A historic breakthrough in the Israeli Air Force and a dramatic round of appointments at the top of the IDF took place Monday during a meeting led by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, where a series of senior military appointments were decided. At the center of the decisions, Col. G., the commander of Ovda Airbase, will be promoted to the rank of brigadier general and appointed as the IDF air attaché in Washington.
Upon receiving the appointment and rank, Col. G. will make history and become the first female aircrew member – a graduate of the pilot training course – to receive the rank of brigadier general in the IAF. All the new appointments in the staffing round are now subject to the official approval of Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The IAF trailblazer
Col. G. was the first woman in IDF history to be appointed commander of an operational squadron in the IAF when she commanded the 122nd Squadron – also known as the Nachshon Squadron – which is the intelligence and surveillance squadron of the IAF.
Officials familiar with the details in the IAF now estimate that the day is not far off when a woman will also be appointed commander of a fighter squadron in the IAF. The breakthrough of Col. G. comes against the backdrop of the recent pilot training course that concluded recently, in which two additional women completed their training as combat officers.
However, approximately 30 years after the landmark Alice Miller case in the High Court of Justice, which paved the way for women to apply for a pilot course, the percentage of women enlisting in and completing the demanding pilot training course remains very low.
