Information AboutShayetet-13 |
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| israeli sea corps special units | |
| special forces of israel | |
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The S-13 is part of the Navy of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The S-13 symbol is a sword with in a shield with bat wings ( {Link without Title} ). Originally the S-13 was designated and trained to perform naval raids and underwater commando operations. Aside from being the navy elite unit for special missions, the S-13 is also an elite CT ( Counter Terror ) unit which specializes in Covert Ops deep within enemy's territory combining assault by sea, land and air. HISTORY The S-13 is based upon the Naval Brigade of the Jewish pre-military Haganah . Only in the 1970 's it was professionalized as a naval SF unit and elite CT force. During the following decades the S-13 based its reputation as the second best elite SF in the IDF. The S-13 took part in Operation Spring Of Youth of 1973 in which Israeli special forces raided Beirut secretly overnight and killed some of the members of Black September , which had carried out the Munich Massacre of Israeli athletes in the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics . Beside its great successes, the S-13 has also known great tragedies. On September 8 1997 the unit suffered a serious blow during a raid in Lebanon , when it was caught in a Hezbollah ambush and 11 of its soldiers were killed, including the unit commander. In recent years, it was discovered that S-13 veterans had high occurrence of Cancer , probably due to training in the polluted Kishon River & Haifa Bay. A commission for investigating the matter didn't find statistical evidences that the diving in the Kishon caused the cancer. However, Minister of Defence, Shaul Mofaz , decided to compensate the divers' families in spite of the commission findings. S-13 is considered one of the best elite SF unit in the Israeli Defence Force and has a strong positive reputation with the Israeli public. TRAINING The training course of S-13 lasts one year and eight months (a total of 20 months). During training, the trainees acquire many skills, such as: Sniping , Navigation , Unarmed Combat , Diving , Sailing , Parachuting , helicopter gliding and more. LIST OF FAMOUS S-13 OPERATIONS ::(Some information from this link: {Link without Title} .)
CURRENT STATUS During the Al-Aqsa Intifada , the S-13 soldiers decided not to limit themselves to naval operations and took part in ground Counter Terror operations deep within the West Bank and the Gaza Strip . The S-13 has performed hundreds of operations, including the arrest and/or killing of many militants of the Hamas , Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades , considered worldwide as Terrorists due to their involvement in Suicide Bombings . S-13 still performs naval operations. It earned high acclaim due to the capture of three Palestinian ships which smuggled illegal weapons: Karin A , Santorini and Abu-Yusuf . The takeover of Karin A in particular was considered a highly difficult operation and it was conducted flawlessly. In 2002 and in 2003 , the S-13 won the Chief-of-Staff award for successful Counter Terror operations ( click here to see the award certificate ). Following the death of S-13's Captain Moran Vardi on July 6 , 2004 , the IDF issued the following statement: :The Shayetet (13) is an elite Infantry recon unit ( Sayeret ), the only one to operate on land, sea, and air. The Shayetet fighters conduct widespread extensive activities on land, by sea, and from the air, which include intelligence gathering, pinpoint targeting of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure, thwarting terrorist attacks and neutralizing serious risks to Israel's security. :In the last years, since the beginning of the Intifada , the Shayetet is taking a central place in IDF activities in the Palestinian Territories . The activity of capturing wanted terrorists specially designed for the Shayetet requires special abilities. The Shayetet operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have had a heavy price: in the current conflict the Shayetet lost five of its fighters. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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