Gadna (Israel)

Found in: Israel Defense Forces

Gadna is an Israeli military program to prepare youth for their mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces or Border Police. A one week program of discipline and military learning run by soldiers of the Nahal infantry brigade, Gadna hosts an estimated 19,000 Israeli youth annually, as well as numerous foreign youths.

History

Gadna, an abbreviation for '''Gdudei No'ar''' , was created before the Israeli declaration of independence. Trainees originally served as combatants for all intents and purposes, actively participating in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, particularly on the Jerusalem front.

Insignia

The commanders, sergeants and officers, wear the green beret of the Nahal infantry brigade, but they do not have the infantry badge on their beret, or the Nahal shoulder tag, wearing the Education and Youth Corps badge and tag instead.

The commanders wear a brown braid on their left shoulders. Trainees in Gadna are issued uniforms consisting of fatigue or B uniform pants and a shirt, a military belt, a canteen, and a canteen holder. Living in army tents or barracks, the youth are organized into squads. The squad has two leaders chosen by the commander. The highest youth is taken under the base officer's wing and wears a braid on their left shoulder, or multi-colored (striped) epaulets. If they wear the braid they wear the same color epaulet as the rest of their unit. The second highest youth commander is the sergeant. They wear special epaulets, usually black, and they never wear a braid.

Structure

The Gadna program is subordinate to the Magen division of the Education and Youth Corps.

Bases

Numerous bases were related to the Gadna program over the years, although as of 2008, only 3 operational Gadna bases remain:

Tzalmon Gadna Base, in the Lower Galilee

Sdeh Boker Gadna Base, in the Negev desert

Joara Gadna Base, on the Plains of Manasseh

Plans exist to upgrade and renovate these bases, which will likely be carried out before the 200910 school year.

Controversies

While the Gadna program has been criticized as "overly militaristic" by certain educators and professors in Israel, the Education and Youth Corps has prepared a program which would see more militaristic and combatant values inserted into the lessons conducted in the program, although less emphasis will be put on the physical aspect of the program.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Gadna (Israel)