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Israel Defense Forces

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has a unique rank structure. Because the IDF is an integrated force, ranks are the same in all services (there is no differentiation between army, navy, air force, etc.) The ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary Haganah developed in the Mandate period to protect the Yishuv. This origin is reflected in the slightly compacted rank structure; for instance, the chief of staff (rosh ha'mate ha'klali, or ramatkal) is seemingly only equivalent to a lieutenant general in other militaries.

Current ranks[]

Category Rank name,[1] rank equivalent and NATO code Insignia
קציני מטה
General Officers
(רב-אלוף (רא"ל
Rav aluf (Ra'al)

(Chief of General Staff)
(Lieutenant general, equivalent to NATO OF-8)
(Rav aluf means 'chief general')

IDF rav aluf IAF rav aluf
N/A
אלוף
Aluf

(Commanding general of a branch of arms (ground force, air force or navy)
(Major general, equivalent to NATO OF-7)
(Aluf, meaning "general")

IDF aluf IAF aluf IDF Navy aluf
(תת-אלוף (תא"ל
Tat aluf (Ta'al)

(Commanding general of an arm of service (service corps); division commander
(Brigadier-general, equivalent to NATO OF-6)
(Tat aluf translates as "subordinate general")
[Since 1968]

IDF tat aluf IAF tat aluf IDF Navy tat aluf
קצינים בכירים
Senior officers
or
Field grade officers
(אלוף משנה (אל"מ
Aluf mishne (Alam)

executive officer of a division; (brigade commander)
(Colonel, equivalent to NATO OF-5)
(Aluf mishne translates as "junior general")

IDF aluf mishne IAF aluf mishne IDF Navy aluf mishne
(סגן-אלוף (סא"ל
Sgan aluf (Sa'al)

(Executive officer of a brigade; battalion commander)
(Lieutenant Colonel, equivalent to NATO OF-4)
(Sgan aluf translates as "deputy general")

IDF sgan aluf IAF sgan aluf IDF Navy sgan aluf
(רב סרן (רס"ן
Rav seren (Rasan)

(Battalion executive officer)
(Major, equivalent to NATO OF-3)
(Rav seren means "chief military commander")

IDF rav seren IDF rav seren silver-2 IDF rav seren gold-2
קצינים זוטרים
Junior officers
or
Company grade officers
סרן
Seren

(Company / battery commander)
(Captain, equivalent to NATO OF-2)
(Seren, meaning "captain", translates as "captain" or "military commander")

IDF seren IAF seren IDF Navy seren
סגן
Segen — since 1951

(סגן ראשון (סג"ר
Segen rishon (Sagar) — 1948–51
(Company executive officer; platoon leader)
(Lieutenant, equivalent to NATO OF-1)
(Segen rishon means "lieutenant first class"; segen literally translates as "deputy")

IDF segen IAF segen IDF Navy segen
(סגן-משנה (סג"מ
Segen mishne (Sagam) — since 1951

(סגן)
Segen — 1948–51
(Platoon leader)
(Second lieutenant, equivalent to NATO OF-1)
(Segen mishne, means "junior lieutenant"; segen literally translates as "deputy")

IDF segen mishne IAF segen mishne IDF Navy segen mishne
קצינים אקדמאים
Ktzinim akademaim
Academic officers
(קצין אקדמאי בכיר (קא"ב
Katzín akademai bakhír (Ka'ab)

(Professional officer of the first class in the reserve — equivalent to a brevet captain.)
(officer of medical service, officer of dental medical service, officer of veterinary service, officer of justice, officer of religion.)
(Senior academic officer)

IDF Ranks Ka'ab
(קצין מקצועי אקדמאי (קמ"א
Katzín miktsoí akademai (Kama)

(Professional officer of the second class in the reserve — equivalent to a brevet first lieutenant.)
(officer of medical service, officer of dental medical service, officer of veterinary service, officer of justice, officer of religion.)
(Professional academic officer)

IDF Ranks Kama
נגדים
Nagadim
Non-commissioned officers
(רב-נגד (רנ"ג
Rav nagad (Ranag)

(Chief warrant officer, most senior specialist professional, equivalent to NATO OR-9)
(it translates as "chief warrant officer" or "chief NCO")
(Since 1993)

IDF Ranks Ranag
[2](רב-נגד משנה (רנ"מ
Rav nagad mishne (Ranam)

(Warrant officer, senior specialist professional, equivalent to NATO OR-9)
(it translates as "junior chief warrant officer" or "junior chief NCO")
(Since 2011)

IDF Ranks Ranam
(רב-סמל בכיר (רס"ב
Rav samal bakhír (Rasab)

(Command sergeant major, senior NCO of a Regiment or Brigade, equivalent to NATO OR-8)
(it translates as "senior chief sergeant")

IDF Ranks Rasab
(רב-סמל מתקדם (רס"מ
Rav samal mitkadem (Rasam)

(Sergeant major, senior NCO of a battalion, equivalent to NATO OR-7)
(it translates as "advanced chief sergeant")

IDF Ranks Rasam
(רב-סמל ראשון (רס"ר
Rav samal rishon (Rasar)

(Master sergeant, senior NCO of a company or battery, equivalent to NATO OR-6)
(it translates as "chief sergeant first class")

IDF Ranks Rasar
(רב-סמל (רס"ל
Rav samal (Rasal)

(Sergeant first class, a platoon sergeant, equivalent to NATO OR-5)
(it translates as "chief sergeant")

IDF Ranks Rasal
חוגרים
Hogrim
Enlisted
( סמל ראשון (סמ"ר
Samal rishon (Samar)

(Staff sergeant, a squad leader, NATO OR-4)
(it translates as "sergeant first class")

IDF Ranks Samar
סמל
Samal[3]

(Sergeant, a team leader, NATO OR-4)
(it translates as "sergeant".)

IDF Ranks Samal
(רב טוראי (רב"ט
Rav turai (Rabat)

(Corporal, a team leader, NATO OR-3)
(it translates as "chief private")

IDF Ranks Rav turai
טוראי
Turai

(Private E-2 or private, NATO OR-2)
(it translates as "private")

(none)

Officers (ktzinim): Volunteers who have completed the officer's course. Officers serve for at least 48 months (4 years); pilots have to serve for 9 years. Promotions are based on ability and time served. It takes about a year to be promoted from 2nd lieutenant to 1st lieutenant and three years to be promoted from 1st lieutenant to captain. Army officers have bronze-metal insignia (replaced with subdued black-metal insignia in 2002), air force officers have silver metal insignia, and navy officers have gold-metal insignia or gold braid bars. Officers without a university education can be promoted to a maximum of Rav Seren (Major), although the IDF often sponsors the studies for their majors.

Academic officers (ktzinim akademaim): Special rank given to soldiers who are delaying completing officers' training so they can complete a professional education (usually in engineering, medicine, law, or religion). A kama is equivalent to a 2nd lieutenant, and a ka'ab is equivalent to a 1st lieutenant, but are treated as if they were breveted to the next higher rank. Officers of these ranks are considered professional manpower and rarely take posts of command. Upon finally completing officers' training, an academic officer is immediately awarded the corresponding next "real" rank due to their experience in grade. Their insignia bars are embossed with scrolls (megilot) rather than laurel branches (aronot).

Non-commissioned officers (nagadim): The professional non-commissioned and warrant ranks, drawn from volunteers who signed on for military service after completing conscription. They usually are assigned to head-up the headquarters staff of a unit. Nagad is a variant of the biblical word nagid, which means ruler or leader. Samal is a Hebrew abbreviation for segen mi-khutz la-minyan, which translates as “supernumerary deputy”; it is a Field NCO rank equivalent to a British or Commonwealth "Sergeant". Rav samal translates as "chief sergeant"; it is a career NCO rank equivalent to a British or Commonwealth "Staff Sergeant" or "Sergeant Major" / "Warrant Officer". Rav nagad is equivalent to the American rank of "Warrant Officer". Enlisted (hogrim): The conscript and field NCO ranks. All Jewish or Druze conscripts must start their compulsory service at 18 (unless they receive a deferment); Christians, Muslims, and Circassians may volunteer at 17 or older. Enlisted male conscripts serve for 36 months (3 years) and female conscripts serve for 24 months (2 years). In the IDF enlisted ranks are earned by means of time in service (pazam), rather than by a particular post or assignment. After 4 to 12 months the conscript is promoted to rav turai, after 18 to 24 months promoted to samal, and after 24 to 32 months is promoted to samal rishon. (This means that female conscripts can reach no higher than samal during their active service).

Field NCOs (samal and samal rishon) who command sub-units (fire team or squad, respectively) are called mashak. This is an abbreviation that translates into English literally as "non-commissioned officer". It is a term of respect like the French Army's chef ("chief").

Recruits (tironim): Upon enlistment to military service in Israel, all soldiers begin a basic training course and undergo several days or weeks of 'integration' from citizens to soldiers. This course is called tironut (recruit training) and the soldier being trained on this course is called a tiron (or recruit). This is often erroneously interpreted as a rank, similar to the US Army's private (E-1); tironim are ranked as turai (private), the same rank and paygrade as newly trained conscripts. Tironim wear cloth sliders with a horizontal blue stripe on their fatigue-uniform epaulettes and wear a diamond-shaped "general service" beret badge to indicate their status; this is exchanged for a corps beret with corps badge and unit insignia upon graduation.[4]

Both officers and enlisted personnel have an obligation to serve in the Reserves after completing their active military service. Male personnel serve until 41–51 years old while female personnel serve until 24 years old.

Obsolete ranks[]

Category Rank name,[1] rank equivalent and NATO code Insignia
No longer in use
(ממלא מקום קצין (ממ"ק
Memalei makom katzín (Mamak)

(Acting officer or aspirant; A brevet officer ranking below a junior lieutenant)
(Memale makom translates as "substitute", and katzin means "officer")
(Memale makom literally translates as "filling in the place of another")
[Existed from the 1960s until 1994]

IDF Ranks Acting officer
(רב טוראי ראשון (רט"ר
Rav turái rishón (Ratár)

(First corporal, NATO OR-3; it translates as "chief private first class")
[Existed from 1972 to 1982 and no longer in use. (See comments in notes in the bottom)]

IDF Ranks Master Corporal
(טוראי ראשון (טר"ש
Turai rishon (Tarash)

(Private E-3 or private first class, Nato OR-3)
[Existed until 1999 and no longer in use. (See comments in notes in the bottom)]

IDF Ranks Private First Class

The rank of memale makom katzín (ממלא מקום קצין) or "substitute officer" was created in the 1960s. The rank was considered below a 2nd Lieutenant (sagam). It indicated a cadet in the Israeli army who had finished the basic preparation for an officer rank (קורס קצינים בסיסי), but for some reason abandoned their studies, failed to complete the professional officer preparation (השלמה חיילית), or completed it with a minimal passing grade but was still found worthy of command. They occupied the lowest officer posts until a normal officer rank was found for the position. Those who finished the officer preparation with a minimal passing grade and were substituting in a command position were eligible for promotion to normal officer rank after a set period. It was discontinued in 1994.

The rank of rav turái rishón or "chief private first class" was used from 1972 to 1982. There was an expansion of staff NCO ranks during this period and the higher rank was offered to conscripts who planned to enlist after completing their national service.

The rank of turai rishon or "private first class" was disestablished in the Regular IDF in 1990. It still continued to be used in the Reserves until it was finally discontinued in 1999. Privates now retain their rank until promoted to corporal, usually after 10 months of peacetime service (6 months for support roles or 4 months for combatants). Corporals in combat units traditionally do not wear their rank insignia, remaining without insignia until they are promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Insignia[]

Aiguillettes, srochim in Hebrew:'[5]

  • Black cord: Instructors at the various Military Schools.
  • Blue cord: Staff at the various Military Schools.
  • Red cord: Instructor at the Airborne Training School.
  • White cord: Educators and trainers in the Education and Youth Corps.
  • White & blue cords: Mefaked mishma'at ("discipline commander"; soldier in charge of unit discipline who assists the unit NCO-in-charge). When worn by hogrim, it reflects completion of tironut level 2.
  • Blue & red cords: Military police.
  • Diced blue and red cord: Prison service.
  • Green cord: Mefaked (unit or sub-unit commanders). Worn by squad leaders and platoon, company, and battalion commanders to indicate that they have a combat command. When worn by hogrim, it reflects completion of tironut level 3.
  • Purple cord: Service rights staff. The mashakeet tash ("service rights [female] staff NCO")[6][7] is a female NCO whose job it is to help conscripts settle into military life and handle any of their complaints or grievances. A specialized female staff NCO who deals with the needs and rights of foreign volunteers is called a mashakeet aliyah, although mashakiot aliyah wear either white or green lanyards.[6][8] There is one mashakeet assigned to each company HQ.
  • Purple & blue cord: Reserves office staff. In charge of coordinating and keeping track of a unit's reserve forces.

History[]

When the IDF was created in 1948, there were 7 enlisted and NCO ranks, and 8 officer ranks. The ranks were as follows:[9]

Enlisted Insignia Officer Insignia
Rav samal (ras) [1948-1951]
("Chief sergeant", master sergeant)
Rav samal rishon (rasar) [1951–1955]
("chief sergeant first class", master sergeant)
An oak leaf within a laurel wreath on a red cloth circle (sleeve) [1948]
An oak leaf over a sword within a laurel wreath (cuff) [1951]
A vertical entwined sword and olive branch in a Star of David within a laurel wreath (cuff) [1968]
2 chevrons (epaulet) [1990-1998]
Rav aluf ("chief general", lieutenant general) An oak leaf within a laurel wreath [1948]
An oak leaf over an oak leaf within a laurel wreath [1950]
2 oak leaves over a crossed sword and olive branch [1950]
Rav samal (ras) [1951-1967]
("chief sergeant", master sergeant)
Rav Samal (ras) [1968–Present]
("chief sergeant", master sergeant)
An oak leaf within a laurel wreath (cuff) [1951]
An oak leaf in a Star of David within a laurel wreath (cuff) [1968]
1 chevron (epaulet) [1990-1998]
Aluf ("general", major general) [1950–present] 1 oak leaf over a crossed sword and olive branch [1950]
Samal bakhír [1948-1952]
("senior sergeant", first sergeant)
A small oak leaf within a laurel wreath on 3 half chevrons Aluf [1948-1950]
aluf-mishneh ("junior general", colonel) [1951–present]
3 oak leaves
Samal rishon
("sergeant first class", staff sergeant)
A small oak leaf on 3 half chevrons Sgan aluf ("deputy general", lieutenant colonel) 2 oak leaves
Samal (sergeant) 3 half chevrons Rav seren ("chief captain", major) 1 oak leaf
Rav turai ("chief private", corporal) 2 half chevrons Seren (captain) 3 bars
Turai rishon (private first class) [1948-1999] 1 half chevron Segen rishon (Lieutenant 1st class) [1948-1951]
segen (lieutenant) [1951–present]
2 bars
Turai (private) No insignia Segen (lieutenant) [1948-1951]
segen mishne (junior lieutenant) [1951–present]
1 bar
IDF Ranks 1949

IDF Ranks in 1949

IDF Ranks and their insignia were initially influenced by the British / Commonwealth model. This was due to the average Israeli servicemen's experience in the Commonwealth forces during World War Two. This was later reformed when the IDF started to adopt a rank system similar to the United States armed forces in the 1990s.

Rank insignia were originally cut from cloth or embroidered onto cloth patches. Bronze-metal officer's rank insignia worn on a red cloth backing were introduced for the army in 1949. Enlisted stripes for all arms were originally individual white half-chevrons with space between them. In an economy move, senior NCOs were distinguished by using the same bronze insignia (an oak leaf or oak leaf in a wreath) as senior officers pinned to their sleeve insignia. The Navy adopted golden-yellow half-chevrons in 1951 and the Air Force adopted blue half chevrons in ?.

A samal rishon was equal to a British Army staff sergeant / colour sergeant or a US Army technical sergeant (sergeant first class) / platoon sergeant. For the other services, the bronze-metal oak-leaf on the army's samal rishon rank insignia was replaced with a yellow anchor in a white hexagon for the Navy and a blue Star of David on a white circle for the Air Force. This was later replaced in 1951 with a gold-metal oak leaf for the Navy and a silver-metal oak leaf for the Air Force.

A Samal Bakhír (1948-1951) was equivalent to a US Army First Sergeant. The rank insignia was a small bronze oak leaf in a wreath on 3 white half-chevrons for the Army; a yellow anchor in a yellow-bordered (1948) or solid-yellow (1950) hexagon on 3 white half-chevrons for the Navy; and a blue Star of David in a blue-bordered circle on 3 white half-chevrons for the Air Force. It was replaced by the new Rav Samal Yehidati rank by 1952.

A Rav Samal (1951-1967) was equivalent to a British Army Warrant Officer II (Company Sergeant Major). The rank insignia was an Oak Leaf in a Laurel Wreath. It came in bronze-metal on a red enamel backing for the Army, gold-metal for the Navy, and silver-metal for the Air Force. It was worn on the lower right sleeve of the shirt or jacket or on a leather wrist strap when wearing short-sleeve order. It was divided into Rav-Samal Miktzoi ("Specialist Chief Sergeant"; a technical NCO) and Rav Samal Yekhidati ("Unit Chief Sergeant"; a command NCO) from 1955 to 1958. A Rav Samal (1948-1951) was equivalent to a US Army Master Sergeant or Sergeant Major. The rank insignia was originally an oak leaf in a laurel wreath for the Army, a large yellow anchor in a yellow-bordered (1948) or solid-yellow (1950) hexagon for the Navy, and a large blue Star of David in a bordered circle for the Air Force. The rank was renamed Rav Samal Rishon (1951–Present) and was equivalent to a British Army Warrant Officer I (Regimental Sergeant Major). The new rank also received new insignia made of metal: an Oak Leaf over a vertical Sword in a Laurel Wreath. It came in bronze-metal on a red enamel backing for the Army, gold-metal for the Navy, and silver-metal for the Air Force. It was worn on the lower right sleeve of the shirt or jacket or on a leather wrist strap when wearing short-sleeve order. It was divided into Rav Samal Rishon Miktzoi ("Specialist Chief Sergeant First Class"; a technical NCO) and Rav Samal Rishon Yekhidati ("Unit Chief Sergeant First Class"; a command NCO) from 1955 to 1958.

Notes[]

  • In the IDF, the same rank titles are used throughout the military, including the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy. This contrasts with many other armed forces that have a separate rank system for different branches.[10] Officer insignia are silver with a dark blue background in the Air Force and gold with a black background in the Navy. In the Army, both Lieutenant ranks usually have the blackish-gold ranks (shown above) with an olive-green background, until promoted to the rank of Captain. Enlisted ranks are green in the Army, blue in the Air Force, and golden in the Navy. Subaltern officers (lieutenants and captains) wear rank bars embossed with laurel branches (aronot). Field and General officers wear "pips" that look like an oak-leaf (alim).
  • As the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are traditionally translated one-to-one to Western ranks then the rank of Aluf (אלוף) is translated as Major General, and Rav Aluf (רב אלוף) is translated as Lieutenant General. However, a more proper translation (in terms of both language and organizational role) of Aluf would be to full General (OF-9 in NATO terms). Similarly, as the Hebrew prefix Rav is equivalent to the English prefix arch- (as in archangel), a more fitting translation for the rank of Rav-Aluf would be Arch-General, or, more conventionally, Field Marshal (NATO OF-10).
  • Enlisted rank insignia are worn on the upper arm of the sleeves whereas NCO and officer insignia are worn on the shoulders.

Synopsis of NATO code OF 1–10 to IDF ranks[]

NATO Code OF-10 OF-9 OF-8 OF-7 OF-6 OF-5 OF-4 OF-3 OF-2 OF-1 OF(D) Student Officer
United Kingdom United Kingdom
(Edit)
Field Marshal
General
Lieutenant-General
Major-General
Brigadier
Colonel
Lieutenant-Colonel
Major
Captain
Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
No Equivalent Not Found
Field Marshal1 General Lieutenant-General Major-General Brigadier Colonel Lieutenant-Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant Second Lieutenant Officer Cadet
Flag of Spain Spain
(Edit)
Capitán General
General de Ejército
Teniente General
General de División
General de Brigada
Coronel
Teniente Coronel
Comandante
Capitán
Teniente
Alférez
Alférez
Alférez
Alférez
Capitán general1 General de Ejército Teniente general General de división General de brigada Coronel Teniente coronel Comandante Capitán Teniente Alférez Caballero Alférez Cadete Alumno 2º Alumno 1º
Flag of Israel Israel Rav aluf No Equivalent Aluf No Equivalent Tat aluf Aluf mishne Sgan aluf Rav seren Seren Segen Segen mishne
Rav aluf
"Chief General"
No Equivalent Aluf
"General"
No Equivalent Tat aluf
"Subordinate General"
Aluf mishne
"Junior General"
Sgan aluf
"Deputy General"
Rav seren
"Chief Commander"
Seren
"Captain"
Segen
"Deputy"
Segen mishne
"Junior Deputy"
Turkey Turkey
(Edit)
Turkey-army-OF-10 Turkey-army-OF-9 Turkey-army-OF-8 Turkey-army-OF-7 Turkey-army-OF-6 Turkey-army-OF-5 Turkey-army-OF-4 Turkey-army-OF-3 Turkey-army-OF-2 Turkey-army-OF-1 Turkey-army-OF-1b Not Insignia
Mareşal
[2]
Orgeneral
[3]
Korgeneral
[4]
Tümgeneral
[5]
Tuğgeneral
[6]
Albay
[7]
Yarbay
[8]
Binbaşı
[9]
Yüzbaşı
[10]
Üsteğmen
[11]
Teğmen
[12]
Asteğmen
[13]
Harbiyeli
<
United States United States
(Edit)
General of the Army
General
Lieutenant General
Major General
Brigadier General
Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
Major
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Various Various
General of the Army1 General Lieutenant General Major General Brigadier General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Second Lieutenant Officer Candidate Officer Cadet
NATO Code OF-10 OF-9 OF-8 OF-7 OF-6 OF-5 OF-4 OF-3 OF-2 OF-1 OF(D) Student Officer

The Israel Defense Forces are ranked 34th with an active personnel of 176,500[11] an a reserve of 445,000[11] troops. It is positioned between the Spanish Armed Forces and Turkish Armed Forces, compared by number of active troops of NATO armies.

Flag State Active Military Reserve Military Paramilitary Total Total per 1000 capita Active per 1000 capita
United Kingdom United Kingdom[12][13][14] 197,780 212,400 0 410,180 6.7 3.2
Spain Spain[15] 128,013 319,000 80,210 527,223 13 3.2
Israel Israel[16] 176,500 565,000 8,050 749,550 103.6 24.4
Turkey Turkey[17][18][19] 666,576 378,700 152,200 1,197,476 15.6 8.7
United States United States of America[20][21] 1,458,219 1,458,500 11,035 2,927,754 9.3 4.7

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "IDF Ranks". IDF 2011. http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/insignia/ranks.htm. Retrieved 19 October 2011. 
  2. "Y Net". http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4085389,00.html. .
  3. The word Samal originated as an acronym for Hebrew: סגן מחוץ למניןsegen mi-khutz la-minyan ("supernumerary deputy") (inspired by the abbreviation "NCO"). Nowadays is no longer treated as an acronym or an abbreviation. See e.g., Avraham Akavia, "Milon le-munkhey tzava" (1951), p. 220, 270; Avraham Even-Shoshan, "Ha-milon ha-khadash" (1967), vol. 4., p. 1814 ; Yaakov Kna'ani, "Otzar ha-lashon ha-ivrit" (1972), p. 4078; Zeev Shiff, Eitan Habber, "Leksikon le-bitkhon Yisrael" (1976), p. 114; "Milon Sapir" (ed. Eitan Avnian) (1998), vol. 5, p. 2019; Avraham Even-Shoshan, "Milon Even-Shoshan be-shisha krakhim" (2003), ISBN 965-517-059-4, vol. 4, p. 1302; "Entziklopedya Karta" (5th edition, 2004), ISBN 965-220-534-6, p. 409; "Milon Ariel" (ed. prof. Daniel Sivan and prof. Maya Fruchtman) (2007), ISBN 978-965-515-009-4, p. 765. (Hebrew)
  4. Laffin, John. The Israeli Army in The Middle East Wars (1948-1973) (Men At Arms Series #127). Osprey Press: London (1982). Plate G5 and page 38
  5. Arik933 Israeli army ranks and what's what
  6. 6.0 6.1 Kefitzat Haderech; How to Fight The System, #2 Mashakeet Tash
  7. tash is short for t’nai sherut or "service rights".
  8. Aliyah literally means "ascent"; it symbolically means to immigrate to Israel.
  9. Wallach, Jeuda; Lorekh, Netanel; Yitzhaki, Aryeh (1978). "Battles of the Jordan Valley". In Evyatar Nur. Carta's Atlas of Israel. Volume 2 - The First Years 1948–1961. Jerusalem, Israel: Carta. p. 91.  (Hebrew)
  10. http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/israel/israel169.html
  11. 11.0 11.1 "The Institute for National Security Studies", chapter Israel, 2012 May 8, 2012.
  12. IISS 2010, pp. 168–173
  13. http://www.eda.europa.eu/Libraries/Documents/National_Data_Breakdown_Publication_pMS_1.sflb.ashx
  14. [1][dead link]
  15. IISS 2010, pp. 160–164
  16. IISS 2010, pp. 255–257
  17. "Genelkurmay personel sayısını açıkladı - Hürriyet Gündem". Hurriyet.com.tr. 2011-11-21. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/19292082.asp. Retrieved 2012-04-27. 
  18. "Genelkurmay personel sayýsýný açýkladý". Sabah. 2011-11-21. http://www.sabah.com.tr/Gundem/2011/11/21/genelkurmay-personel-sayisini-acikladi. Retrieved 2012-04-27. 
  19. "İşte TSK'nın personel sayısı! -HABERTÜRK". Haberturk.com. http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/711803-iste-tsknin-personel-sayisi. Retrieved 2012-04-27. 
  20. http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/MILITARY/ms0.pdf
  21. "USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". Quickfacts.census.gov. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html. Retrieved 2012-04-27. 

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Israel Defense Forces ranks and the edit history here.
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