Ran Goren

Ran Goren

Ran Goren, 2004
Native name רן גורן
Born March 19, 1942
Merhavia, Israel
Allegiance  Israel
Service/branch Israel Israel Defense Forces
Years of service 1956-1992
Rank Aluf
Unit
Commands held
Wars

Ran Goren (Hebrew: רן גורן‎; born March 19, 1942) is a retired fighter pilot and Major General of the IDF, former Deputy Commander of the Air Force and Head of the Manpower Directorate.[1]

Biography

Gorden was born in Kibbutz Merhavia to Shoshanna and Abraham, both whom are teachers. At the age of 14 he joined the Youth Air Battalion where he underwent a model aircraft where he represented the Israeli delegation to the United States. He enlisted to the pilot training course where he was trained as a fighter pilot. He was discharged from the army after five years. In the days before the Six Day War, Goren was recruited to serve as a Vautour pilot in the 110 Squadron. His first battle was during the Syria bombing raid in April 1967. During the war, among other things, he participated in the assault on the fields in Beni Suef, Egypt, the first bombing of the H-3 Air Base as part of Operation Focus, and as air support during the Battle of Abu-Ageila. After the war he returned to regular service.

During the War of Attrition, Goren served as the in the 117 Squadron (Dassault Mirage III), and on July 8, 1969 he shot down a Syrian MiG-21 using a Python missile during an air battle. On July 24, he shut down an Egyption Su-7 that infiltrated Sinai in an attempt to attack IDF posts. At the end of that year, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the Skyhawk Squadron and took part in around 160 operational missions.

He underwent training and was moved to F-4 Phantom squadron and 69 Squadron. In 1972 he was appointed Commander of Advanced Training Squadron in the Flight School, also serving the emergency postings in the event of war.[2] During the Yom Kippur War, Goren served in the 107 Squadron. During the first day of the war, Goren shot down an Mil Mi-8, a transport helicopter that carried Egyptian commandos on their way to attack on the Bir Gifgafa Airfield in the Sinai Peninsula. During one of his missions in the war, he was forced to bail out. After the war he replaced Iftach Spector as the commander of the squadron. Later he served as Deputy Commander of Ramat David Airbase.[3]

Goren passed down the corps and served as the Deputy Commander of the IAF[4] and Chief of Operations after which he left to study in California. Goren received a master's degree in business administration, cum laude, from the Naval Postgraduate School. His seminar paper dealt with the development of a future combat aircraft for Israel.

After his return Goren has held a number of high-ranking positions in the Air Force including: base Commander of Hatzor Airbase, Head of the Intelligence Group,[1] Head of Air Division and in 1987 Goren was appointed Chief of the Air Force and the Deputy Commander of the Navy.[1] As a Battlefield commander he sought to stop the development of the IAI Lavi fighter aircraft. He later led the staff through the design and implementation of an alternative power building plans.

During his service as a fighter pilot, Goren accumulated 4,500 jet flight hours, 400 combat missions and 3 enemy aircraft shot down.[1]

In 1989 Goren was appointed Head of Manpower Directorate with the rank of Major General; a position he held until 1992.

In 2011 he published "Vertigo", a thriller about his experiences and traumas in the Air Force as a fighter during various battles including the Yom Kippur War.[5]

Goren has three children, fighter pilots, and a daughter who's married to a fighter pilot.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Ran Goren". Galilee International Management Institute. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Shlomo Aloni. "1". Israeli A-4 Skyhawk Units in Combat. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781472800282.
  3. ↑ Shlomo Aloni (2013). "3". Israeli F-4 Phantom II Aces (illustrated ed.). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781472801937.
  4. ↑ Thomas P. Odom (2005). Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda (illustrated ed.). Texas A&M University Press. p. 10. ISBN 9781585444571.
  5. ↑ Goren, Ran (2011). Ṿerṭigo / Ran Goren ; ʻorekh, Shai Gilʻad. ורטיגו / רן גורן ; עורך, שי גלעד. Yedioth Ahronoth. p. 1. ISBN 9789655451955.