Israel Defense Forces ranks

Israel Defense Forces

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has a unique rank structure. Because the IDF is an integrated force, ranks are the same in all services (there is no differentiation between army, navy, air force, etc.) The ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary Haganah developed in the Mandate period to protect the Yishuv. This origin is reflected in the slightly compacted rank structure; for instance, the Chief of Staff (rosh ha'mate ha'klali, or ramatkal) is seemingly only equivalent to a lieutenant general in other militaries.

Current ranks

Category	Rank name,[1] rank equivalent and NATO code	Insignia
קציני מטה General Officers	(רב-אלוף (רא"ל Rav aluf (Ra'al) (Chief of General Staff) (Lieutenant general, equivalent to NATO OF-8) (Rav aluf means 'chief champion')			N/A
	אלוף Aluf (Commanding general of a branch of arms (ground force, air force or navy) or a regional command. (Major general, equivalent to NATO OF-7) (Aluf, meaning "champion")
	(תת-אלוף (תא"ל Tat aluf (Ta'al) (Commanding general of an arm of service (service corps) or division commander) (Brigadier-general, equivalent to NATO OF-6) (Tat aluf translates as "subordinate champion") [Since 1968]
קצינים בכירים Senior officers or Field grade officers	(אלוף משנה (אל"מ Aluf mishne (Alam) (Executive officer of a division; brigade commander) (Colonel, equivalent to NATO OF-5) (Aluf mishne translates as "second champion")
	(סגן-אלוף (סא"ל Sgan aluf (Sa'al) (Executive officer of a brigade; battalion commander) (Lieutenant Colonel, equivalent to NATO OF-4) (Sgan aluf translates as "deputy champion")
	(רב סרן (רס"ן Rav seren (Rasan) (Battalion executive officer) (Major, equivalent to NATO OF-3) (Rav seren means "chief military commander")
קצינים זוטרים Junior officers or Company grade officers	סרן Seren (Company / battery commander) (Captain, equivalent to NATO OF-2) (Seren, meaning "captain", translates as "captain" or "military commander")
	סגן Segen — [Since 1951] (סגן ראשון (סג"ר Segen rishon (Sagar) — [From 1948–51] (Company executive officer; platoon leader) (Lieutenant, equivalent to NATO OF-1) (Segen rishon means "lieutenant first class"; segen literally translates as "deputy")
	(סגן-משנה (סג"מ Segen mishne (Sagam) — [Since 1951] (סגן) Segen — [From 1948–51] (Platoon leader) (Second lieutenant, equivalent to NATO OF-1) (Segen mishne, means "second lieutenant"; segen literally translates as "deputy")
קצינים אקדמאים Ktzinim akademaim Academic officers	(קצין אקדמאי בכיר (קא"ב Katzín akademai bakhír (Ka'ab) (Professional officer of the first class in the reserve — equivalent to a brevet captain.) (officer of medical service, officer of dental medical service, officer of veterinary service, officer of justice, officer of religion.) (Senior academic officer)
	(קצין מקצועי אקדמאי (קמ"א Katzín miktsoí akademai (Kama) (Professional officer of the second class in the reserve — equivalent to a brevet first lieutenant.) (officer of medical service, officer of dental medical service, officer of veterinary service, officer of justice, officer of religion.) (Professional academic officer)
נגדים Nagadim Non-commissioned officers	(רב-נגד (רנ"ג Rav nagad (Ranag) (Chief warrant officer, most senior specialist professional, equivalent to NATO OR-9) (it translates as "chief warrant officer" or "chief NCO") [Since 1993]
	[2](רב-נגד משנה (רנ"מ Rav nagad mishne (Ranam) (Warrant officer, senior specialist professional, equivalent to NATO OR-9) (it translates as "junior chief warrant officer" or "junior chief NCO") [Since 2011]
	(רב-סמל בכיר (רס"ב Rav samal bakhír (Rasab) (Command sergeant major, senior NCO of a Regiment or Brigade, equivalent to NATO OR-9) (it translates as "senior chief sergeant")
	(רב-סמל מתקדם (רס"מ Rav samal mitkadem (Rasam) (Sergeant major, senior NCO of a battalion, equivalent to NATO OR-8) (it translates as "advanced chief sergeant")
	(רב-סמל ראשון (רס"ר Rav samal rishon (Rasar) (Master sergeant, senior NCO of a company or battery, equivalent to NATO OR-8) (it translates as "chief sergeant first class")
	(רב-סמל (רס"ל Rav samal (Rasal) (Sergeant first class, a platoon sergeant, equivalent to NATO OR-7) (it translates as "chief sergeant")
חוגרים Hogrim Enlisted	( סמל ראשון (סמ"ר Samal rishon (Samar) (Staff sergeant, a squad leader, NATO OR-6) (it translates as "sergeant first class")
	סמל Samal[3] (Sergeant, a team leader, NATO OR-5) (it translates as "sergeant".)
	(רב טוראי (רב"ט Rav turai (Rabat) (Corporal, a team leader, NATO OR-4) (it translates as "chief private")
	טוראי Turai (Private E-2 or private, NATO OR-2) (it translates as "private")	(none)

Officers (ktzinim): Volunteers who have completed the officer's course. Officers serve for at least 48 months (4 years); pilots have to serve for 7 years. Promotions are based on ability and time served. It takes about a year to be promoted from 2nd lieutenant to 1st lieutenant and three years to be promoted from 1st lieutenant to captain. Army officers have bronze-metal insignia (replaced with subdued black-metal insignia in 2002), air force officers have silver metal insignia, and navy officers have gold-metal insignia or gold braid bars. Officers without a university education can be promoted to a maximum of Rav Seren (Major), although the IDF often sponsors the studies for their majors.

Academic officers (ktzinim akademaim): Special rank given to soldiers who are delaying completing officers' training so they can complete a professional education (usually in engineering, medicine, or law). A kama is equivalent to a 2nd lieutenant, and a ka'ab is equivalent to a 1st lieutenant, but are treated as if they were breveted to the next higher rank. Officers of these ranks are considered professional manpower and rarely take posts of command. Upon finally completing officers' training, an academic officer is immediately awarded the corresponding next "real" rank due to their experience in grade. Their insignia bars are embossed with scrolls (megilot) rather than laurel branches (aronot).

Non-commissioned officers (nagadim): The professional non-commissioned and warrant ranks, drawn from volunteers who signed on for military service after completing conscription. They usually are assigned to head-up the headquarters staff of a unit. Nagad is a variant of the biblical word nagid, which means ruler or leader. Samal is a Hebrew abbreviation for segen mi-khutz la-minyan, which translates as “supernumerary deputy”; it is a Field NCO rank equivalent to a British or Commonwealth "Sergeant". Rav samal translates as "chief sergeant"; it is a career NCO rank equivalent to a British or Commonwealth "Staff Sergeant" or "Sergeant Major" / "Warrant Officer". Rav nagad is equivalent to the American rank of "Chief Warrant Officer".

Enlisted (hogrim): The conscript and field NCO ranks. All Jewish or Druze conscripts must start their compulsory service at 18 (unless they receive a deferment); Christians, Muslims, and Circassians may volunteer at 17 or older. Enlisted male conscripts serve for 36 months (3 years) and female conscripts serve for 24 months (2 years). In the IDF enlisted ranks are earned by means of time in service (pazam), rather than by a particular post or assignment. After 4 to 12 months the conscript is promoted to rav turai, after 18 to 24 months promoted to samal, and after 24 to 32 months is promoted to samal rishon. (This means that female conscripts can reach no higher than samal during their compulsory service).

Field NCOs (samal and samal rishon) who command sub-units (fire team or squad, respectively) are called mashak. This is an abbreviation that translates into English literally as "non-commissioned officer". It is a term of respect like the French Army's chef ("chief").

Recruits (tironim): Upon enlistment to military service in Israel, all soldiers begin a basic training course and undergo several days or weeks of 'integration' from citizens to soldiers. This course is called tironut ("recruit training") and the soldier being trained on this course is called a tiron (or "recruit"). This is often erroneously interpreted as a rank, similar to the US Army's private (E-1); tironim are ranked as turai (private), the same rank and paygrade as newly trained conscripts. Tironim wear cloth sliders with a horizontal blue stripe on their fatigue-uniform epaulettes and wear a diamond-shaped "general service" beret badge to indicate their status; this is exchanged for a corps beret with corps badge and unit insignia upon graduation.^[4]

Both officers and enlisted personnel have an obligation to serve in the Reserves after completing their active military service. Male personnel serve until 41-51 years old while female personnel serve until 24 years old.

Obsolete ranks

Category	Rank name,[1] rank equivalent and NATO code	Insignia
No longer in use	(ממלא מקום קצין (ממ"ק Memalei makom katzín (Mamak) (Acting officer or aspirant; A brevet officer ranking below a junior lieutenant) (Memale makom translates as "substitute", and katzin means "officer") (Memale makom literally translates as "filling in the place of another") [Existed from the 1960s until 1994]
	Samal bakhír (Samab) (First Sergeant, NATO OR-8; it translates as "Senior Sergeant") [Existed from 1948 to 1952 and no longer in use. (See comments in notes in the bottom)]	A Brass badge (a small oak leaf within a laurel wreath) on 3 half-chevrons
	(רב טוראי ראשון (רט"ר Rav turái rishón (Ratár) (First corporal, NATO OR-3; it translates as "chief private first class") [Existed from 1972 to 1982 and no longer in use. (See comments in notes in the bottom)]
	(טוראי ראשון (טר"ש Turai rishon (Tarash) (Private E-3 or private first class, Nato OR-3) [Existed until 1999 and no longer in use. (See comments in notes in the bottom)]

The rank of memale makom katzín (ממלא מקום קצין) or "substitute officer" was created in the 1960s. The rank was considered below a 2nd Lieutenant (sagam). It indicated a cadet in the Israeli army who had finished the basic preparation for an officer rank (קורס קצינים בסיסי), but for some reason abandoned their studies, failed to complete the professional officer preparation (השלמה חיילית), or completed it with a minimal passing grade but was still found worthy of command. They occupied the lowest officer posts until a normal officer rank was found for the position. Those who finished the officer preparation with a minimal passing grade and were substituting in a command position were eligible for promotion to normal officer rank after a set period. It was discontinued in 1994.

The rank of Samal Bakhír ("Senior Sergeant") was used from 1948 to 1952. It was the equivalent of a US Army First Sergeant. It was replaced by the rank of Rav Samal Yekhidati ("Unit Senior Sergeant"), similar to a British or Commonwealth Army Warrant Officer II (Company Sergeant Major).

The rank of rav turái rishón or "chief private first class" was used from 1972 to 1982. There was an expansion of staff NCO ranks during this period and the higher rank was offered to conscripts who planned to enlist after completing their national service.

The rank of turai rishon or "private first class" was disestablished in the Regular IDF in 1990. It still continued to be used in the Reserves until it was finally discontinued in 1999. Privates now retain their rank until promoted to corporal, usually after 10 months of peacetime service (6 months for support roles or 4 months for combatants). Corporals in combat units traditionally do not wear their rank insignia, remaining without insignia until they are promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Insignia

Aiguillettes, srochim in Hebrew:'^[5]

• Black cord: Instructors at the various Military Schools.
• Blue cord: Staff at the various Military Schools.
• Red cord: Instructor at the Airborne and Naval Training Schools.
• White cord: Educators and trainers in the Education and Youth Corps.
• White & blue cords: Mefaked mishma'at ("discipline commander"; soldier in charge of unit discipline who assists the unit NCO-in-charge). When worn by hogrim, it reflects completion of tironut level 2.
• Blue & red cords: Military police.
• Diced blue and red cord: Prison service
• Green cord: Mefaked ("commander"), worn by Hogrim that went through a commanding course, Soldiers that did not go through officers course and that are in mandatory service of three years (for men and women in combatant units) or two years (for women in standard service). It is worn by combat leaders on the fire team (Sergeant), squad (Staff Sergeant), platoon (Lieutenant), company (Captain) and battalion (Major or Lieutenant Colonel) level.
• Purple cord: Service rights staff. The mashakeet tash ("service rights [female] staff NCO")^[6][7] is a female NCO whose job it is to help conscripts settle into military life and handle any of their complaints or grievances. A specialized female staff NCO who deals with the needs and rights of foreign volunteers is called a mashakeet aliyah, although mashakiot aliyah wear either white or green lanyards.^[6][8] There is one mashakeet assigned to each company HQ.
• Purple & blue cord: Reserves office staff. In charge of coordinating and keeping track of a unit's reserve forces.

History

When the IDF was created in 1948, there were 7 enlisted and NCO ranks, and 8 officer ranks. The ranks were as follows:^[9]

IDF Ranks in 1949

IDF Ranks and their insignia were initially influenced by the British / Commonwealth model. This was due to the average Israeli servicemen's experience in the Commonwealth forces during World War Two. This was later reformed when the IDF started to adopt a rank system similar to the United States armed forces in 1973 and the 1990s.

Rank insignia were originally cut from cloth or embroidered onto cloth patches. Bronze-metal officer's rank insignia worn on a red cloth backing were introduced for the army in 1949. Enlisted stripes for all arms were originally individual white half-chevrons with space between them. In an economy move, senior NCOs were distinguished by using the same bronze insignia (an oak-leaf or oak-leaf-in-a-wreath) as senior officers pinned to their sleeve insignia. In 1951 the Navy adopted golden-yellow half-chevrons and the Air Force adopted blue half chevrons.

A samal rishon was equal to a British Army staff sergeant / colour sergeant or a US Army technical sergeant (sergeant first class) / platoon sergeant. For the other services, the bronze-metal oak-leaf on the army's samal rishon rank insignia was replaced with a yellow anchor in a white hexagon for the Navy and a blue Star of David on a white circle for the Air Force. This was later replaced in 1951 with a gold-metal oak leaf for the Navy and a silver-metal oak leaf for the Air Force.

A Samal Bakhír (1948–1951) was equivalent to a US Army First Sergeant. The rank insignia was a small bronze oak leaf in a wreath on 3 white half-chevrons for the Army; a yellow anchor in a yellow-bordered (1948) or solid-yellow (1950) hexagon on 3 white half-chevrons for the Navy; and a blue Star of David in a blue-bordered circle on 3 white half-chevrons for the Air Force. It was replaced by the reorganized Rav Samal rank in 1951 and the new Rav Samal Yehidati rank by 1955.

A Rav Samal (1951–1967) was equivalent to a British Army Warrant Officer II (Company Sergeant Major). The rank insignia was an Oak Leaf in a Laurel Wreath. It came in bronze-metal on a red enamel backing for the Army, gold-metal for the Navy, and silver-metal for the Air Force. It was worn on the lower right sleeve of the shirt or jacket or on a leather wrist strap when wearing short-sleeve order. It was divided into Rav-Samal Miktzoi ("Specialist Chief Sergeant"; a technical NCO) and Rav Samal Yekhidati ("Unit Chief Sergeant"; a command NCO) from 1955 to 1958.

A Rav Samal (1948–1951) was equivalent to a US Army Master Sergeant or Sergeant Major. The rank insignia was originally an oak leaf in a laurel wreath for the Army, a large yellow anchor in a yellow-bordered (1948) or solid-yellow (1950) hexagon for the Navy, and a large blue Star of David in a bordered circle for the Air Force. The rank was renamed Rav Samal Rishon (1951–Present) and was equivalent to a British Army Warrant Officer I (Regimental Sergeant Major). The new rank also received new insignia made of metal: an Oak Leaf over a vertical Sword in a Laurel Wreath. It came in bronze-metal on a red enamel backing for the Army, gold-metal for the Navy, and silver-metal for the Air Force. It was worn on the lower right sleeve of the shirt or jacket or on a leather wrist strap when wearing short-sleeve order. It was divided into Rav Samal Rishon Miktzoi ("Specialist Chief Sergeant First Class"; a technical NCO) and Rav Samal Rishon Yekhidati ("Unit Chief Sergeant First Class"; a command NCO) from 1955 to 1958.

Early ranks of the IDF (1948–1950)

From 1948 to 1951, IDF Ranks for each branch of service (the Ground, Sea, and Air Forces) had unique titles and distinct insignia.

Rank insignia for the Navy and Air Force mirrored those of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, respectively.

Notes

• In the IDF, the same rank titles are used throughout the military, including the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy. This contrasts with many other armed forces that have a separate rank system for different branches.^[10] Officer insignia 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 green in the Army, blue in the Air Force, and golden in the Navy. Subaltern officers (lieutenants and captains) wear rank bars embossed with laurel branches (aronot). Field and General officers wear "pips" that look like an oak-leaf (alim).

• As the ranks of the Israel Defense 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 (OF-9 in NATO 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 (NATO OF-10).
• Enlisted rank insignia are worn on the upper arm of the sleeves whereas NCO and officer insignia are worn on the shoulders.

Synopsis of NATO code OF 1–10 to IDF ranks

NATO Code	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1		OF(D)	Student Officer
United Kingdom (Edit)												No Equivalent	Not Found
	Field Marshal1	General	Lieutenant-General	Major-General	Brigadier	Colonel	Lieutenant-Colonel	Major	Captain	Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant	Officer Cadet
Spain (Edit)
	Capitán general1	General de Ejército	Teniente general	General de división	General de brigada	Coronel	Teniente coronel	Comandante	Capitán	Teniente	Alférez	Caballero Alférez Cadete	Alumno 2º	Alumno 1º
Israel		No Equivalent		No Equivalent
	Rav aluf "Chief General"	No Equivalent	Aluf "General"	No Equivalent	Tat aluf "Subordinate General"	Aluf mishne "Junior General"	Sgan aluf "Deputy General"	Rav seren "Chief Commander"	Seren "Captain"	Segen "Deputy"	Segen mishne "Junior Deputy"
Turkey (Edit)													Not Insignia
	Mareşal	Orgeneral	Korgeneral	Tümgeneral	Tuğgeneral	Albay	Yarbay	Binbaşı	Yüzbaşı	Üsteğmen	Teğmen	Asteğmen	Harbiyeli
United States (Edit)												Various	Various
	General of the Army1	General	Lieutenant General	Major General	Brigadier General	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	First Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant	Officer Candidate	Officer Cadet
NATO Code	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1		OF(D)	Student Officer

The Israel Defense Forces are ranked 34th with an active personnel of 176,500^[11] an a reserve of 445,000^[11] troops. It is positioned between the Spanish Armed Forces and Turkish Armed Forces, compared by number of active troops of NATO armies.

Flag	State	Active Military	Reserve Military	Paramilitary	Total	Total per 1000 capita	Active per 1000 capita
	United Kingdom[12][13][14]	197,780	212,400	0	410,180	6.7	3.2
	Spain[15]	128,013	319,000	80,210	527,223	13	3.2
	Israel[16]	176,500	565,000	8,050	749,550	103.6	24.4
	Turkey[17][18][19]	666,576	378,700	152,200	1,197,476	15.6	8.7
	United States of America[20][21]	1,458,219	1,458,500	11,035	2,927,754	9.3	4.7

See also

• Israel Defense Forces insignia
• List of comparative military ranks

References

External links

• IDF ranks in English
• IDF ranks in Hebrew