Combat Intelligence Collection Corps
The Israeli Combat Intelligence Collection Corps is the newest of the IDF GOC Army Headquarters' five corps, created in April 2000 and tasked with collecting combat intelligence. 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.
Structure
The corps consists of the following units:- 414th Nesher Field Intelligence Battalion
- 595th Ait Field Intelligence Battalion
- 636th Nitzan Field Intelligence Battalion
- 727th Eitam Field Intelligence Battalion
- 869th Shahaf Field Intelligence Battalion
- 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 best qualified soldiers from the Infantry Forces can then try out for the Combat Intelligence special forces. The training base is in the southern region of the Negev Desert, close to Eilat.;Infantry Forces
- Basic Training 16 weeks – Combat Intelligence School
- Advanced Training 20 weeks – Combat Intelligence School
- Unit Training – Northern, Southern and Central command
- Basic Training 8 weeks – Combat Intelligence School
- Advanced Training 8 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.
Additionally, the corps' beret color was changed from dark green to yellow.
Chief Combat Intelligence Officer
The Chief Combat Intelligence Officer is a Brigadier General appointed by the head of the GOC Army Headquarters. As of 2009, the Chief Combat Intelligence Officer is Eli Pollack.| 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 – |