The warriors raided at dawn, approaching the military base quietly, in silence, setting a ladder quickly - and within a moment they were inside.
Now almost nothing can stop them from harming soldiers, gathering critical intelligence or stealing sophisticated weapons.
Luckily, this time it is the Red Fleet fighters, a special unit whose entire purpose is to examine whether it is possible to infiltrate an IDF military base. Next time, these may be enemy forces.
A few weeks ago, the Red Fleet fighters carried out a large-scale exercise at the Northern Command base in Safed.
Although this is an exercise carried out throughout the State of Israel, the context cannot be ignored - in a future conflict, Hezbollah plans to occupy settlements so that taking over a military base can be a great achievement for it.
In addition, attempts have been made in this area in the past in bases - including on the night of the surfboards, an attack in which a terrorist penetrated using a surfboard and killed six Nahal fighters near the Gibor camp.
Soldiers of the unit during an exercise // Photo: Mika Heichal, IDF Spokesman,
The Red Sailing is unique and special in the IDF landscape. These are only about eight reservists, veterans of special units and combat units with a background in security - including those who held senior positions in the personal security unit - whose goal is one: to teach and train the various bases in Israel to defend themselves optimally In recent years, the voyage has been responsible for the security of the soldiers and a variety of camps in the IDF, including the 8200 bases, the navy, the air force and the reactor in Dimona.
To infiltrate the bases, the Red Cruise uses methods of forgery, fraudulent manipulation, physical intrusion and tactical warfare - all in full coordination with the base commanders.
This is especially critical these days, against the background of the burglary of a Bedouin car thief into a Nabataean base earlier this year, along with attempts to steal ammunition all over Israel.
The IDF understands the problem and therefore set up the camp defense system, with the aim of dramatically improving the bases through infrastructure and advanced means, protection of bunkers and weapons, extensive investment in technologies, and hundreds of inspections of the bases.
Soldiers of the unit during an exercise // Photo: Mika Heichal, IDF Spokesman,
"Boutique Ability"
The idea to set up the company creamed skin and tendons about a decade ago by three people - Nir Solovey, Guy Benita and Captain (Res.) Mickey Weinberg who serves as the company commander.
The three, veteran security and security professionals, realized that as reservists they could contribute to the IDF in the field of camp protection, as they do in civilian life. Weinberg served for about 20 years as a security guard for prime ministers Private in the field of security.As a result, he has vast experience in this field.
"Once upon a time we would come, do an exercise, leave lessons and move on," Weinberg explains. We examine the whole field of combat, seeing the attacker, accompanying the base from the camp commander, through the defense officer to the last of the soldiers. At the end comes the exercise, which is the icing on the cake.
"Our ability is a boutique ability. We do not inspect a camp, but come to it and bring it to a much better situation. We do not come to visit but to improve, to build a response to each unit. The understanding in the IDF is that an event could happen again, in such a configuration Or else, and our goal is to train the soldiers - from the SG to the base commander - for an extreme event. "
Soldiers of the unit during an exercise // Photo: Mika Heichal, IDF Spokesman,
"It's not a matter of 'Wasah'"
The head of the Security Division in the Operations Division, Major Il Raz, explains that the capability provided by the Red Cruise is critical, and that its goal is to complete the range of operations the IDF has carried out at bases in recent years. "Provides units with tools in preparation for camp defense," he says.
"They come to the unit, accompany it for weeks and prepare it for an exercise to raise the level of security. Afterwards, they perform the exercise which involves the use of various means - including dummy weapons, smoke grenades and more - to show soldiers how such a scenario would be carried out. Editing to reflect the nature of the exercise, in the video we provide them.It is important that they understand the threat.It is not a matter of 'Wasah' but to give them the tools in the most authentic way possible.
"The voyage reaches all units in the IDF, including classified units, the Armed Forces, the Air Force and the Navy. All IDF bodies are trained by us, with of course a more strategic and significant camp receiving visits more frequently.
I have been in the security field since 2005, and I do not remember an investment like there has been recently in the security of the camps.
We are in a much safer place than we used to be.
"We are constantly on the pulse, to make sure there is no need to align one line or another. Our job is to be vigilant all the time, with the hand on the pulse, and to see that we do not fall asleep on guard - literally. We understand the threats, deal with them and examine them. "All the time. Our job is to make sure that people are prepared for such an incident."
Soldiers of the unit during an exercise // Photo: Mika Heichal, IDF Spokesman,
"
A man of closing circles"
One of the fighters in the unit is Sergeant Major Yair Vanunu, who serves as a mentor in the party in addition to expertise in the field of attack and as a security consultant. He came to the security world in tragic circumstances. That he must prevent such incidents.
"I experienced the first attack when I was relatively young, in August 1995. I was riding a bus when the attack took place near Ammunition Hill. We were less than a hundred meters from the blast site, seeing the sights in the distance. I ran home, three or four kilometers, like I had never run before."
In this attack, in which a terrorist exploded on a bus passing at the entrance to the Rene Cassin school in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood, five Israelis were killed.
Six years later he served and was tortured as a fighter in the ultra-Orthodox Nahal. On Saturday night, December 2001, he was spending time at Cafe Rimon on Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Street in Jerusalem when a huge explosion was suddenly heard. city center.
I will not detail the sights I saw. "
At the end of his military service, he began working as a security guard on buses in Jerusalem, during a particularly threatening period in which they were a target for suicide bombers.
After that, he worked in the world of security engineering, in Ben Gurion Airport's covert array, personal security and more. A decade ago, when his business partner Mickey Weinberg came up with the idea of establishing the Red Cruise, he joined him as an expert on the issue of validity.
"The idea is to bring the angle of the attacker and how to defend against him. I educate the campers how to act against an attacker. I am a person of closing circles, perhaps because of past traumas, and I want to correct the need for correction. We discovered that the IDF has points to improve in defense. The camps, and now we have the opportunity to repair them.
That's our job. "
Soldiers of the unit during an exercise // Photo: Mika Heichal, IDF Spokesman,