Israel Defense Forces ranks


The Israeli Defense Forces has a unique rank structure. Because the IDF is an integrated force, ranks are the same in all services The ranks are derived from those used in the pre-state paramilitary Haganah, which operated during the Mandate period in order to protect the Yishuv. This is reflected in the slightly compacted rank structure: for instance, the Chief of Staff is seemingly only equivalent to a lieutenant general in other militaries.

Current ranks

Officers : Volunteers who have completed the officer's course. Officers serve for at least 36 months for women in non-combat position and 44 months for men. Positions in specialized units require their officers to serve for more than this. Promotions are based on ability and time served. It takes about a year to be promoted from 2nd lieutenant to 1st lieutenant and three years to be promoted from 1st lieutenant to captain. Army officers have bronze-metal insignia, air force officers have silver metal insignia, and navy officers have gold-metal insignia or gold braid bars. Officers without a university education can be promoted to a maximum of Rav Seren, although the IDF often sponsors the studies for their majors.
Academic officers : Special rank given to soldiers who are delaying completing officers' training so they can complete a professional education. A kama is equivalent to a 2nd lieutenant, and a ka'ab is equivalent to a 1st lieutenant, but are treated as if they were breveted to the next higher rank. Officers of these ranks are considered professional manpower and rarely take posts of command. Upon finally completing officers' training, an academic officer is immediately awarded the corresponding next "real" rank due to their experience in grade. Their insignia bars are embossed with scrolls rather than laurel branches.
Non-commissioned officers : The professional non-commissioned and warrant ranks, drawn from volunteers who signed on for military service after completing conscription. They usually are assigned to head-up the headquarters staff of a unit. Samal is a Hebrew abbreviation for segen mi-khutz la-minyan, which translates as “supernumerary deputy”; it is a Field NCO rank equivalent to a British or Commonwealth "Sergeant". Rav samal translates as "chief sergeant"; it is a career NCO rank equivalent to a British or Commonwealth "Staff Sergeant" or "Sergeant Major" / "Warrant Officer". Nagad is a variant of the biblical word nagid, which means "ruler" or "leader". Rav nagad is a senior staff NCO rank equivalent to the American ranks of "Chief Warrant Officer" and "Master Warrant Officer".
Enlisted : The conscript and field NCO ranks. All Jewish or Druze conscripts must start their compulsory service at 18 ; Christians, Muslims, and Circassians may volunteer at 17 or older. Enlisted male conscripts serve for 32 months and female conscripts serve for 24 months. In the IDF enlisted ranks are earned by means of time in service, rather than by a particular post or assignment. After 4 to 12 months the conscript is promoted to rav turai, after 18 to 20 months promoted to samal, and after 24 to 32 months is promoted to samal rishon..
Field NCOs who command sub-units are called mashak. This is an abbreviation that translates into English literally as "non-commissioned officer". It is a term of respect like the French Army's chef.
Recruits : Upon enlistment to military service in Israel, all soldiers begin a basic training course and undergo several weeks or months of 'integration' from citizens to soldiers. This course is called tironut and the soldier being trained on this course is called a tiron. This is often erroneously interpreted as a rank, similar to the US Army's private ; tironim are ranked as turai, the same rank and paygrade as newly trained conscripts.
Both officers and enlisted personnel have an obligation to serve in the Reserves after completing their active military service. Male personnel serve until 41–51 years old while female personnel serve until 24 years old.

Obsolete ranks

The rank of memale makom katzín, initials:Mamak or "substitute officer", was created in the 1960s. The rank was considered below a 2nd lieutenant. It indicated a cadet in the Israeli army who had finished the basic preparation for an officer rank, but for some reason abandoned their studies, failed to complete the professional officer preparation, or completed it with a minimal passing grade but was still found worthy of command. They occupied the lowest officer posts until a normal officer rank was found for the position. Those who finished the officer preparation with a minimal passing grade and were substituting in a command position were eligible for promotion to normal officer rank after a set period. It was discontinued in 1994.
The rank of Samal Bakhír, initials:Samab was used from 1948 to 1952. It was the equivalent of a US Army First Sergeant. It was replaced by the rank of Rav Samal Yekhidati, similar to a British or Commonwealth Army Warrant Officer II.
The rank of rav turái rishón, initials:Ratash, or "chief private first class", was used from 1972 to 1982. There was an expansion of staff NCO ranks during this period and the higher rank was offered to conscripts who planned to enlist after completing their national service.
The rank of turai rishon, initials:Tarash, or "private first class", was disestablished in the Regular IDF in 1990. It still continued to be used in the Reserves until it was finally discontinued in 1999. Privates now retain their rank until promoted to corporal, usually after 10 months of peacetime service or 6 months for support roles or 4 months for combatants during hostilities. Corporals in combat units traditionally do not wear their rank insignia, remaining without insignia until they are promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Insignia

Aiguillettes, Srochim in Hebrew are worn on the left shoulder* of the uniform to indicate a soldier's specific role a unit:
When the IDF was created in 1948, there were 7 enlisted and NCO ranks, and 8 officer ranks. The ranks were as follows:
EnlistedInsigniaOfficerInsignia
Rav samal

Rav samal rishon 		An oak leaf within a laurel wreath on a red cloth circle
An oak leaf over a sword within a laurel wreath
A vertical entwined sword and olive branch in a Star of David within a laurel wreath
2 chevrons 		Rav aluf An oak leaf within a laurel wreath
An oak leaf over an oak leaf within a laurel wreath
2 oak leaves over a crossed sword and olive branch
Rav samal

Rav Samal
An oak leaf within a laurel wreath
An oak leaf in a Star of David within a laurel wreath
1 chevron 		Aluf 1 oak leaf over a crossed sword and olive branch
Samal bakhír
A small oak leaf within a laurel wreath on 3 half chevronsAluf
aluf-mishneh 		3 oak leaves
Samal rishon
A small oak leaf on 3 half chevronsSgan aluf 2 oak leaves
Samal 3 half chevronsRav seren 1 oak leaf
Rav turai 2 half chevronsSeren 3 bars
Turai rishon 1 half chevronSegen rishon
Segen 		2 bars
Turai No insigniaSegen
Segen mishne 		1 bar

IDF Ranks and their insignia were initially influenced by the British / Commonwealth model. This was due to the average Israeli servicemen's experience in the Commonwealth forces during World War Two. This was later reformed when the IDF started to adopt a rank system similar to the United States armed forces in 1973 and the 1990s.
Rank insignia were originally cut from cloth or embroidered onto cloth patches. Bronze-metal officer's rank insignia worn on a red cloth backing were introduced for the army in 1949. Enlisted stripes for all arms were originally individual white half-chevrons with space between them. In an economy move, senior NCOs were distinguished by using the same bronze insignia as senior officers pinned to their sleeve insignia. In 1951 the Navy adopted golden-yellow half-chevrons and the Air Force adopted blue half chevrons.
A samal rishon was equal to a British Army staff sergeant / colour sergeant or a US Army technical sergeant / platoon sergeant. For the other services, the bronze-metal oak-leaf on the army's samal rishon rank insignia was replaced with a yellow anchor in a white hexagon for the Navy and a blue Star of David on a white circle for the Air Force. This was later replaced in 1951 with a gold-metal oak leaf for the Navy and a silver-metal oak leaf for the Air Force.
A Samal Bakhír was equivalent to a US Army First Sergeant. The rank insignia was a small bronze oak leaf in a wreath on 3 white half-chevrons for the Army; a yellow anchor in a yellow-bordered or solid-yellow hexagon on 3 white half-chevrons for the Navy; and a blue Star of David in a blue-bordered circle on 3 white half-chevrons for the Air Force. It was replaced by the reorganized Rav Samal rank in 1951 and the new Rav Samal Yehidati rank by 1955.
A Rav Samal was equivalent to a British Army Warrant Officer II. The rank insignia was an Oak Leaf in a Laurel Wreath. It came in bronze-metal on a red enamel backing for the Army, gold-metal for the Navy, and silver-metal for the Air Force. It was worn on the lower right sleeve of the shirt or jacket or on a leather wrist strap when wearing short-sleeve order. It was divided into Rav-Samal Miktzoi and Rav Samal Yekhidati from 1955 to 1958.
A Rav Samal was equivalent to a US Army Master Sergeant or Sergeant Major. The rank insignia was originally an oak leaf in a laurel wreath for the Army, a large yellow anchor in a yellow-bordered or solid-yellow hexagon for the Navy, and a large blue Star of David in a bordered circle for the Air Force. The rank was renamed Rav Samal Rishon and was equivalent to a British Army Warrant Officer I. The new rank also received new insignia made of metal: an Oak Leaf over a vertical Sword in a Laurel Wreath. It came in bronze-metal on a red enamel backing for the Army, gold-metal for the Navy, and silver-metal for the Air Force. It was worn on the lower right sleeve of the shirt or jacket or on a leather wrist strap when wearing short-sleeve order. It was divided into Rav Samal Rishon Miktzoi and Rav Samal Rishon Yekhidati from 1955 to 1958.

Early ranks of the IDF (1948–1951)

From 1948 to 1951, IDF Ranks for each branch of service had unique titles and distinct insignia.
US Army RankIDF Army IDF Navy IDF Air Force
PrivateTuraiMalakh Avirai
Private First ClassTurai RishonMalakh Rishon Avirai Rishon
CorporalRav TuraiRav Malakh Avirai Musmakh
SergeantSamalSamal Samal Avir
Staff SergeantSamal RishonSamal Rishon Samal Tayas
Sergeant First ClassRav-SamalRav-Samal Samal Teufa
Master SergeantRav-Samal RishonRav-Samal Rishon
Katsin Avir
Officer Candidate-Meshit -
Second LieutenantSegenSgan Khovel Pakkad Avir
First LieutenantSegen RishonKhovel Pakkad Tayas
CaptainSerenKhovel Rishon Pakkad Teufa
MajorRav SerenRav Khovel Rosh Tayeset
Lieutenant-ColonelSgan alufSgan Kabarnit Rosh Kanaf
ColonelAluf /
Aluf Mishne 		Kabarnit Rosh Lahak
GeneralAluf Aluf Yam Aluf Avir
Chief of StaffRav Aluf --

Rank insignia for the Navy and Air Force mirrored those of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, respectively.

Synopsis of NATO code OF 1–10 to IDF ranks