The discussion in the IDF regarding the integration of fighters in the various units continues in full force, while at the same time a similar discussion is held on social networks. And there are those who believe that all positions in the IDF should be open to women, and those will be chosen for them according to their ability and not their gender.
But there seems to be one population that is unmoved by the public and principled debate - and that is the female soldiers themselves, who determine the daily work of IDF combat units. Including in Operation Wall Guard: "Enter the battlefield?
There is no situation where I stay outside, there is no such thing. "Every day, the female soldiers, some of them combatants and some of them support combat, work shoulder to shoulder with the fighters. Sometimes they are the only women in the company,
Ophir on the tank, Photo: IDF Spokesman
Ophir in the turret, Photo: IDF Spokesman
"My name is Ofir, I am 20 years old and I live in Barkan. I enlisted in the Technology and Maintenance Corps, and after my training and the course, I was assigned to the 53rd Battalion," says Ofir. Ofir's service in the last two years, as well as in the coming year in permanent service, is the repair of the sophisticated technologies in the tanks, as part of the technical squad. The technical squads routinely work on repairing the tanks, on their various components, on the tank surfaces in the bases or in the training areas, but in time of war they go deep into enemy territory and repair the tools even under fire. Thus, in the Second Lebanon War the men of the technical squad went in to repair the tank cannon of the writer of these lines, and handled the vessel under fire, literally.
"I was the first daughter to come to a company of warriors, and there was no doubt a bit of a shock at first, but little by little we began to understand the pluses involved - for example order and organization and a different point of view." The fighters of the 53rd Battalion in the Golan Heights are currently undergoing intensive training, after seven months on the Gaza Strip border, including in Operation Wall Guard. "We worked hard there, under fire, days and nights. It was definitely challenging," says Ofir. "There is no doubt that our work is hard, but we are not afraid of hard work. A little rain, a little mud, but everything is fine."
In Operation Wall Guard, the IDF began preparations for a possible entry into the Gaza Strip, which did not happen in the end, but unfortunately for Ofir, this was not possible for her because the proper integration orders forbid a single female soldier to enter the enemy territory with an anti-tank vehicle. "I am defined as a fighter in rifle 03 and I have the option to cross the border, and if there was an entrance and there was another fighter or officer I would enter. I would like to enter, unequivocally. "Outside - there is no such thing. At some point I was allowed to go home during the operation and I refused, I said there was no way the fighters would go through without me. I stay with them."
Sgt. Daniel Hatan, a company medic (9th Battalion) in the 9th Battalion Brigade, is not deterred by the thought of entering the battle, and is even pleased that she received an upgrade, compared to the beginning of her service in the Combat Collection Corps. "Borders, but I realized that it was less suitable for me to conduct myself there, so I asked to change position. ".
Daniel next to a tank, Photo: IDF Spokesman
Daniel Groom in practice, Photo: IDF Spokesman
Groom currently serves as a member of the Administrative Assistance Company, which supplies the logistical envelope to an armored battalion. Girls who are very suited to serve as warriors and who are all abilities, which is blessed.
Indeed, I think it should not come at the expense of professionalism - one should examine and see if the appropriate character of any fighter is appropriate, because after all it is a battalion full of boys.
I do believe that there are girls who can do the job like the boys and even better. "
A groom has been in the battalion for a year and a half, of which about three months in her current position, and she has already seen the tanks' capabilities in operation.
"For the first time it's crazy to see the tools working in full coordination. It's exciting even today to pass by the tank surface and see the tools."
The challenge for her is not necessarily her destiny in time of war, but rather in routine.
"I got to carry a few tankers on a stretcher, and it's not an easy experience, but the abrasive thing about the job is the practice of routine medicine. I do not regret the way I did, I had experiences I would not have experienced anywhere else, and I definitely recommend girls to follow."
Corporal Hadar Simhon, 19, from Meitar, who serves as a fighter in the rocket formation in the 334th Artillery Regiment, does not regret for a moment the position she was given. "At first I wanted special units and I did not hear about the rocket formation. Shell areas the size of a football field and help defeat the enemy unequivocally and significantly. "It's a completely insane tool with tremendous power," she says.
Hadar Simhon on the rocket, Photo: IDF Spokesman
These days, the fighters of the Artillery Regiment, and Hadar among them, are training in the Golan Heights.
"We practice on the tools - long journeys, skips. Simulating everything that is supposed to happen in a war."
She says the boys and girls do the same roles.
"The advantage of MLRS is that you don't have to lift the shells, so the equality is noticeable - everyone does the same thing," Hadar concludes.
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