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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Israel
Index
Figure 15. Ranks and Insignia of the Israeli Defense Forces, 1988
Three basic commissioned officer ranks existed in the IDF:
commander of tens (segen); commander of hundreds
(seren); and commander of thousands (aluf). All other
ranks were variations of these, with prefixes and suffixes to
indicate relative seniority. Thus, a lieutenant general was
rav aluf, a major general was aluf, a
brigadier general was tat aluf, and a colonel was aluf
mishne. A captain was seren and a major was rav
seren. Rank titles were the same for the ground forces, the
navy, and the air force. The rank of lieutenant general was held by
only one officer serving on active duty, the chief of staff. Major
generals included each of the three area commanders, the commander
of the ground corps, the chiefs of the five branches of the general
staff, and the commanders of the navy and air force.
United States equivalents for enlisted ranks were less exact
than for officers. The three senior NCO grades were often equated
to warrant officer rank; status and function were much alike. The
lowest career NCO rank was sergeant (samal).
For ground forces' officers, rank insignia were brass on a red
background; for the air force, silver on a blue background; and for
the navy, the standard gold worn on the sleeve. Officer insignia
were worn on epaulets on top of both shoulders. Insignia
distinctive to each service were worn on the cap
(see
fig. 15).
Enlisted grades wore rank insignia on the sleeve, halfway
between the shoulder and the elbow. For the army and air force, the
insignia were white with blue interwoven threads backed with the
appropriate corps color. Navy personnel wore gold-colored rank
insignia sewn on navy blue material.
The service uniform for all ground forces personnel was olive
green; navy and air force uniforms were beige. The uniforms
consisted of shirt, trousers, sweater, jacket or blouse, and shoes.
The navy had an all white dress uniform. Green fatigues were the
same for winter and summer. Heavy winter gear was issued as needed.
Women's dress paralleled that of men but consisted of a skirt a
blouse, and a garrison cap. Headgear included a service cap for
dress and semi-dress and a field cap worn with fatigues. Army and
air force personnel also had berets, usually worn in lieu of the
service cap. The color of the air force beret was blue-gray; for
armored corps, mechanized infantry, and artillery personnel, it was
black; for infantry, olive drab; for paratroopers, red; for combat
engineers, gray; and for the Golani Infantry Brigade, purple. For
all other army personnel, except combat units, the beret for men
was green and for women, black. Women in the navy wore a black
beret with gold insignia.
Data as of December 1988
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