Combat Intelligence Collection Corps (Israel)
The Israeli Combat Intelligence Collection Corps is the newest of the Israel Defense Forces GOC Army Headquarters' five corps, created in April 2000 and tasked with gathering military intelligence in combat areas to support air and ground combat units to be more effective in their operations. It is responsible for intelligence units from the battalion level and up to the entire force. Due to the need for collecting combat intelligence and in maintaining observation networks, it is in the midst of expansion.
Units
The corps consists of the following units:- 414th Field Intelligence Battalion "Nesher"
- 595th Field Intelligence Battalion "Ayit" - including 4 “Yachmam” special operations squads
- 636th Field Intelligence Battalion "Nitzan"
- 727th Field Intelligence Battalion "Eitam"
- 869th Field Intelligence Battalion "Shahaf"
- Field Intelligence School, also known as Center for Reconnaissance and Intelligence.
- Unit Command, in the IDF Central Command in HaKirya, Tel-Aviv
Training
Two weeks after drafting, training commanders decide where each soldier will serve based upon the psychological, physical, and motivational state of the soldier. The training base is in the southern region of the Negev Desert, close to Eilat.The requirements to join as a field recon specialist is a medical profile of 82 or 97, and intelligence score of at least 40.
Training pipeline:
- Basic Training 16 weeks – Combat Intelligence School
- Advanced Training 20 weeks – Combat Intelligence School
- Unit Training – Northern, Southern and Central command
History
In 1993, the first dedicated field intelligence unit meant for operating in any front, the Yahmam, was created. The unit was designated to provide intelligence in real time and sighting enemy targets. It was appended to the GOC Army Headquarters and its soldiers wore black berets, even though they were under the direct command of the General Staff. During the 1982–2000 South Lebanon Conflict, it operated as an elite outfit tasked with collecting combat intelligence. After the February 4, 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster, in which the unit lost two men out of a total of 73 killed, the Supreme Court of Israel instructed to reveal their names, and consequently, the unit's existence was revealed to the public.
The unit was created as a corps in April 2000, under Amnon Sufrin. In late 2008, the GOC Army Headquarters decided to rename it to the "Combat Intelligence Collection Corps" from "Field Intelligence Corps", to emphasize its combat nature and to dissociate itself from the military intelligence directorate to which it was previously professionally subordinate to. The name was changed in November 2009.
The corps' beret color was changed from dark green, which is associated with military intelligence, to yellow.
On October 7th, 2023 27 female members of Unit 414 of the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps were killed or captured by Hamas during the Nahal Oz attack.
Chief combat intelligence Officer
The chief combat intelligence officer is a brigadier general appointed by the head of the GOC Army Headquarters.| Name | Years |
| Amnon Sufrin | 2000–03 |
| Yuval Halamish | 2003–05 |
| Guy Lipkin | 2005–07 |
| Ariel Karo | 2007–09 |
| Eli Pollack | 2009–2012 |
| Guy Bar-Lev | 2012–2015 |
| Mordechai Kahane | August 2015 – November 2017 |
| Dan Neumann | November 2017 – July 2018 |
| Amir Avstein | July 2018 – |