Just before Omer gets out of the car to board a bus that will take him from Afula to the Shizafon Armored Corps base where he serves, his father, Eran, asked him if he remembered to polish his boots. No, this isn't a scene from a film or a TV series – it's part of a series of short films in which Eran Schuster documents his life as the father of an IDF combat soldier in an attempt to reach out to other parents whose children are about to be drafted.

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A few months ago, the IDF launched a social media project called "A Brother Who Knows," in which men and women serving in combat role offered a peek at combat life in tanks, artillery, and infantry, to encourage enlistment in these branches of the ground forces.

Now the IDF has continued the initiative with a project called "A Parent Who Knows," in which parents share their lives as mothers and fathers of men and women in combat roles to help assuage the concern of other parents whose children are beginning their army service.

The parents participating in the project underwent special training in which they learned about social media and content creation. They initiate their own ideas about what to document, whether it's filming them taking a son to the train station or meeting a daughter who comes home on leave.

Galit Cohen, whose son, Re'em, serves in the Duchifat Battalion in the Kfir Brigade, says, "The desire to reach out to other parents and by doing so help them through a challenging time is very satisfying. I'm happy I have the ability to serve as an anchor for other parents, and as a group to influence and help every family we can."

Schuster, whose son is about to finish his basic tank training, said, "I wanted to be part of the team, given the personal challenge of a son enlisting in the IDF … I want to have an effect on other parents who are going through the same process I am."

The person behind both these ideas is head of campaigns in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, Yuval Horowitz.

"This is the first initiative of its kind, and was built especially for parents of young people who are about to be drafted into combat roles," Horowitz explains.

"We concluded that it's not only the youth who need guidance before enlisting – their parents do, as well, since they don't always know how to help their children ahead of the draft. They also need tools, advice, and mentoring at every stage of the draft," he adds.

"Guidance not only on the big things, but also little tips about what to bring to the induction base, how to pack a bag, and mostly to help dispel their fears. The internet is full of information that isn't always correct or accurate, so it was important to us to be there not only for the kids, but also for their parents," he says.

According to Schuster, "It's a great privilege to be part of the team of 'IDF combat parents,' a team that tries to see military service from a parent's perspective. I feel it's really important to share, to interest, and to help parents whose children are about to be drafted understand in the most honest and direct way how to make it through the challenges they will be facing as parents of combat soldiers."

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For the first time in Israeli history, female combat intelligence soldiers have been deployed to the front line on the Lebanon border, which is currently Israel's most volatile one.

The soldiers are tasked with collecting precision intelligence via drones, a new capability for Israel's forces in that sector.

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Until now, the IDF has refrained from sending female soldiers to the Lebanese border. But approximately two months ago, the military decided to open the 869^th combat intelligence battalion, "Shachaf," to an all-female section that specializes in drone intelligence collection.

"We double the forces in the sector. No one in the area knows how to use drones, certainly not at our level, so we are considered forces in high demand," explains Lt. Nurit Rokach, commander of the new section.

An official in the IDF Northern Command confirmed that the drone section was a game-changer for the sector.

"The female soldiers are able to operate the new technologies in an outstanding manner, and we have absolute faith in them," the official said.

Meanwhile, the soldiers and officers know that they have broken a glass ceiling in terms of the public's perception of where women can be deployed, but among themselves, they say there is no difference between them and their male comrades.

"It's not something we think about on a daily basis," Rokach says, adding that "Both male and female combat intelligence soldiers provide the first response in real time, so we need to operate on two levels – to provide the intelligence, and also the first response in the field. No other fighting force has that capability."

The drone section is attached to the Adir Company, which has been operating on the Lebanese border for the past eight months.

Company commander Capt. Barak Choi says that "In the last two months, we've doubled our tools, with new and varied capabilities, including drones."

Choi says that the addition of the female soldiers has not adversely affected operations in any way. "It doesn't carry an operational cost. The opposite – the section meets an operational need."

Sgt. Keren Mor has been serving in this role for a year, and has been with the new section for a few months. She sees her deployment as a mission: "We do everything to become as familiar as we can with the territory and the enemy – and provide the highest-level solution to the demands in the field."

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In January 2019, she announced her intention to enter politics and joined Yesh Atid. When the party joined forces with Gantz's Israel Resilience party to form Blue and White, she was slated 10th on its roster.

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Barbivai had opposed Gantz's decision to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government following the March elections, something that was in breach of one of Blue and White's main campaign promises. The fact that he chose to do so, she told Israel Hayom, hurt his electoral base.

"I was upset by that move. I'm sure he did it thinking it was the best possible move, but I've always thought this was a unity government born in sin; that chances of this becoming a functional government are slim. And it was, of course, a significant violation of our campaign promise."

Q: Do you believe Likud and Blue and White share equal responsibility with respect to how the unity government has been functioning or is Netanyahu solely to blame?

"Blue and white is also responsible for this situation. This is one government with two heads, which fails to produce any kind of effective decision-making process."

The coronavirus crisis and the recession it triggered "mean that now of all times; when we need to have a small and highly efficient government – an effective government that knows how to make decisions - we are saddled with an inflated government that doesn't know how to do that.

"The damage to the public's confidence [in the government] is one of the most severe we have even known," she said.

Q: Where do you think the government failed in managing the coronavirus crisis?

"The most serious thing is the lacking decision-making process and the fact that the public has become somewhat invisible. Who focuses on annexation in Judea and Samaria or on commissions of inquiry against incumbent judges in the middle of the battle against the corona pandemic? Is there anyone who thinks that makes sense?

"I have no doubt that Netanyahu's policies on how to handle the corona crisis are based on political interest and seek to distract [from his legal troubles]. The public has no faith in the leadership. Netanyahu has failed miserably and the public is paying the price."

Q: Do you think this government will live out its days?

"That depends on what suits Netanyahu. The tensions we are seeing between the coalition partners reflect the detachment form the public's needs. You can also see how the knives have been unsheathed in Likud.

"There are good people in the Likud and I'm convinced that they, too, find it difficult to operate under a prime minister that has three indictments pending against him. I'm surprised none of them has left."

Q: How would you rate the opposition's performance? It is functioning?

"The opposition comprises different parties and each one wants to retain its character. Yesh Atid puts up a fight against the government. Things have been turned on their head and we, as the opposition, look out for the public. The coalition is using the tyranny of the majority against the opposition's bills, which serve the public's interest."

Q: Do you think Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid has what it takes to become the prime minister?

"Yes, he does. In the year and a half that we have been working together, he has proven to me and to the other members of the faction that he is determined and that he can create an agenda and pursue it, and lead an excellent group of people. He has the skills to be an excellent prime minister.

"I have no doubt that, given the chance to lead, we would do so immeasurably better than the current government."

Q: You were recently named head of the Subcommittee for Personnel in the IDF under the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. This gives you the opportunity to scrutinized personnel issues in the military.

"Absolutely, the challenges the IDF faces in terms of personnel are vast. They include questions like how to keep the best people in the military, the ramification of cutting mandatory service short, how we make sure our reserves are always at the top of their game, and many more. The chief of staff also understands that one of the most important issues today is personnel."

Q: How is the IDF in 2020 different from the one you joined in 1981?

"Well, 30-40 years ago, over 80% of the disciplines in the military were off-limits for women. Today, the main obstacle holding back women who rank as captains and lieutenants colonel is that they are told that they haven't held a series of positions that are basically only open to men. The fact that I followed the same [military] path as men in similar positions made it possible for me to be promoted to head of the Personnel Directorate."

Q: Is it time for the IDF to open all roles to women?

"Of course. I think the primary mission the IDF must deal with is making all disciplines and positions open to women. I think that Chief of Staff [Lt. Get. Aviv Kochavi] should lead the initiative on that. Combat and operational units have roles that exclude women and there's no reason in the world not to change that."

Q: How many women evade conscription by declaring that they are religious, thus getting an exemption form service?   

"Currently, 44% of women don't serve in the IDF, compared to 31% of the men. But public discourse only focuses on the men who don't join the IDF.

"The data clearly shows an increase in the number of women who declare they are religious to get an exemption from service. On the other hand, there is an increase in the number of national-religious women who do enlist and pursue a meaningful service in a variety of roles."

 Q: Do you think we will see a woman named Israeli Air Force or Navy commander? Will we one day have a female chief of staff?

"We'll have a female IAF or navy commander before we'll have a female chief of staff for the simple reason that we already have female pilots in the air force and female battleship commanders in the navy.

"For a woman to become the IDF chief of staff she'll have to work her way up. Once we see that she could make it all the way to the chief of staff's office."

Q: Is politics a temporary post for you or do you plan on a long political career?

"I came to the Knesset to stay and make an impact. My fellow Yesh Atid MKs and are the last gatekeepers standing.

"I feel that I have a personal responsibility to be part of the group that safeguards the Knesset, whose position is being steadily eroded. Our role has never been as important and we need to be at the decision-making junctures and acts in the public's interest."

Barbivai, 57, was born in Ramla, in central Israel, and grew up in the northern town of Afula. Her father immigrated from Romania and her mother from Iraq. She is the eldest of six siblings, and once a week she visits her mother and the rest of the family in Afula.

"I grew up in the periphery, and when I visit Afula I can see up close the differences between central Israel and the periphery. There is no reason to perpetuate these gaps and I am fighting to reduce them. There is a lot to do in this area in terms of healthcare, education and caring for the elderly," she says.

When asked what made her not only pursue a military career but one in which she made history with her 2011 promotion to the rank of major general, Barbivai said, "When I enlisted in the IDF a whole new world opened up for me. I was the first one in my family to join the military. I've always loved interacting with people, so I gravitated toward the Personnel Directorate – I was really interested in the field of human resources.

"Ten months after enlisting I was an officer. I felt that the military gave me an unlimited opportunity to pursue something I'm good at and things took off from there.

"I didn't necessarily have a career path in mind – one promotion always followed another. I never aspired to get to the top but I did feel that I was given the opportunity to express my skills and that no one and nothing was holding me back.

"I always knew that if I focused on the mission at hand and execute it to the best of my ability, it will be enough to shine through."

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Backup forces who were scrambled to the scene shot and killed the terrorist.

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The Aug. 1 incident began when IDF troops spotted a suspicious figure approaching the border fence in southern Gaza. After the security system alerted the military, forces were deployed to the area where the terrorist was spotted and put on high alert. After the suspect breached the fence and crossed into Israel, he opened fire at the Israeli troops. Backup contingents who arrived at the scene returned fire, killing the suspect.

The terrorist wounded an IDF commander lightly to moderately, and two soldiers lightly. All three were evacuated to a hospital for treatment and then released. The IDF launched a probe into the event.

According to the findings from the probe, some of the forces involved in the incident had acted appropriately, while one contingent had not. The probe determined that the commander of the first platoon who arrived at the scene, as well as his deputy and his soldiers, attempted to confront the terrorist. However, the probe discovered that another force scrambled to the scene of the incident, commanded by a sergeant, and kept their distance.

After the probe was complete, commander of the IDF's Golani Brigade, Col. Shai Klapper, decided to remove the sergeant and two soldiers who had not acted according to operational protocol. Commander of the Southern Brigade, Col. Liron Batito, decided to remove the patrol driver from duty.

The IDF issued a statement that "any operational incident in the IDF is thoroughly examined in order to learn from it, and that is what was done in this incident."

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The dispute is set to become even more intense in light of the NIS 50 billion ($14 billion) government deficit. Agreeing on a defense budget creates the basis for the Israel Defense Forces' multiyear work plan, which spells out exactly what the military should acquire, in what ways it should develop and adapt to changing circumstances, and how it can bolster its air, land, and sea capabilities.

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This year marks the final and fifth year of the IDF's current multiyear program, dubbed "Gideon." The plan was the first long-term scheme in many years that proved successful. Before it was put in motion in 2015, unstable governments and fights between ministries torpedoed long-term funding for previous programs. The IDF's ability to prepare itself for war and build itself up suffered as a result.

Brig. Gen. (Res.) Dr. Sasson Hadad, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, was a previous financial adviser to the IDF chief of staff and head of the Defense Ministry's Budget Division. He took an active part in formulating the Defense Ministry's multiyear budget.

Asked about how disruptive the current political situation in Israel is to the IDF's ability to formulate the next multiyear program, Hadad said that "the disruption can be major. The IDF does not work without a multiyear work plan. Most of its projects are lengthy and are set ahead of time."

Without a coordinated plan, the IDF's force buildup would resemble "an orchestra" in which "everyone does what they want, and the noise is terrible," he said.

With Gideon coming to an end, the fact that there is no government to pass the next budget will cause substantial delays, he warned.

As a result, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi has begun preparing the next program without budgetary backing.

This creates "gaps that can't always be bridged," Hadad said, noting that before the Gideon plan, three former multiyear plans fell by the wayside because of a lack of government planning.

"In the first year, we should be running at full speed [to implement the multiyear plan]. Stalling causes plans to lose momentum."

In addition, differences of opinion exist between Netanyahu and Kochavi over what areas should be prioritized in the next IDF work plan.

Hadad highlighted a number of issues that the next Israeli prime minister and military will have to agree on after a new coalition comes to power following the second round of elections, set for Sept. 17.

The first is the actual scope of the budget, he said, which will determine just how the IDF will develop in the coming years.

Netanyahu has asked for the next budget to be 6% of the gross domestic budget, "significantly bigger than it is now, but the Finance Ministry completely opposes this," said Hadad. "From my experience, the most important thing is that there will be a clear budget framework. Otherwise, there will endless arguments. Both ministries know how to fight with one another very well. We should set up the budget context and move forward. This is what we tried to do with Gideon, and it worked fairly well. There was still some friction, but mostly behind closed doors."

In addition, differences of opinion exist between Kochavi and Netanyahu over how the IDF should build itself up.

"Missiles versus the ground forces; submarines vs the air force; drones vs planes – these issues have been publicly discussed. If another prime minister other than Netanyahu comes to power, such as [Blue and White leader Benny] Gantz, there may be less friction over these issues," said Hadad.

The next multiyear plan, dubbed "Tnufa" (Hebrew for "momentum"), will also have to tackle the need to improve deterrence, according to Hadad, against enemies near and far. This includes the terrorist groups in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, and Iran as well as factoring in states that are today friendly but could suddenly undergo revolutions and be led by hostile elements.

"The force buildup of these states is huge. They are importing not only American technology, where Israel has been assured an edge but also Chinese technology, such as missiles," noted Hadad.

In addition, the fact that the potential for conflict with Iran has risen substantially over the past year – after the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and Tehran threatened to restart its nuclear program – will have a significant impact on the next budget and program, Hadad said.

The arrival of accurate missiles in the region and cyberwarfare will also play important roles in shaping the work plan.

'Everything costs money when it comes to defense'

Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yaakov Nagel, former head of the National Security Council, said that Gideon focused on building strong ground forces capable of conducting maneuvers in the depth of enemy territory. Nevertheless, he said, there was still a massive investment in the Israeli Air Force and intelligence.

"This is the concept, and it will cost money," he said. "Everything costs money when it comes to defense."

The next multiyear plan will need to address the fact that modern warfare is moving toward the "empty battlefield" trend, in which combatants remain out of sight and those who are too visible are destroyed.

"We need to prepare for changes in the battlefield," he said. "This includes robotics and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, although we are still dealing with asymmetric threats, we have to be able to deal with all types of threats, including a classic war."

The IDF must retain its ability to deal with state militaries, as well as current semi-states and terrorist organization adversaries, he argued.

Since taking up his position in January 2015, Kochavi has appointed a number of teams to work on ways for the IDF to up its force in the coming decade.

Nagel expressed hope that the political instability in Israel will be short-lived. "Gideon was held up because there was an alignment of interests," he said.

Once a new government takes shape, it will "take a lot of time" to pass the next multiyear work plan, said Nagel. "There is involvement in drawing it up by the National Security Council, the IDF, the Shin Bet [security agency], and the Mossad [intelligence agency]. Then there are lengthy cabinet sessions. And then there is approval."

 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Even the slightest error in the type of mission M. and his comrades carry out can exact the ultimate price, which is why the members of the IDF's special forces units undergo a grueling series of physical and psychological evaluations before they are selected for their roles.

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The Israel Defense Force includes four elite special forces units: Sayeret Matkal, the deep reconnaissance and counterterrorism unit; the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit; the Shaldag air force commando unit; and Unit 669, the heliborne search, rescue and extraction unit.

Several special ground forces units operate alongside these four, namely, Duvdevan, which specializes in undercover urban warfare operations; Maglan, which specializes in operations deep behind enemy lines; Egoz, whose missions involve counter-guerrilla warfare; Rimon, whose forte is desert warfare; and Shayetet 7, the navy's submarine fleet.

For the most part, the IDF's special forces operate as part of the "campaign between the wars," a strategic concept that encompasses a host of covert and low-intensity military and intelligence efforts seeking to prevent enemy states and terrorist organizations from becoming stronger and thwarting their offensive activity.

The majority of the units' operations are clandestine and the public remains oblivious to their specifics. Moreover, given the unique character of their personnel and the unusual nature of their missions, it sometimes seems as if these units are removed from the IDF's regular forces.

Given the sensitive nature of their operations, the identity of the members of the IDF's special forces units is also a closely guarded secret. But what is it that makes them volunteer for such a highly dangerous service, which time and again places them in extreme situations that demand they achieve the impossible?

The makings of an elite fighter

"The IDF's special forces units are very different from one another," explains Col. Dr. Ariel Ben-Yehuda, head of the IDF Medical Corps Mental Health Division.

"A company commander in one of the elite units needs a different set of skills than, for example, a member of the military's bomb disposal unit. Different people seek different roles, and special forces have a great variety of missions, so while they are a cut above the rest, with the exception of high motivation, perseverance, and a strong sense of affinity with the mission at hand, you can't say they are all cut from the same cloth."

Ben-Yehuda, an expert psychiatrist and a former physician with Duvdevan, says the members of the urban warfare unit possess highly personal and professional aptitudes, "but most of all, they exhibit the ability to easily adapt to different situations, which is vital in their line of work."

A good way to get a glimpse into what makes these elite fighters tick is to look at the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force, the Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, which is regarded as the best commando unit in the world.

With a long list of successful missions under its belt, it is no wonder that the unit's SEAL Team Six was chosen to lead Operation Neptune Spear – that led to the 2011 elimination of Osama bin Laden, the founder of the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaida, which carried out the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, who teamed up with a Navy SEALs' clinical psychologist, have identified several common traits among its members, chief among them are mental resilience, meaning the ability to cope with and adapt to stress and crisis situations.

The study, conducted among 139 Navy SEALs ages 20 to 45, found that the more experienced the commandos, the more conscientious, hardworking, responsible and mission-oriented they were. They were also found to be less neurotic and less extroverted in their behavior, but more jaded, cynical, and socially abrasive under certain circumstances.

Given the demands these units pose, "a special forces fighter who doesn't have a positive view of life in general and of the mission in particular, and who can't think outside the box under stressful conditions, is highly unlikely to make it," a senior special forces officer told Israel Hayom.

Ben-Yehuda agrees, adding, "Team spirit and resilience is the strongest thing they have. In special forces units, the team is the smallest and most cohesive part, a family that is fostered throughout the service, during training and afterward."

Much of this resilience lies with the theory of "the private as a strategist."

"This type of fighter can make a decision that has strategic implications, sometimes in real-time and under stressful circumstances, due to the complexity of the situation and the quality of the objectives," Ben-Yehuda explains. "Special forces units train their fighters to make such decisions, which in turn develop the individual's abilities."

Captain A., a former Duvdevan fighter, who currently serves as a mental health officer with the Commando Brigade, the contingent under which Maglan, Duvdevan, Egoz, and Rimon operate, noted that "this is an important ability for the fighters to have. We examine it in training for the various warfare specialties, as it helps fighters deal with complex situations."

The ability to "fly solo," so to speak, is doubly important when it comes to airborne missions, as is the case for Unit 669, which leads all airborne search, rescue and extraction missions.

"Handling unexpected events and situations is at the heart of our operations and our fighters must find something to ground them in the midst of all the uncertainty," Captain D. of Unit 669 explains.

"There's a tremendous difference between an operation that fighters know is expected to end at a certain point and one in which you have no information – will it take place, when and for how long. Unit 669 deals with a wide array of scenarios, like water, rope work, working with helicopters, and warfare," he continued. "We can carry out a civilian extraction, such as the incident at Tzafit River, with no military aspect to it, and then turn around and extract troops under enemy fire. For this reason, our fighters must have an extensive set of skills and the ability to adapt to uncertain conditions, which are traits we hone during their training."

The human psyche is not a fan of uncertainty, "which is why the selection and training process is lengthy, as is the process of preparing for specific missions," Ben-Yehuda said. "The value of extensive preparations lies with the fact that they promote elite fighters' mental well-being and resilience, which also helps prevent a host of other issues."

The X factor

The fighters' mental resilience is just as critical, if not more, when it comes to the military's most expensive instrument of war – the submarine fleet.

The members of the Israeli submarine fleet face a unique challenge: not only are they required to serve in a confined environment, they do so away from Israel's borders, where they must gather vital intelligence, assist other forces and if need be, mount offensive maneuvers.

"The social aspect is very important to us. We want team members to possess mental resilience, reliability, and precision," explains Major D., a physician in Shayetet 7.

"We're constantly preparing for scenarios of uncertainty, even in our medical training. You don't just learn how to carry out a task in a routine way; you constantly look for other angles."

The unique aspects of submarine service make teamwork even more important, D. said, noting that submarine teams "form dramatic friendships. The fact that a fighter lives in a small space with the same group of people for a long period of time and under stressful conditions is a very special thing."

A recent study by Professor Shaul Kimhi, of the Academic and Technology College of Tel-Hai, tried to delve into how fighters cope with the extreme conditions posed by submarine service. It found that, for example, submarine crews are characterized by positive thinking, optimism and a sense of humor, as well as with a certain degree of cynicism, which appears necessary to maintain their sanity under extreme conditions.

The study also found that submarine crews are driven by a sense of commitment to their mission, high standards, and discipline, and that the social dynamics in submarines is characterized by the desire to avoid conflicts and maintain a positive atmosphere as well as social cohesion in an effort to deal with being away from their family and friends for extended periods of time.

The study also found that the crews perceive the submarine as a dangerous place, but manage to diminish the sense of danger by developing confidence in the vessel's technological capabilities, as well as in their own ability to control potential dangers.

"Mental strength is developed proactively and stems from a profound sense of competence," a military behavioral psychologist explains, "and this mental strength is probably the X factor – the ability to function optimally and complete the mission regardless of what's going on around you – that sets the best of the best apart from everyone else."

Improving fighters' mental resilience is the work of a relatively new branch in the IDF, established in late 2017. The Mental Fitness Branch aims, as indicative from its name, to make soldiers more emotionally immune to extreme stress-related syndromes like post-traumatic stress disorder, by using a special battery of mental resilience exercises that are uniquely adapted for every unit.

"There are many types of pressures and there is a scientific method of evaluating the correct course of action for dealing with each one. They key factor here is gradual exposure: mental strength must be fostered gradually, otherwise, you can inflict damage. It's not for nothing that the most grueling part of the training, such as training soldiers what to do in case they are captured by the enemy, is held at the end of the training process," Major A. said.

According to Ben-Yehuda, this type of special training has been proven to foster lower rates of PTSD among special forces members, "but despite their training and the highly cohesive units in which they serve, we must remember that no one is immune to battle fatigue, not even the best fighters in the world."

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IDF head nurse Lt. Col. Oshrat Gozlan told JNS in an interview that some 200 nurses currently serve in the military, but that unlike in the past, a growing number of them are stationed in the field, alongside combat soldiers.

"In the past, you saw them mainly away from the front, in first aid clinics or in the unit that accompanies hospitalized soldiers. Now, there is a trend involving growing numbers of nurses who are bolstering the medical chain in the field," Gozlan said.

The pilot program was launched in 2018, with the aim of making nurses more available to combat soldiers, she explained.

"In the IDF, we have doctors and medics, but where is the nurse component? Now, they are serving alongside doctors, much like in civilian health care systems all over the world. In the past, we got used to having doctors and medics in the military, but nurses have very broad medical knowledge."

In addition to their unique know-how, nurses bring with them the essential quality of empathy, a desire to listen, a willingness to address the distress of patients – qualities that make their presence a medical-force multiplier in combat units.

"We wanted to bring this heart to the battalions," said Gozlan. "In the IDF, the nurses also have greater authority to provide treatment than their civilian counterparts."

The end result, she said, is a "very significant improvement in the medical service within the battalion framework, which did not previously exist."

In the coming years, all IDF field battalions will have their own attached nurses.

Soldiers who feel unwell will find nurses waiting at their bases, even if doctors are away dealing with other incidents. The nurses will be able to conduct initial medical assessments, classify soldiers' conditions and "raise a [warning] flag if they need urgent intervention," a response Gozlan said was better suited to soldiers' needs.

In addition to the dramatic change to the IDF's battalions, this year, the Medical Corps also began increasing the number of soldier-students who train as nurses before joining the military.

Unlike in the civilian world, where the large majority of nurses are female, student IDF nurses include 40% male recruits, Gozlan noted. "They want field experience and the military experience, but they're also looking for an opportunity to treat others. For those who want roles away from the field, we can cater to their wishes, too."

After studying for three years, the recruits receive a bachelor's degree in nursing and then serve four-and-a-half years in the military. Most student soldiers serve six years of professional service after completing their studies – a year-and-half more than the IDF's nurses.

"This is an attractive path. The IDF pays for their academic studies and their university residences. It has them do their mandatory service in their profession but shortens their service by a year-and-a-half. They gain operational experience, and then they head to the civilian health care system with knowledge and experience," Gozlan explained. "They're coming from a very strong position, from which it is easy for them to find employment in the civilian system."

In light of Israel's nationwide nursing shortage, this path will also prove vital for the civilian world, she said.

"We shortened their service so they can help the national health care system," Gozlan said.

Since October 2018, the number of IDF nurses has increased significantly. This year, 56 military nurses entered service, compared to the 25 that served in previous years.

Later this year, the Medical Corps plans to increase the number to over 70. "That is three times what we began with back in 2012," Gozlan said, adding this would allow the IDF to help compensate for the shortage of nurses in the civilian sphere.

Gozlan also noted that over the last two years, Jews from the Diaspora have been opting to join the IDF as nurses at an increasing rate.

"This is not something we've seen in the past," she said.

'Saving lives is deeply rooted in our ethics'

Gozlan, who took up her role as the IDF's head nurse in 2017, enlisted in the military 20 years ago and has held a range of medical, command and administrative roles.

She said one of her most moving moments occurred during an awards ceremony held in early May by the Israel National Nurses' Association Ethics Bureau, which honored IDF nurses for their work tending to the wounded in Syria's civil war.

"Beyond our routine role, nurses also have a role to play in emergencies," she said. "In the military, they know they must be available and that at any time, they can get a phone call and head out on a mission with an unknown duration. They could be deployed in Israel or abroad, like on a humanitarian mission for earthquakes.

"The nurses leave their families behind, they leave their children behind. They pack a bag and head out. They don't always know where they are going. In my eyes, this is a very significant and deep commitment in terms of values. The value of saving lives is deeply rooted in our ethics," she said.

"This is what happened with the patients from Syria. Over the past five years, as the Syrian war raged, the State of Israel made the decision to save lives regardless of whether they come from an enemy state," she said. In line with that decision, the IDF set up a field hospital near the Syrian border, and wounded Syrian civilians began arriving there in large numbers.

"I don't know how they arrived at the border. On pickup trucks, on the backs of people who carried them – they made it. They received medical treatment. Otherwise, they would have bled to death on their own soil in Syria. Intensive-care-unit nurses received them and treated them in operating rooms in a dangerous area that sometimes came under fire," Gozlan recalled.

The IDF nurses were awarded a special citation for their work.

Gozlan said the audience, comprised mainly of senior nurses and male nurses in the national civilian medical system, was "proud to see professionals in their sectors undertake such ethical, professional work," she said.

"It doesn't matter what situation we are in," she said. "Whether on the battlefield, a stretcher, or bedside, we are there."

This article is reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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