Six of ten young men who enlist in the IDF after completing a voluntary “Service Year” (Shnat Sherut) go on to serve in combat roles. In the general population of enlistees, the combat rate is four out of ten.
IDF statistics released by the Council of Youth Movements also show that among Service Year graduates, the proportion of those who go on to become officers is twice what it is in the general population of draftees.
Nine percent of Service Year graduates go on to a pre-designated officer track as opposed to just one percent among the general draftee population. Pre-designated officer tracks are specialized roles that a soldier enters in the knowledge that they require officer training, as opposed to opting for officer training when already serving in a unit.
Service as youth leaders
Every year, about 1,600 military age youths have their enlistment deferred and participate in “Service Years,” with the IDF's consent. The Service Year is usually carried out under the auspices of youth movements and other organizations, including the Jewish Agency.
Service Year volunteers usually serve as youth leaders and educational assistants at boarding schools, field schools, youth villages, kibbutz communities and low-income neighborhoods. The Jewish Agency sends its Service Year volunteers to the United States, to serve as counselors in the Zionist youth movements there.
Record combat motivation
The new statistics come on the heels of encouraging numbers released last month regarding overall motivation for combat service. The March recruit wave was the most highly combat-motivated in the past decade. Seventy-six percent of the young men who were fit for field unit service asked to serve in combat, compared with 73% in March 2009 – a 3.5% rise in motivation.
The March recruitment wave was the first in which Hesder draftees are drafted directly into the brigades they will serve in, as opposed to joining the IDF as a concentrated Hesder group. The IDF believes this method of induction into the army strengthens the unit spirit.