Photo Credit: IDF

As the sun sets on an IDF soldier in the Oketz canine special forces unit and his loyal companion, Herman.

Oketz was founded in 1939 as part of Haganah. Each dog is trained in a particular specialty. Attack dogs are trained to operate in both urban and rural areas. Other dogs are trained to track and pursue individuals and to detect breaches in the Israeli border, as well as find people in collapsed buildings. Other dogs are trained to search for guns and ammunition, and sniff out hidden explosives.

Advertisement




Though not affiliated with the IDF Paratroopers Brigade, Oketz operators wear the same distinctive red berets.

Advertisement

SHARE
Previous articleReport: Orthodox Conversions in Israel Down 31%
Next articleToo ‘Hot’ for Comfort, Temp Sues Orthodox Bosses in Failure to Communicate
Yori Yanover has been a working journalist since age 17, before he enlisted and worked for Ba'Machane Nachal. Since then he has worked for Israel Shelanu, the US supplement of Yedioth, JCN18.com, USAJewish.com, Lubavitch News Service, Arutz 7 (as DJ on the high seas), and the Grand Street News. He has published Dancing and Crying, a colorful and intimate portrait of the last two years in the life of the late Lubavitch Rebbe, (in Hebrew), and two fun books in English: The Cabalist's Daughter: A Novel of Practical Messianic Redemption, and How Would God REALLY Vote.