Ground Forces creating ‘red’ infantry team

IDF unit will study enemy tactics and work to create a training scenario as real as possible.

By YAAKOV KATZ
IDF home front drill 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF home front drill 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Every air force pilot knows what it is like to simulate a dogfight with the “Red Team,” pilots from the same air force who specialize in simulating the enemy in training exercises.
Soon, following a decision by OC Ground Forces Command Maj.-Gen. Sami Turgeman, IDF infantry units will also begin to train against an enemy – a special IDF unit – which will be trying to win just as hard as they are. The unit will study enemy tactics and work to create a training scenario as real as possible, officers said.
Behind the decision to create such a unit is a general feeling among IDF commanders that battalion level exercises are too easy and do not sufficiently challenge officers and soldiers.
“The idea is to increase the level of difficulty which will ultimately improve the way commanders and their battalions operate in a future real operation,” one officer said.
Earlier this year, the Ground Forces Command drafted a proposal to make infantry exercises more “chaotic,” with more casualties, intelligence failures, difficulty in maneuvering and a more advanced adversary to challenge commanders.
One problem brigade commanders discovered was that a significant percentage of combat soldiers drop out of exercises in the middle.
Currently, small groups of soldiers are randomly selected to impersonate the enemy during IDF drills and in some cases, private companies are hired to serve in the role, activating fireworks, smoke grenades and creating fake explosions.