For the first time since the campaign to integrate more women into combat positions in the IDF began two years ago, the preferred combat unit for women is no longer the Border Police, but rather the Home Front Command (HFC).

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The HFC took first place with 30% of the overall available female combat personnel requesting the unit. The Border Police came in second place, garnering 20% of overall demand, followed by other combat units such as Caracal, the Lions of Jordan, air defense units such as the Iron Dome and the Military Police Corps.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Photo: AFP

The four regular battalions of the HFC recently consolidated into one main brigade, which routinely gets assigned duties such as emergency actions and search and rescue operations.

In the next war in the Gaza Strip or Lebanon, it is expected that various units from the HFC will be assigned to regular combat battalions as rescue teams on the front lines. Currently, HFC units are assigned to regional divisions in the West Bank where they also participate in operational activities. This comes after years of placements on remote sectors of the Egyptian and Jordanian borders.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

While the mixed battalions of the HFC have traditionally stood at 70% male and 30% female, the numbers have begun to stabilize in recent years and the trend is expected to continue.

“It is enticing to serve in a position that sometimes requires soldiers to take life and to save it as part of the job,” said a senior HFC officer to Ynet. “We train our personnel extensively to love their people, their commanders and to take care of them.”

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

According to IDF figures, the number of fighters in the IDF has greatly improved from only 514 in 2011 to 2,100 in 2015. This is due to the IDF integrating female soldiers into various units such as the Navy, the special rescue forces and the armored corps.

However, the program has beenhighly scrutinized and the IDF has encountered problems with female soldiers in integrated combat units making a career out of the IDF. Currently, there are only two female battalion-level commanders in these units, with many leaving the army before being promoted to senior positions.