The 49th Panther Battalion is joining the Border Protection Corps in the Israeli Ground Forces. The battalion was established as part of a lesson drawn from Operation “Break the Wave.” The operation outlined the need to establish a battalion that would routinely operate in the Judea and Samaria security barrier in place of the reserve units that were dispatched to the area for prolonged operational activities during the operation.
The Panther Battalion will include both male and female soldiers who will be trained at rifleman level 06, the highest level available to female soldiers. The battalion’s training will be led by the Israeli Ground Forces and will last approximately six months. The physical competence of the battalion’s soldiers will be identical to that of soldiers from other battalions and will also include additional unique skills that are required for its specific region of operation.
Today, the first of the soldiers who will make up the new battalion enlisted in the IDF. The soldiers will begin their operational activities in the Judea and Samaria security barrier next year, after completing their training.
The battalion will specialize in defending the area of the security barrier in both routine and emergency scenarios. The battalion will also carry out a variety of routine security missions as part of the effort to defend the State of Israel.
The decision to establish the battalion was made jointly by the Israeli Ground Forces and the Manpower Directorate (J1), and it is being implemented following the conduction of a shared administrative work, during which the optimal conditions for its establishment were formulated.
Commanding Officer of the Border Protection Corps in the Israeli Ground Forces, BG Amit Yamin, said:
“The establishment of this battalion symbolizes the IDF’s ability to quickly and efficiently adjust itself to the ever-changing operational requirements. We invested great efforts in the planning of this battalion in order to ensure that the soldiers joining it will serve a meaningful service and contribute to the IDF’s operational purpose.”
