Golani Brigade

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Golani Brigade


caption=Golani Brigade insignia
country=Israel
allegiance=
type=Infantry
branch=Army
dates=1948 -
specialization=Infantry
command_structure=36th Armor Division, Northern Command
size=
current_commander=Colonel Tamir Yadai
garrison= Shrga base
ceremonial_chief=
nickname=
motto= "The No. 1 Brigade"
colors=Brown beret, yellow and green flag
march="Golani Sheli" ("My Golani")
mascot=
battles= Operation Defensive Shield, 2006 Lebanon War
notable_commanders
anniversaries=The Golani Brigade ( _he. חטיבת גולני, also known as the 1st Brigade) is an Israeli infantry brigade which was formed on February 28, 1948 when the Levanoni Brigade in the upper Galilee was merged with the Carmeli Brigade to form the Golani Brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the Israel Defense Forces.

History

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Golani Brigade participated in a number of reprisal raids in the first part of the 1950s. In 1951 against Syria. In October 1955 in a joint operation with the Paratroopers Brigade against Egypt.

In the 1956 Sinai Campaign the brigade's task was to capture the area around the city Rafah in the Sinai desert.

The symbol of the brigade is a green olive tree with its roots on a yellow background. The colors green and yellow symbolize the green hills of the Galilee, where the brigade was stationed at the time of its creation and the olive tree is known for its strong roots that penetrate and firmly hold the land, reflecting the brigade's connection with the State of Israel's heritage, thus this symbol was chosen. The yellow background on which the tree stands reflect's the Brigade's role in the south of the country in 1948, when it took Eilat, Israel's southernmost city. Early Golani soldiers were farmers and new immigrants, so the strong connection to the land (earth) was important to symbolize. For this reason, Golani's soldiers are designated by brown berets, which they earned from Sayeret Golani's role in the Entebbe Operation in 1976 in Uganda. The brown symbolizes the brigade's connection with the soil of the Land of Israel. This is in stark contrast to other Israeli infantry brigades, who display bright colors (purple, bright green, red) and snappy symbols.

In the upper Galilee located north of Haifa at the Golani Junction stands the Golani Brigade Museum commemorating the brigade and its fallen troops. This location is also used for battalion ceremonies.

The Golani brigade has earned a reputation for its die-hard soldiers, esprit de corps, and initiative. Golani soldiers are also well known for lax discipline and frequant insubodination. Elements of the Golani brigade are frequently employed for particularly difficult tasks requiring highly skilled infantry. These qualities are expressed in braveness, toughness and quick response - producing excellent warriors who can handle the hardest situation. Golani is known for its high "warrior comraderie" among the "regular regiment" troops and enjoy a very good reputation among Israeli public. Several incidents, however, in the late 1990s created a scandal in the brigade when two Golani company-size units revolted against their officers, left their posts in the field, and went home. The reasons were complex, essentially due to the immaturity of both the junior officers who lacked leadership skills and their subordinates who felt very humiliated. Over 70 were jailed from this incident and both companies, one known as the "Mustangs" containing many former Sayeret Golani fighters, were disbanded. This, however, is a display which has not repeated itself.

The Golani Brigade's equipment includes a number of heavy IDF Achzarit armored personnel carriers, which is built around a remanufactured T-55 tank chassis with a new convert|850|hp|abbr=on engine. The Achzarit is a very heavily-armored vehicle designed for the requirements of urban fighting, after Israeli M-113 APCs proved insufficiently armored against car bombs, mines, and rocket-propelled grenades.

Golani's recon company, or Sayeret Golani, is one of the most respected SF units in the IDF, with one of the most difficult training regimens, that begins in an area known as area 100 in the upper Galilee. This unit, in conjunction with Sayeret Matkal, re-took the Mount Hermon position in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. This unit's soldiers are so dedicated that in 1994 one of the operators who was a team leader (a second lieutenant designated to lead the smallest size unit within the recon) extricated himself from a Hezbollah minefield, after half his right leg was blown-off. He applied the tourniquet to his leg himself, so as not to endanger any of the other soldiers in his team. He is now a senior commander in the IDF.

In 1976, elements of the Golani Brigade were sent to Entebbe in Uganda to rescue 246 Jewish hostages on Air France flight 139, hijacked by PLO terrorists who boarded during an Athens stopover. The operation was a success, but its mission commander was killed (Yoni Netanyahu, brother of Israel's former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu).

As of 2004, Golani operates within the northern border of Israel and in the West Bank (mainly Jenin). During 2004 and 2005, a Golani battalion reinforced the Givati Brigade in the Gaza Strip.

Units

* 12th "Barak"/"Lightning" Infantry Battalion
* 13th "Gideon" Infantry Battalion
* 51st "HaBoki'm HaRishonim"/"First Breachers" Infantry Battalion
* "Egos"/"Nut Tree" Reconnaissance Battalion (Anti-guerilla Special Forces)
* Special Troops Battalion
** Anti-tank Company
** Engineer Company
** 95th "Flying Leopard" Reconnaissance Company
* 351st Signal Company

Commanders of the Golani Brigade

(A partial list)
*1948-1949, Moshe Mann, Mishael Shaham, Nahum Golan
*1986-1988, Gaby Ashkenazi
*1988- 1990 Baruch Spiegel
*1991-1993, Yair Nave
*1993-1995, Moshe Kaplinsky
*1995-1997, Erez Gerstein
*1997-1998, Gadi Eizenkot
*1999-2001, Shmuel Zakai
*2001-2003, Moshe Tamir
*2003-2005, Erez Tzukerman
*2005-current, Tamir Yadai

Golani Brigade in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war

List of Israeli military operations in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that the Golani Brigade participated in

* Operation Assaf
* Operation Dekel (only elements of the brigade participated)
* Operation Hiram
* Operation Horev
* Operation Ovdah
* Operation Yiftach

See also

* List of Israeli military operations in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war

External links and references

* [http://www.golani.co.il/ The Official Golani Web Site] In Hebrew
* http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/golani_brigade.html
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1153291993055&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull] - Sayeret Golani in the battle of Bint Jbail