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IDF

In a First, a Woman Completes the IDF’s Elite Sayeret Matkal Course

The IDF announced on Thursday, June 4, that for the first time a woman has graduated from the grueling General Staff Reconnaissance Unit course, known as Sayeret Matkal, and will join operational service in the future. The pilot program opening the unit and other elite formations to women began in December 2024, and the soldier endured more than 18 months of training that pushed her to the limit. The military said she met all of the unit’s exceptionally high criteria.

Her exact placement is still to be determined, since Sayeret Matkal contains different divisions and a range of unique roles that shift from one operation to the next. In recent years women had already entered some elite units, but the few found eligible for Sayeret Matkal training had eventually washed out during the demanding 18-month course. With this milestone, the only remaining IDF unit without women is Shayetet 13, Israel’s naval commando force.

The achievement comes at a moment when the military, stretched after years of war and heavy losses since 2023, has described the integration of every soldier who can serve as the command of the moment. Commanders praised the soldier on what they called a significant and groundbreaking accomplishment, and the high command is weighing whether to expand the effort further. Israel’s premier unit for covert land operations behind enemy lines now counts a woman among those who have met its standard.

(JPost/VFI News)

“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” – Joshua 1:9

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