Armor Corps 'still processing conclusions; I estimate by year's end we will decide whether to proceed to second phase of this experiment.'

IDF Chief Armor Officer Brigadier General Guy Hasson revealed this morning in a Galei Tzahal interview that the attempt to incorporate female combat soldiers in the Armored Corps has not been dropped from the agenda.

In his estimation, within a year "we will decide whether to proceed to the second phase of this experiment."

Hasson said: "We have very significant and groundbreaking experience that took us about a year-and-a-half and maybe even more where we tried to see if a female combat team could be integrated into border protection missions, and I emphasize, border protection missions."

Female fighters are not currently deployed along the Gaza border, but may be deployed along the Israel-Egypt border, on the border with Jordan, and in the Adom Formation in the south.

Hasson added, "The trial was very significant and I personally accompanied it; also, I know the girls personally. We finished the experiment and have concluded how, if required, we can incorporate female teams into border defenses.

"At the moment we're still processing conclusions and I estimate by the year's end we'll make a decision on whether to proceed to the second phase of this experiment," he said.

IDF Spokesman IDF Chief Armor Officer Brigadier General Guy Hasson

"On the basis of 4 female fighters who were in a gendered team of only girls in the command course, it's difficult to get long-term conclusions, but we understand what should be the next step, we introduced it to the right person, and I believe that by the end of the year we'll decide where to go with this experiment."

The Achim L'Neshek (Brothers-in-Arms) Organization responded: "Even after all the experiments, all the tests and studies show that girls are different from boys and that there is no feasibility to integrate girls into tanks. There are those who continue to insist on prioritizing equality over victory and pushing girls into tanks. In combat roles it hurts girls, harms professionalism, and damages the military."

A military document received by Arutz Sheva in 2017 revealed the physiological costs paid by women in combat roles.

The document shed light on how the IDF integrates women into the combat force, despite the serious medical consequences caused to female soldiers, and despite the damage to the operational level of the units in which women are integrated as combatants.

"Women are no different from men in motivation, command ability, leadership, personal abilities, mental and cognitive functioning," the introduction to the document states. The main difference, according to the document, "is body structure and physiology, which is reflected in differences in women's physical ability from that of men in many aspects, the most prominent of which is cardio-strength, strength (especially strength of the upper body), and speed."

The document revealed that female fighters suffer stress fractures, anemia, infection, and back pain. The recommended solutions included lowering loads and standards, and queueing up for orthopedists.