Israel Defense Forces ranks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Israel Defense Forces | |
|---|---|
  |
|
| Military manpower | |
| Military age | 18 years of age |
| Availability | males age 15-49: 1,499,186 (2000 est.)
|
| Fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,226,903 (2000 est.)
|
| Reaching military age annually | males: 50,348 (2000 est.) females: 47,996 (2000 est.) |
| Military expenditures | |
| Dollar figure | $8.7 billion (FY99) |
| Percent of GDP | 9.4% (FY99) |
| Category | Rank name and U.S rank equivalent | Insignia |
|---|---|---|
|
or General Officers |
Rav alúf (רב אלוף) |
 |
| Alúf (אלוף) |
 |
|
| Tat alúf (תת-אלוף) |
 |
|
|
or Field Grade Officers |
Alúf mishné (אלוף משנה) |
 |
| Sgan alúf
(סגן אלוף) |
 |
|
| Rav séren
(רב סרן) |
 |
|
|
or Company Grade Officers |
Séren (סרן) |
 |
| Ségen (סגן) |
 |
|
| Ségen mishné (Sagam) (סגן-משנה — סג"ם) |
 |
|
| Academic Officers | Katsín akademái bakhír (קצין אקדמאי בכיר) |
 |
| Katsín miktsoí akademái
(קצין מקצועי אקדמאי) |
 |
|
|
|
Rav nagád (רב נגד) |
 |
| Rav samál bakhír (רב סמל בכיר) |
 |
|
| Rav samál mitkadém
(רב סמל מתקדם) |
 |
|
| Rav samál rishón (רב סמל ראשון) |
 |
|
| Rav samál (רב סמל) |
 |
|
| Enlisted | Samál rishón (סמל ראשון) |
 |
| Samál (סמל) |
 |
|
| Rav turái (Rabat) (רב טוראי — רב"ט) |
 |
|
| Turái rishón (טוראי ראשון) |
 |
|
| Turái (טוראי) |
(none) |
[edit] Notes
- The acute accents used on the page indicate accent only and are not standard diacritics used in transliterations of the words in question from Hebrew.
- As the ranks of the Israel Defence 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 (four-star, in American 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 or five-star General.
- In the IDF, the same ranks are used throughout the army, including the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy. This contrasts with many other armed forced that have a separate rank system for different branches. [1]
- Enlisted insignias are worn on the arm sleeves whereas officer insignias are worn on the shoulders.
- Officer insignias 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 identical in the army and air force, however the navy use golden ranks.
- The rank of Private First Class is no longer in use. Privates retains their rank until promoted to Corporal, usually at the end of basic training (Tironut) or after several 7-8 months of service (whichever comes later). Combat units traditionally don't wear the Corporal rank, remaining without insignia until they reach the rank of Sergeant.
- Non-commissioned officer ranks listed on this page correspond to the Hebrew Nagad ranks, a word that translates as 'non-commissioned officer'. Corporals and sergeants however who are commanders are called Mashak, an abbreviation that also translates as 'non-commissioned officer' (or, literally, 'a commander who is not an officer').
