# GLOSSARY OF ARMY TERMS draft words in plain language Dapar, Kaba, gibush, Yom Ha-MEA — what each of them means, in plain words. - **IDF · צה"ל · צבא ההגנה לישראל** The Israel Defense Forces. In Hebrew the acronym is Tzahal. - **Tzav Rishon (First Order) · צו ראשון** Your first appearance at the recruitment office: medical checks, the Dapar test, a personal interview and a Hebrew assessment. Usually at 16½–17. - **recruitment office · לשכת הגיוס** Where you report for Tzav Rishon and later for the draft itself. - **draft candidate (malshab) · מלש"ב · מועמד לשירות ביטחון** What you are called between Tzav Rishon and the day you actually enlist. - **Dapar · דפ"ר · דירוג פסיכוטכני ראשוני** A psychometric test scored 10–90 (average 50). It measures verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning, and it can be retaken. Dapar is the threshold for elite-unit selections, officer courses and most technology roles. - **Kaba (Kabat) · קב"א · קבוצת איכות (מ-2022: קב"ת)** A composite quality score on a 41–56 scale, built mostly from Dapar, the interview and your education record. It is the gate to the prestigious tracks: the academic reserve, the pilot course, elite intelligence. Officially renamed Kabat in 2022, still called Kaba by everyone. - **medical profile · פרופיל רפואי** A number from 21 to 97 summarising your health. 97 is the maximum and opens every combat unit; 82 covers field units and infantry; 72 combat service other than infantry and recon; 64 combat support plus some combat roles; 45 non-combat roles without heavy physical work; 24 temporarily unfit; 21 unfit to serve. There is no profile 100. - **Hebrew score · ציון עברית** A 5–8 scale set by how you speak at the interview; some candidates also take a reading-comprehension test. It gates some roles — for a new immigrant it is the score that improves fastest. - **Yom Ha-MEA (assessment day) · יום המא"ה · יום מיון, איתור והכוונה** A professional assessment day you are invited to based on your scores. It measures separate traits — information processing, spatial perception, teamwork, sustained attention, maturity — and those marks appear verbatim in the requirements of many roles. - **gibush (selection camp) · גיבוש** A multi-day physical and mental selection for combat and special units: sustained effort, teamwork and pressure. They are not measuring records — they are watching how you behave once it gets hard. - **itur (active selection) · איתור** Itur roles are the ones you reach through a dedicated selection day or gibush, rather than by scores and preferences alone. - **preferences questionnaire · שאלון העדפות** The form where you mark the roles you want. Placement combines your scores, these preferences and the army's needs. Older soldiers call it the manila. - **draft order · צו גיוס** The notice with your enlistment date and where to report. - **tironut (basic training) · טירונות** Every soldier's basic training. Its level is written as a number: 02 is the shortest, then 03, 05 and up for combat roles. - **security clearance · סיווג ביטחוני** The vetting done before classified roles: a questionnaire and sometimes an interview. Foreign citizenship or long stays abroad lengthen the process but do not by themselves rule you out. - **mashak (NCO specialist) · מש"ק · מפקד שאינו קצין** A commander who is not an officer: a specialist responsible for a domain and for soldiers — a welfare mashak, an operations mashak. - **squad commander · מ"כ · מפקד כיתה** The first rung of command — leads a squad after the squad commanders' course. - **officer track · קצונה** The senior command track. Officer suitability is assessed three times: after Tzav Rishon, at the end of basic training and after the officer tests. - **Bahad (training base) · בה"ד · בסיס הדרכה** A training base where the professional courses run. Each corps has its own, numbered — Bahad 20, for example. - **Aman (Military Intelligence Directorate) · אמ"ן · אגף המודיעין** The IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate, home to most intelligence units including Unit 8200. - **General Staff · מטכ"ל · המטה הכללי** The IDF's top command level. - **infantry · חי"ר · חיל רגלים** The corps that fights on foot: Golani, Givati, Nahal, Kfir, the Paratroopers. - **batash (routine security) · בט"ש · ביטחון שוטף** Day-to-day security work — patrols, checkpoints, guarding borders and towns — as opposed to training or war. - **Gadna (pre-military youth program) · גדנ"ע · גדודי נוער** A week of army activity for high-school students — a taste of service before the draft. - **Kaban (mental-health officer) · קב"ן · קצין בריאות הנפש** The unit's mental-health officer — where you go with difficulties during service. - **Tash (soldier welfare) · ת"ש · תנאי שירות** The system that handles a soldier's service conditions: money, housing, lone-soldier status, family problems. In the unit it is the welfare mashak you talk to. - **lone soldier · חייל בודד** A soldier whose parents are abroad or who has no supporting family. It brings extra pay, additional leave days and housing support — a common status for an immigrant who came alone. - **mandatory service · שירות סדיר** Compulsory service: currently about three years for men and about two for women, depending on the role. - **keva (career service) · קבע** Paid service continuing after the mandatory term. Many technology roles require a keva commitment in exchange for long training. - **reserve duty (miluim) · מילואים** Periodic service after discharge, mostly in combat units and in-demand trades. - **Shnat Sherut (a volunteer year) · שנת שירות** A volunteer year before enlistment — an officially recognised deferral for educational or community work. - **mechina (pre-military academy) · מכינה קדם צבאית** A preparatory year before enlistment: study, fitness and team-building, usually ahead of combat or command service. - **Atuda (academic reserve) · עתודה אקדמית** An army-funded degree before service, in exchange for a longer service in a role matching the profession. 11 elite programs within the atuda — what you study, where, and the threshold, from the 2027–2028 booklet - **Talpiot · תלפיות** The IDF's elite science-and-technology program: a physics and mathematics degree followed by systems development, with a long service commitment. - **Havatzalot · חבצלות** The intelligence reserve program: a humanities or Middle-East studies degree alongside intelligence training, then a role in Aman. - **Unit 8200 · יחידה 8200** Aman's large signals-intelligence unit — a well-known source of high-tech talent. - **Unit 669 · יחידה 669** The air force's airborne search-and-rescue unit; entry is through a long and demanding gibush. - **Sayeret Matkal · סיירת מטכ"ל** The General Staff's commando unit for intelligence gathering and special operations; an unusually long selection. - **Golani · גולני** A veteran infantry brigade, brown beret. - **Givati · גבעתי** An infantry brigade, purple beret. - **Paratroopers · צנחנים** The airborne infantry brigade, red beret, includes a parachuting course. - **Nahal · נח"ל · נוער חלוצי לוחם** An infantry brigade that grew out of the youth movements, light green beret. - **Duvdevan · דובדבן** A commando unit for undercover work in urban areas. - **Shayetet 13 · שייטת 13** The navy's naval commando; a long maritime selection. - **armored fighting vehicles · רק"ם · רכב קרבי משוריין** The umbrella term for armored vehicles: tanks, APCs and engineering vehicles. - **APC (nagmash) · נגמ"ש · נושא גייסות משוריין** An armored vehicle that carries soldiers on the battlefield. - **weapons and combat materiel · אמל"ח · אמצעי לחימה** All fighting materiel: weapons, ammunition and combat equipment. - **operations room (chamal) · חמ"ל · חדר מלחמה** The situation room from which events on the ground are tracked and managed in real time. - **study units (yechidot limud) · יח"ל · יחידות לימוד** The unit that measures how much of a subject you took in the matriculation exams. "5 units of mathematics" is a common requirement for technology roles. - **new immigrant (oleh chadash) · עולים חדשים** Someone who immigrated to Israel. Years in the country and the Hebrew score affect both service length and access to some roles. Was this overview useful? Give it a like An unofficial guide. Everything here comes from the IDF's official recruitment site and is translated; where the two disagree, the official site is right. Requirements change over time. Source: mitgaisim.idf.il · Updated: 2026-09-04 Built and opened to everyone on the initiative of AVIGAN AI. - Research - To the AVIGAN AI site --- Source: https://shpieg.co.il/en/maslul/glossary · Shpieg · info.shpieg@gmail.com