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Army Girls Of Israeli Defense Forces
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As of 2002, 33% of lower-rank officers are women, 21% of Captains and Majors, and 3% of the most senior ranks.
Women primarily serve in the border patrol of the Israel Defense Forces. Yael Rom, the first female pilot trained by the Israeli Air Force, earned her wings in 1951. The first female jet fighter pilot, Roni Zuckerman, received her wings in 2001. In November 2007 the Air Force appointed its first woman deputy squadron commander.
Women serve in combat support and light combat roles in the Artillery Corps, infantry units, and armored divisions. A few platoons, named Karakal, were formed, in which men and women serve together as light infantry on the borders with Egypt and Jordan. Karakal became a battalion in 2004.
The IDF abolished its "Women's Corps" command in 2001, believing that it had become an anachronism and a stumbling block towards integration of women in the army as regular soldiers with no special status. However, after pressures from feminist lobbies, the Chief of Staff was persuaded to keep an "adviser for women's affairs". Female soldiers now fall under the authority of individual units based on jobs and not on gender. The 2006 Lebanon War was the first time since 1948 that women were involved in field operations alongside men. Airborne helicopter engineer Sergeant-Major (res.) Keren Tendler became the first female combat soldier to be killed in action.
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