Israel

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Israel Appoints First Female Aviation Squadron Commander

The head of the Israeli Air Force announced that he had appointed its first female aviation squadron commander.

The commander, who was identified only as “Major Tet,” after the first initial of her name, out of security concerns, was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and will head a squadron of transport planes, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.

“She will be the first female pilot to have this position and to have this rank,” according to a statement from the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

Maj.-Gen. Amikam Norkin, the IAF commander, announced the promotion of another woman, known as “Maj. Mem,” to command the IAF’s Operational Command and Control Unit. She is also being promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Maj. Mem will be the highest ranking woman to serve as an IAF traffic controller.

The two appointments mark a trend within the IAF to integrate and promote more women into the force. In November it was announced that Capt. Y was appointed as the first female deputy commander of a combat squadron.

The increased integration into the armed forces is occurring not just in the air, but on the ground too.

In 2016, the Israeli military decided to test women’s ability serve in infantry and special forces units and in January 2017, Israel’s first female tank operators completed their training.

[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Facebook]