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Bahad 16 (lit: Education Base 16) is a training base (Bahad) belonging to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Located in the Tzrifin container base, it is the training base and a base of operations for the IDF Home Front Command Search and Rescue (SAR) unit. Because it is the only SAR training base, Bahad 16 is synonymous with the SAR unit itself.
Contents
This unit should not be confused with Unit 669. Bahad 16 is a domestic search and rescue unit, primarily operating in times of natural disasters, while Unit 669 is the Israeli Air Force's Tactical Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) unit that operates behind enemy lines.
History
IDF Home Front Command Search and Rescue unit was a re-organization of HaGaHa, the Israeli civil defense force. It was created in February 1992 following the Gulf War, which, as the most threatening war to Israel's homeland since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, led to a perceived need for more security beyond the border.
Purpose
The SAR unit serves as a ready unit for natural disasters (such as earthquakes and floods), for civil disasters (such as the Versailles wedding hall disaster), and for response to deliberate military or para-military attacks (such as with Katyusha, Grad or Scud rockets or with IEDs).
During Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, four-man teams from the unit were attached to infantry units in Jenin and Ramallah. There, teams facilitated troop movement by breaking openings in walls between houses (known as mouse-holing/Rhizome Manoeuvre).
Operations
Since its formation, the unit has operated both in Israel and abroad, including in Greece, Turkey, Haiti, and Buenos Aires.