Despite the objection of a number of senior military commanders to women performing combat service in tanks, the IDF is preparing to launch a pilot program in which the job will be opened to a limited number of women who will serve in all-female tank crews. The IDF is also examining ways to integrate women into the ranks of combat engineering equipment operators; as combat soldiers with the Israeli Air Force's elite 669 combat search and rescue unit, into more combat roles in the Artillery Corps, and into service on board the Israeli Navy's new defense ships. Military personnel officials, medical professionals and combat officers consult for and participate in the army's work to more fully integrate women. Meanwhile, a senior IDF commander claimed on Thursday that this past year had seen women dropping out of the mixed-gender Caracal infantry battalion in their third year of service at a high rate. According to the officer, the drop-out stems from the fact that women who volunteer for combat roles are asked to sign on for longer compulsory service so that the length of their enlisted time will be the same as the men's. According to the officer, when the female combat soldiers see their noncombat friends complete their military service, many decide to stop serving in combat. In response to a question from Israel Hayom, the IDF's Personnel Directorate recently held a meeting to examine the issue of women supposedly dropping out of combat service. A Personnel Directorate official said that the army's numbers were not in line with the officer's remarks on Thursday about a "major drop out," and that in the light infantry brigades, such as Caracal, the drop-out rate for women stood at only 5%. IDF statistics also show that until recently, lookouts also dropped out at a high rate. In 2015, 12.5% of lookouts left the job during their service and another 9% left during training. In comparison, 2016 saw only 8% of lookouts drop out during service and 5.7% during training. Following a recent report on Channel 2 about the poor service conditions for lookouts, 35% of the women slated to be trained for the lookout job protested by refusing to leave the IDF's induction base. The IDF explained that until a few months ago, women had also been dropping out of light infantry training at a high rate. In response, the military tried experimenting with some adjustments to training that would accommodate the female soldiers and reduce the number of women who did not complete combat training. Among other steps, women in mixed-gender battalions will receive gender-specific equipment such as lighter helmets, flak jackets designed for women, and shortened M16 rifles. The female soldiers will also no longer be asked to haul heavy weaponry such as heavy machine guns and grenade launchers, which from now on will be transported by vehicles. Meanwhile, the IDF is also preparing to build a border defense school which will serve as a training base for the four mixed-gender light infantry battalions: Caracal, Bardelas, Lions of Jordan, and a fourth that has yet to receive a name. The school will be established at the Sayarim base in the Negev, which is currently home to the combat intelligence training program. At this time, it looks like training at the new school will open this August. The IDF noted that the new training program would offer training that would accommodate female soldiers, including plentiful restroom stalls and designated quarters for women.
