IDF033
King & Country
A three-man section moves through an Arab neighbourhood or perhaps along a disputed border area. The NCO is charge is a ‘regular’, his two comrades are both conscripts.
Note the variety of weapons carried back in the 1970’s...
The section leader carries the CAR 15 Assault Rifle, the standing conscript carries an AK47... Before and during the 1973 Yom Kippur War the Israelis captured thousands of these excellent Assault Weapons and put them to good use. The kneeling conscript has the M16 M203 rifle with the underslung grenade launcher.
Because of its precarious geographical and political position in a generally hostile neighborhood, Israel and its Defence Forces always have to be ready for conflict at a moment’s notice.
This is reflected in the size and composition of the Israeli Defence Forces. Although a relatively small country Israel has a total of 176,500 men and women on active service. The army contains most of them, about 133,000 of which just 26,000 are professional ‘regulars’ and the other 107,000 are conscripts.
These however are backed up by over 500,000 reservists who can be ‘called-up’ within hours of an emergency.