Combat Engineering Corps - Roles

Roles

Beside extensive training in basic combat engineering, combat engineers through specialized training in their respective professions. These are:

• Sapper: trained with all the basic engineering skills and also trained at high infantry level (רובאי 07). Their main role is to breach through terrain obstacles (natural and artificial), breach through minefields and enable ground forces to advance in the battle field. They are trained to supply close combat support for both armored fighting vehicles and infantry. Some of them are trained in driving the Combat Engineering Corps standard CEV: the IDF Puma. They professional ranks after advance training are Rifleman 07 (רובאי 07) and Sapper 06 (פלס 06).

• Engineering Vehicles Operator (EVO): less combatant but nonetheless important, these soldiers are skilled in the operation of heavy mechanical equipment and engineering vehicles such as heavy bulldozers, excavators, cranes, tractors and mine-breaching devices. EVO units are called צמ"ה (Tzama) in Hebrew, acronym of Tziyud Mechani Handasi (Mechanical Engineering Equipment). They professional ranks are Rifleman 05 (רובאי 05) and EVO Operator 07 (מפעיל צמ"ה 07).
  • Bulldozer Operators: belong to the EVO, these soldiers are operating the IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozers, including under heavy fire. Their roles are versatile and differ according to the units whom they are attached. The D9 operators perform construction, destruction, breaching and EOD missions while assisting to tanks, infantry and even special forces during battle.
• NBC Disposal: called "purifiers", they are expert in handling nuclear, biological and chemical threats.
• EOD experts: the Explosive Ordnance Disposal are experts in detonating explosives without damage and bomb disposal. Among their equipment you can find the Barrett M82A1 and remote-control EOD robots with shotguns and mechanic-arms. The EOD are the military equivalent of the police's bomb squad. In the IDF, they are a part of the elite Engineering unit Yahalom.
• Demolition experts: they are specially trained in blowing up things in the most accurate and effective way. They explode things ranging from cellular phones and doorlocks up to tanks and large buildings. In the IDF, the demolition experts are united in Sayeret Yael of Yahalom (Sayeret is the Israeli name for SF elite unit) and therefore gain high infantry training as well.
• Fortification experts: assigned on designing and overseeing the construction of bases, outposts, bridges and fortifications. Construction itself is usually done by the EVOs.
• Counter-Tunnels experts: established in 2003 by the late Captain Aviv Hakani, these Combat Engineering Corps soldiers are expert in finding smuggling tunnels and weapon caches, and demolishing them. They operated in Rafah during the al-Aqsa Intifada and received recommendation of honor for their activity. After 2004 APC incident the Rafah tunnel team was united with the Combat Engineering Corps elite unit Yahalom and was renamed Sayeret Samur ("Samur" means "Weasel" in Hebrew).