Gas masks
Photo: EPA
IDF sees low threat of unconventional warfare
In major realignment of Israeli military's preparation for chemical attacks, specialized brigade to be transferred to Home Front Command.
The destruction of the majority of Syria's chemical warfare stock over the past year has led the IDF to change the mission of the Engineering Corps' nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) brigade.
With military command believing the threat from unconventional weapons of war to have decreased, the unit – which was previously tasked with cleansing areas affected by such arms – will now be detached from the IDF's GOC Army Headquarters.
Gas mask factory (Photo: EPA)
The specialized brigade will be transferred to the Home Front Command, until a future threat assessment finds it necessary to restore it to active military service under the Army Headquarters.
Home Front Command had decided earlier in the year to shutter its gas mask administration after stopping to distribute the protective measure to the public because the threat of unconventional warfare had lowered.
The production lines of the gas masks will also remain at minimum level of operations in case the threats were to return. The protective gear will still be distributed to combat soldiers in accordance with the relevant assessment of enemy use of chemical warfare in the northern front.
"The basic preparation of infantry soldiers (with gas masks) during their rifleman training and their advanced exercises will continue," a senior officer in Army Headquarters told Ynet.
The NBC unit, Yanshuf (Owl in Hebrew), has not had cause to fulfill its operational mission over the years since Syrian President Bashar Assad's father amassed his great store of chemical weapons, instead dealing mostly with routine security operations.
In the past year, the brigade's soldiers were assigned to the Arava sector, on the border with Jordan. After its reassignment, the brigade – which was placed under the general staff in 2010 – will undergo retraining and become combat engineers.
Some two weeks ago, the national NBC center was transferred from the Engineering Corps to Home Front Command, while minor NBC capabilities remained with the former's specialized Yahalom unit.
A senior officer in the Engineering Corps explained that "this was executed out of the understanding that the threat has been minor over the years and developed to new places which we are preparing for in Yahalom and at Army Headquarters."
He added that the "unit was founded some 40 years ago because the threat had existed for dozens of years."
Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Search & Rescue Brigade have since begun receiving NBC training.
