Col. (Res.) Raz Sagi, chairman of the Forum for IDF Strength, noted in Channel 20's Patriot discussion program that young women are not the only ones in mixed combat units who are injured at a higher rate than the male soldiers in separate units like Golani. The male soldiers also have a higher rate of injury in mixed units as compared to all-male units.

He mentioned a study published by Kalman Liebeskind, according to which 24% of the male soldiers are defined as injured at any given moment in the mixed Bardelas unit, compared with 8% in Golani.

Sagi explained that because the female soldiers cannot carry the heavy equipment, the task falls on the male soldiers, who have to carry more than they would carry if the unit was comprised only of young men.

He categorically rejected the claim that the IDF has no choice but to recruit girls for the combat units because of a shortage of male manpower, and recalled that the IDF had recommended reducing men's length of service before the Shaked Committee.

Sagi rejected the argument that the units involved were "light infantry," whose sole function was to patrol the borders during peacetiime because there were already ISIS penetrations and that elite units were called in to eliminate them.

The discussion panel tried to understand why the IDF insists on continuing to experiment with introducing women into combat units, if the army's own research data shows enormous problems as a result, and Sagi said only, obviously referring to pressure from radical feminist organizations, that there is an "agenda in control of the army."