The IDF could save over 200 million shekels each year by ending physical training for female soldiers in non-combat positions, MK Akram Hasoon (Kadima) has proposed.
Hasoon sent letters detailing his proposal to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz. The suggestion has been reviewed by senior IDF commanders as well as economic experts, he said.
Much of the training given to non-combat soldiers is unnecessary, he argued. The soldiers are not taught how to use a weapon, and do not receive guns for emergency use.
The proposed change would affect most of the roughly 15,000 women who enlist each year. According to Hasoon, it would save 300,000 work days.