The Lions of Jordan have been joined by lionesses, and together they have been tasked with guarding Israel’s eastern flank, the IDF has announced.
It’s the second time female fighters have been accepted for training and fighting alongside men.
The “lionesses” finished their combat training a few weeks ago and are now ready to join the “lions” in taking control of their sector.
The female fighters are to replace the armored reserve battalion in the Jordan Valley and will be part of the 417th Jordan Valley Brigade. New recruits will complete boot camp and advanced training at the Nahal Brigade base near Arad.
The first such co-ed combat battalion, Caracal, currently secures the Egyptian border. Several female commanders and officers from that unit have recently been transferred to the new Lions of Jordan, according to the unit’s first battalion commander, Lt.-Col. Shai Penso.
Female fighters, he told the Hebrew-language Ynet, are “more motivated to prove themselves than male fighters, and they have better aim at the firing range or in exercises for the simple reason that they have higher concentration and better discipline.”
The Lions of Jordan are tasked with securing the Jordan Valley, where threats appear from Palestinian Authority cities such as Tubas and Tayasir, Shechem and Jenin.
A third co-ed battalion is to be formed in the coming year to take over the Arava sector on Israel’s border with Jordan.