that they can deal with large scale
scenario such as high-school/airport/airplane rescue, without
joining force with another CT/HRT Unit. joint operations involving inorganic
teams have a tendency to fail, because of the different training and command
style.
Each CT/HRT team is divided into three main sections:
1. Main Entry Section (a.k.a. MES) - this is the main entry element. the MES
consists of 10 members.
2. Rappelling and Climbing Section (a.k.a. Terror Monkeys, RCS) - in charge
on breaking in using the roofs, chimneys and windows. The RCS consists of 10
members.
3. Snipers Section- consists of eight members. four snipers (known as "Snipers
1") and four Targets Spotters (known as "Snipers 2") - one for each sniper 1.
note: Unit YAMAM has a different inner team organization. each YAMAM team is
made of five sections: MES, RCS , Sniper, Dogs and Demolition.
Weapons
Note: the following mentioned information regarding weapons apply only to the
military (IDF) CT/HRT units. civilian units carry different types of weapons
since they operate in a different, short range, more controlled AO.
Primary Weapon (rifle)
The IDF's SF community standard issue weapon is the carbine versions of the
M16A1 rifle - the CAR15.
Secondary Weapon (handgun)
Only units who went through the IDF's CT/HRT school (Unit 707) are issued handguns
and are allowed to carry them.Unlike most Western units, the IDF's units usually
only carry handguns in CT/HRT missions and not as an every day routine. also,
unlike in most western teams, the handgun is carried within the combat vest
worn by each operator, and not strapped to the leg.
Each CT/HRT team member carries a 9 mm Sig Sauer P226 or FN handgun (both the
old High-Power model and newer semi-polymer MK3 model).
Assisting Weapon (shotgun)
Four members of the MES and two members of the CRS will also carry the Benelli
M1/M3 93 tactical 12 gauge shotgun with 14 inch barrel. The shotgun is being
used as an entry breech weapon for blowing doors' pins, and for clearing room
(when no hostages are present).
The MES
The MES members carry M4 outfitted with the Israeli CT/HRT accessories kit.
The kit contains:
The CRS
The CRS members carry a 9 mm IMI Micro Uzi with the same CT/HRT kit but without
the Harris bipod and without the 4X32 Trijicon sight. the micro Uzi is usually
equipped with a Sionics-type sound suppressor.
. 
.
The Snipers Section
In short/medium range scenarios three Snipers 1 will carry the Mauser SR82 Sniper
Weapons System (SWS). the SR86 replaced in 1996-1998 the old Mauser SP66 SWS
that was in service.
In long range scenarios, three Snipers 1 will carry the IDF's standard issue
long range (open field infantry style combat) SWS - the American M24 7.62mm.
the M24 SWS can also be easily switched to fire .300 win. mag. ammunition (ammo)
and there for brining op the SWS maximum effective range to up to 1000 meters,
but since the Israeli sniper is rarely capable of shooting behind 800 meters
this switch is rarely being done. the M24 SWS replaced in 1997-1998 the old
M14 Israeli modified SWS that was in service.
Some units however tend to use more exotic firearms like the semi-auto Heckler
and Koch (HK) PSG1 Marksman's SWS. This superb and very expensive weapon (over
15000$) is only used by the generous budget Takeover units.
Engagement units, however, often use (in extreme long range sniping scenarios)
the American Robar SR60 .300 Win. Mag. SWS Outfitted with custom made MacMillan
fiberglass stock.
The fourth Sniper 1 always carry the Barrett Model 82A1 .50 BMG 'light fifty'
SWS, in both short-medium and in long range sniping scenarios. In theory, the
Barrett should be used for extreme long range shooting (over 1000 meters) as
well as for Hard Target Interdiction (HTI) sniping - meaning shooting through
walls and light Armored Carrying Vehicles (ACV). In practice, the Barrett is
one of the worst sniper rifles around, and is only used for hTI shooting as
a fire suppression weapon, especially since the IDF can't afford the very expensive
.50 match ammo, and use the Barrett with standard, less accurate, machine gun,
armor piercing .50 ammo.
The Snipers 2 (the Targets Spotters) carry the M4 with the Israeli CT/HRT kit,
but instead of Trijicon 4X32 sight they have a weapon mounted laser range finder
device attached to the M4's weapons slide.
Notes:
1. The above mentioned information regarding weapons system and weapons configuration
is the ideal that all the CT/HRT units are striking to achieve. However, due
to the IDF's extreme budgetary problems and the cut down in defense budget (especially
with the Israeli-Arab peace process gaining speed) it is still a distant goal
for most units. The "wealthier" units such as the IDF's Takeover units and several
Engagement units that enjoy the help of civilian money (contributions and donations
by commercial companies sponsors and wealthy unit graduates) have been lucky
enough to make this ideal come true. Other (less fortunate) units need to make
several compromises. For example - most of the M4's and M4A1's around in the
IDF's SF units are not really full fledged M4's that was bought as one
piece from the manufacturer - Colt. In fact, most of these M4's are former CAR15's
(the carbine version of the M16A1), with their original barrels switched from
the old CAR15's 1 to 12 twist barrels (firing the M193 ball ammo), to the M4's
1 to 7 twist heavy barrel (firing the SS109/M855 ammo) with a step down in the
middle for the PI M203 40 mm grenade launcher. not only the entire weapon wasn't
replaced but even most of the original uppers were kept (including the old fashion
rear site), and only the barrels switched. even the CAR15 telescope stock was
hand drilled to compensate for the lack of the M4's (manufacturer made) four
positions stock.
Another compromise is that most units are still stuck with the Elbit Falcon
reflex sight, which the IDF bought in mass numbers in the middle 90's, and can't
switch to the superior Orlite reflex sight due to financial reasons. The Falcon
sight main problems are its low reliability, the need for batteries to activate
the sight, and the fact that red dot that the sight projects is barely seen
in a strong lighted environment. The Orlite sight, however, utilizes state of
the art fiber optic technology (batteries free) to reflect the dot, resulting
in vividly clearer point of aim, even in broad daylight.
The Target Spotters also had to compromise. Because of the relatively high price
of quality weapons mounted laser rangefinder devices, the spotters had to settle
for the standard bigger hand-carried laser rangefinder.
2. Several SF units have special needs for a different weapons set. You can
read about the particular weapons set each unit carries in the unit own dedicated
page. you can find the list of the Israeli SF units' pages in The Israeli Units
Quick Reference Guide Page here. Unless
mentioned otherwise (in each unit's page) the specific unit carries the same
weapons configurations as described above.
3. Because they are working closely with MES and are likely to subjected to
enemy fire, Palgat Terror's personnel are the only assisting unit whose personnel
go through a CT/HRT course. For this reason they are also allowed to carry handguns.
4. All weapons of all sections can be outfitted with suppressors and night vision
sights if needed.
5. detailed information on the Israeli SF sniping (including SWS and the IDF's
sniping school) can be found in the Israeli SF Sniping Page .
Training
The IDF's Takeover units (SM and S'13) do a five weeks advanced CT/HRT course
in Unit 707 and eight more weeks within the unit (with the unit's own instructors).
The YAMAM's entire training period (12 months) is dedicated to CT/HRT. The YAMAM
don't participate in the CT/HRT course in the IDF's Unit 707 but rather has
its own CT/HRT school in which all civilian units train.
Engagement units do a three weeks basic CT/HRT course in Unit 707 and four more
weeks within the Unit (with the Unit's own instructors).
As previously mentioned, because of operational reasons Unit 7149's Palgat Terror
is the only Assisting Unit that does CT/HRT course in Unit 707 and have the
same training as Engagement units do.
Although not consider formally as Engagement, Takeover or Assisting units, most
of the rest of Israeli SF units do (within themselves) extensive CT/HRT training.
This is being done for two reasons: It increases the soldiers' moral and more
importantly, it improves the weapons skills dramatically (especially in short
range/CQB combat).
Even though the civilian Takeover/Engagement units (Unit YAMAM and Unit Nachshon)
as well as all other civilian SF units don't do the army CT/HRT course in Unit
707, they do use Unit 707's unique training installations and simulations. Unit
707 is the only Unit in Israel who have fire ranges, that includes Boeing 707
(airplane), a train and a bus. All Takeover and Engagement Units come to Unit
707 to train on this actual, real life, real size three models, in order to
practice CT and HRT techniques. The three models are located in a remote, hidden
from sight location, in the south-east corner of the Mitkan Adam base fire ranges.
Regarding this models, an old Israeli SF joke says that Unit 707 got its name
from that Boeing 707 it received when it was formed in 1985.
Alert
.
During Peace-Time
Takeover units must have at least two teams on CT/HRT alert at all times.
Engagement units must have at least one team on CT/HRT alert at all times.
Assisting units must have at least one team on CT/HRT Assisting alert at all
times.
When the CT/HRT team is on alert, all 28 members are fully dressed with combat
gear and are able to deploy in under 15 minutes. Each Takeover Unit has two
Sikorsky BlackHawks helicopters attached exclusively to the Unit at all time
(one for each team). The helicopters and their pilots are located in the same
base as the Takeover Unit is, and are ready to take off in minutes notice from
the real-time call.
Unit 5101 also has one helicopter because it is an 'all Israel' capable Unit
and should be the designated Engagement Unit in a complex domestic or foreign
CT/HRT scenario.
Each CT/HRT team when on alert also have four specially modified GMC Vandora
trucks (a.k.a. LOTAR vehicles). Each LOTAR vehicle carries weapons, equipment
and seven warriors. The trucks are being used when helicopter insertion is impossible.
Each Takeover Unit have eight LOTAR trucks, and each Engagement Unit has four
of them (four LOTAR trucks for each team on alert).
In SM and S'13 the teams on alert will usually be D4 and Unit 269, with one
more team in each Unit. This is, by the way, the main disadvantage in belonging
to those Special teams - they have the worst vacations regime in the entire
Israeli SF community.
During War-Time
In war time, the teams on alert are much fewer, because most Takeover and Engagement
units will be deep in enemy territories, performing complicated SF operations
(rather than stay in Israel on CT/HRT alert status). A few teams will still
be on a domestic CT/HRT alert, in order to avoid domestic terrorism acts, as
well as preventing sabotage in military or in industry important bases and installations.
The teams (on war time alert) are: Unit 269, D4, one team from Unit 5101 and
the entire teams in the elite civilian SF units - Nachshon, YAMAM, Gideonim
and YAMAS.
Since SM and S'13 only have one team on war-time CT/HRT alert (instead of two
in peace time), they only need one BlackHawk helicopter each, not two. The two
"extra" helicopters will be transferred (in war-time) to the Nachshon Unit in
order to increase its response time.
Sayeret Egoz and Sayeret Duvedevan special geographical war-time alert
Sayeret Egoz and Sayeret Duvedevan units, that are both Special Mission units
created to confront terrorists in a specific geographical AO (Sayeret Egoz in
south Lebanon and Sayeret Duvedevan in the occupied territories), will not be
on CT/HRT alert during war-time, and instead will do Special limited warfare
missions along the Israeli borders.
Since this two units have always worked in the same zones during peace-time,
they are the best fitted units to operate in those areas in war-time, due to
their invaluable experience and expertise (in this particular regions) that
were gathered over the years.
Sayeret Egoz will do its missions in the South Lebanon front and Sayeret Duvedevan
in the Occupied Territories (as in peace-time). This two units will also do
Hostile Search And Destroy Patrols (HSADP) along the borders, in order to secure
and to seal them tight.
The two units will also perform intelligence gathering and surveillance missions
in their home zones.
Important Note: All of these teams in war-time alert are not to be used in the
actual war and are really the Israeli state last line of defense. If enemy forces
will break into Israel and these teams' (limited) strength won't be enough to
stop the invasion, the next solution is a nuclear one.
