For the first time ever the IDF Homefront Command on Monday, 9 Elul 5772 began a training exercise simulating a week of missiles bombarding major cities in Israel. While training events involving simulated attacks have been held in the past, it has never been done on this scale.

During the unprecedented training event soldiers will deal with collapsed buildings, extricating victims, transporting the wounded and dead to staging areas and other components of a major war chas v’sholom. Homefront Command soldiers and officers will be tested to the limit of their endurance and expertise.

Mannequins are being placed amid building rubble in areas of Yerushalayim, Ramle, and Netanya. As members of the Homefront’s Kedem unit is in the midst of ‘war week’, they received notice that missiles with conventional warheads fired from Syria were landing in a number of areas. Brigade Commander Lt.-Colonel Gilad Farchi spoke of the responsibilities of the Homefront Command’s three companies if missiles are launched with chemical warheads.

The commander explained one company is responsible for monitoring the situation while the second works to suppress the agent, to prevent it from spreading as much as possible and the third begins working to purify and cleanse the area.

The commander of the Jerusalem District, Colonel Chen Livni adds “We do not have the luxury of assigning an entire brigade at one impact site” explains Farchi, who is aware of his manpower limitations. “Soldiers are drilling dealing with such attacks during rescue efforts and in the event of such an attack, soldiers will drop to their knees and seek cover the best then can and then continue doing what they were doing. That is our reality”.

Livni is asked by the daily HaMevaser to assess the odds of a missiles hitting Yerushalayim too in the event of a war. He is quoted as saying “The theory that missiles will not be fired into Jerusalem because of Har HaBayis no longer holds water,” adding “our enemies have missiles that are accurate enough that they can strike the Western capital only”.

Livni feels that without a doubt the threat is greater in the Gush Dan area, but “the war is also about symbolism and that is Jerusalem”.

The major training event comes two weeks after the command tested the response of soldiers with an unprecedented ‘call up’ exercise. Hundreds of soldiers, reservists and standing army were called on their vacations and sent to different areas to accurately evaluate response times.

The homefront unit is also about ‘routine’ soldiering and the troops this week are also being tested on combat skills including a simulation of having to take over a PA (Palestinian Authority) village in Yehuda and Shomron.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)