📍 Nahal: adapting to new sectors: The Nahal Brigade’s battalions are moving to new sectors within Judea and Samaria after combining defensive duties with proactive operations against terrorist threats. Their deployment followed two months of ground operations in southern Lebanon beginning with “Roaring Lion.” Maj. Y., a company commander in the 50th Battalion, described the transition from advancing deep into enemy territory to sustained presence, initiative and rapid responses in a civilian environment.
Alongside manning positions and prolonged defensive missions, troops conducted planned operations, searches and arrests in areas of suspected terrorist activity. One operation tailored to ground conditions uncovered weapons and led to several suspects’ arrests. Forces also operated near a main route to help enable its opening to civilian traffic. Maj. Y. emphasized acting before threats develop while operating appropriately among civilians.
Company- and platoon-level exercises, commanders’ training days and professional training continued alongside missions, which Maj. Y. said also helped maintain readiness and apply lessons. Relocating battalions must learn the terrain and adapt their methods; discussions with soldiers clarify requirements and their purpose.
⛰️ Sayeret Golani: combat lessons and readiness: Sayeret Golani’s newest soldiers completed 14 months of training with a roughly three-week final exercise incorporating combat lessons and ending at Mount Hermon’s summit, according to a September 15 IDF website report. It included 32 team drills; in the final week, soldiers covered more than 100 kilometers through the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights, conducting raids and responding to simulated terrorists, explosive devices and casualties.
Capt. A., the training company commander, described a progression from individual proficiency to squad coordination and increasingly complex, precise team operations. Soldiers train in urban and open terrain and dense vegetation, attend specialized courses, and complete a four-day, 130-kilometer solo navigation exercise from the Sea of Galilee through the Western Galilee to the Mediterranean. The squad phase culminates in a roughly five-day march from the Kisra area to Training Area 100. Squad commanders serve as team commanders during exercises across different terrain. Soldiers also spent several days on operational deployment near Jenin in Judea and Samaria.
A centralized scoring system tracks progress across more than 100 team exercises completed by training’s end. Readiness gaps are addressed before final exercises; one team received an additional dedicated week after falling short of the required team-level professional standard.
Each week of the final exercise began with a simulated terrorist infiltration into an Upper Galilee community. Soldiers had to shift rapidly into an operational mindset, reach and stabilize the community, eliminate simulated terrorists inside and prevent further infiltrations. The last week began as Shabbat ended, with troops leaving Training Area 100 and advancing through successive exercises and raids toward Mount Hermon. They reached the summit shortly after 5:00 AM on Thursday after a full night on their feet.
Capt. A. said combat lessons have changed the exercise’s structure and priorities, including drone-threat knowledge passed from combat veterans to trainees who have not personally faced it. Beyond exercise totals, equipment and scores, he identified the principal measure as carrying out all missions simultaneously and to the highest possible standard.
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