The October 7 massacre exposed a dangerous gap in the IDF’s preparedness: soldiers responsible for medicine, maintenance, logistics and religious services could suddenly find themselves fighting terrorists, prompting the military to rethink how it trains its support personnel.

By Hezy Laing

A logistics officer caught in the fighting

On the morning of October 7, 2023, Captain Shin, a junior logistics officer with limited combat experience, rushed to the Kissufim military post after Hamas terrorists launched their assault.

His company commander, Major Raz Peretz, and other soldiers were stationed there. Peretz was killed during the fighting at the outpost and nearby community, along with 26 other soldiers.

Shin found himself in the middle of an intense battle, attempting to rescue soldiers from the overrun position. Twelve managed to escape alive.

“I did not have the appropriate level of combat training for this,” he later acknowledged in an interview with The Times of Israel.

After the fighting in the Kissufim area, Shin took command of the administrative support company of Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, leading it through the difficult opening days of the war.

Having experienced the consequences of inadequate combat preparation firsthand, Shin helped turn that painful lesson into a new training initiative. He now serves as deputy head of the IDF school established to address precisely this weakness.

A new approach to combat training

The school was established as part of the IDF’s lessons from October 7, recognizing that soldiers who support frontline units may also find themselves directly confronting enemy forces.

Its courses provide infantry-oriented instruction to personnel from medical, logistics, maintenance, communications, human resources and even Military Rabbinate units.

Training includes weapons handling and marksmanship, physical fitness, hand-to-hand combat and operating military vehicles in dangerous conditions. Drivers, for example, learn to navigate darkened combat zones using night-vision equipment.

The objective is not to turn every mechanic, doctor or administrator into an infantry soldier, but to ensure that they can defend themselves and their fellow soldiers when an attack occurs.

The courses are not yet mandatory, but instructors are traveling to military bases to train as many support personnel as possible.

The school’s commander explained, “They need to be confident in their ability to handle a situation.”

Support companies are essential to keeping combat battalions operational, providing everything from spare parts and equipment to food and casualty evacuation.

When medics must fight to save lives

The Medical Corps has also introduced more intensive combat instruction for future paramedics, recognizing that treating wounded soldiers may require entering areas where fighting is still underway.

In July 2025, the IDF reported that 44 paramedic trainees had participated in a dedicated week of counterterrorism training at the Adam facility, combining medical skills with instruction from the military’s counterterrorism specialists.

Each trainee fired approximately 300 rounds during shooting exercises, including drills involving crawling, taking cover and treating wounded soldiers under fire.

They also practiced moving through open terrain, operating in buildings and evacuating casualties while under attack.

One exercise simulated a team entering a building in Gaza and encountering an explosive device. The trainees had to manage the incident, secure the building, evacuate the wounded and provide medical treatment.

The program had already undergone several rounds of improvement, with instructors reviewing each course and bringing in additional experienced reservists.

The initiative is not limited to paramedics. IDF battalion doctors also undergo similar combat-medical training and subsequently teach the skills to soldiers in their own units.

Every role matters on the battlefield

The same principle applies to mechanics, drivers, logistics personnel and Military Rabbinate soldiers.

A damaged armored vehicle cannot return to battle without maintenance crews, while frontline units depend on support personnel to deliver ammunition, fuel, food and essential equipment.

Military Rabbinate personnel also have demanding wartime responsibilities, including identifying fallen soldiers, handling burial arrangements and providing religious services, sometimes in dangerous operational areas.

These soldiers are not expected to replace infantry troops or lead assaults, but they must be prepared to respond if they encounter terrorists.

For Shin, the initiative represents a tangible answer to a question he regularly hears from family and friends: what has the military learned from October 7, and what has changed?

“I like to say that we have changed,” he told The Times of Israel.