Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, commander of the IDF Ground Forces, presented the Golani Brigade training base last week with the 2012 award for excellence in the field of combat fitness for brigade training bases and camps.

The Golani Brigade received the award both for its high performance and initiation of a number of new projects. One of the projects is a successful strength training program that focuses on building core muscles. It was developed at the Wingate Institute in cooperation with medical professionals and the army combat fitness department. A set of exercises was designed to prepare the body to bear the heavy burden on soldiers during different campaigns and longer operations in their combat service.

Commander of the Golani Brigade training base Lt. Col. Avinoam Stolovitz said, "I am happy about receiving this award, which is the result of hard work on the training base not only from this year, but from last year as well. Now, we need to focus on how we can raise the standard even further."