Active 2000–today Branch GOC Army Headquarters Part of Israel Defense Forces | Country Israel Type Combat Intelligence | |
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Role Reconnaissance and intelligence gathering close to and behind enemy lines |
The Israeli Combat Intelligence Collection Corps is the newest of the IDF GOC Army Headquarters' five corps, created in April 2000 and tasked with collecting combat intelligence. It is responsible for intelligence units from the battalion level and up to the entire force. Due to the need for collecting combat intelligence and in maintaining observation networks, it is in the midst of expansion.
Contents
Structure
The corps consists of the following units:
Training
Two weeks after drafting the training commanders decide where each soldier will serve (either Special Forces or Mounted Forces) based upon the psychological, physical, and motivational state of the soldier.
History
In 1993, the Yahmam (abbreviation for Target Field Intelligence) unit, also known as the Nitzan Commando, was created. The unit was designated to provide intelligence in real time and sighting enemy targets. It was appended to the Artillery Corps and its soldiers wore black berets, even though they were under the direct command of the General Staff. During the 1982–2000 South Lebanon Conflict, it operated as an elite outfit tasked with collecting combat intelligence. After the February 4, 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster, in which the unit lost two men out of a total of 73 killed, the Supreme Court of Israel instructed to reveal their names, and consequently, the unit's existence was revealed to the public.
The unit was created as a corps in April 2000, under Amnon Sufrin. In late 2008, the GOC Army Headquarters decided to rename it to the "Combat Intelligence Collection Corps" from "Field Intelligence Corps", to emphasize its combat nature and to dissociate itself from the military intelligence directorate to which it was previously professionally subordinate to. The name was changed in November 2009. Additionally, the corps' beret color was changed from dark green (which is associated with military intelligence) to yellow.
Chief Combat Intelligence Officer
The Chief Combat Intelligence Officer is a Brigadier General appointed by the head of the GOC Army Headquarters. As of 2009, the Chief Combat Intelligence Officer is Eli Pollack.