The first woman has been appointed to the position of deputy squad commander for an Israeli Air Force squadron of unmanned aircraft at the Palmachim Air Force Base. In a special interview with Israel Hayom to mark International Women's Day, Capt. Bar, 26, whose full name cannot be published for security reasons, said: "Women can do anything men can do, and even do it better." Bar began her military service in the IAF pilots course, but after a year and a half was dropped and reassigned to the air force's drones. After a six-month course, she was assigned to work as a junior Shoval drone operator. Over the years, Bar was promoted to successive command posts and trained as a senior drone operator. Eventually, she was transferred to a position at the IAF's operational headquarters. Two months ago, she was informed that this coming summer, she would be appointed second in command of a drone squadron. "There are a number of women among us, a few more than in the pilots course," Bar said. "I think that it was just by chance that only now was a woman appointed deputy squadron commander, because they needed a woman who wanted a military career and whom the army wanted to have a military career. Up until now, there was no one like that." Asked why she wanted a military career, Bar answered, "From where I am now, it's the most interesting and challenging thing I could do with my life. A lot of people my age feel that they're done with security and aircraft. But I think that what I do is important, and it also makes me feel good, so I decided to stay. "Society sees a woman aspiring to a military career as something weird and unusual. There are girls who think it's too demanding -- it's a societal standard. But there are girls who are also lawyers or who work in high-tech, where the work is no less intensive than it is in the army. Army work is demanding, but if it's something you think is important enough, it's worth the demands." Bar is engaged to a major who also serves as a commander of unmanned aircraft. "We met in the squadron. It hasn't been a problem over the years. There were a lot of jokes about us, but the operators and the commanders accepted it with love. But because we're both on the command track, it wasn't right for us to serve in the same squadron, which was one of the reasons I was assigned to a different squadron. It's healthier this way," she said. When she received the news of her latest promotion, Bar says she "didn't think I was the first woman to hold that position. I just saw it as something I wanted to do. Only a few days later the base commander told me I would be the first woman. "Throughout my service, I've never felt different because I was a woman. It's important to me to tell women, especially those who are being drafted, not to be afraid of the thing called 'the army.' The army knows how to give women what they need, at least that's what I felt. It's important to me that women in the army will aim as high as possible and not just think about how to finish [their service.]"
