April 16, 2007:
Israel is establishing a SOCOM
(Special Operations Command), to coordinate the many different commando units
it has in its armed forces. They did this after observing the success of the
United States with their SOCOM. A series of Department of Defense reforms in
the late 1980s included the establishment of the U.S. Special Operations
Command (USSOCOM). This was a major step up for the commandos. SOCOM was now a
"major command," with a four star general in charge. The SOCOM
commander had control over all commandos in the Department of Defense. This was
a unique situation. Normally, troops from different services don't operate in
the same major unit ("command") like this. But the commandos didn't
mind. Some of the service chiefs did, as they saw their men as useful
"assets" for their service. But there was another trend in the 1980s
Department of Defense; "Thinking Purple." This meant all the services
cooperating more closely and thinking about each others capabilities and
problems. Combining all the colors of each services uniforms and you get
purple, and everyone in the Department of Defense was encouraged to get with
this program. Not everyone did, but the commandos were enthusiastic about the
proposition. They had long noted that commandos had more in common with other
commandos (from different services, or even different nations), than with other
people in their own service.
About two thirds of SOCOMs troops came from the
army, which had their Special Forces, Rangers, Delta Force, psywar and civil
affairs and special aviation units. The next largest contribution (about 20
percent) comes from the air force, who have several different types of air
power related commandos and special aircraft units. The navy provided its SEALs
and the special boat units needed to land them in hostile environments. The
marine Force Recon LRRPs were the only commando units in Department of Defense
that did not join SOCOM at the beginning. The marines finally signed on in
2005.
Israel has a large force of commando troops for a
country its size. There are two small battalions of Arabic speaking troops used
for undercover operations and raids into the Occupied (Palestinian)
territories). Sayeret Shimshon (Unit 367) is assigned to the Gaza Strip, while
Sayeret Duvdevan (Unit 217) takes care of the West Bank. There are four
companies of Ranger type troops (Palsar) that normally each support one of the
four elite infantry brigades of the army, and two more to support armored
brigades. There are also three LRRP companies (Special Command Teams), with one
assigned to each of the army's corps headquarters. Lotar Eilat and Unit Yamam
are two hostage rescue units (each under 100 troops.) These units are also used
as commandos (as when there is a lot of violence with the Palestinians.) There
are also several hundred highly trained LRRP troops assigned directly to
intelligence units. The navy has a SEAL unit (Shayetet 13) of about 400 men.
This unit is more selective than the other commando units, with about 80
percent of it's candidates failing the training course, compared to about 50
percent with other commando units. The navy also has a company size unit of
divers (similar to U.S. UDT). The police force also has over a thousand
specially trained men who are a cut above your usual SWAT teams.
Israeli SOCOM will operate in a similar fashion to
the U.S. SOCOM. Many Israeli military commanders have, over the last decade,
urged the formation of a SOCOM. But the services could never agree on the details.
It was the war with Hizbollah last Summer that put Israeli SOCOM over the top.
Among the many problems Israeli troops had last Summer, included some
coordination hassles with special operations units. These are the kinds of
problems that SOCOM deal with, head on.