For 1st time in decades IDF announces new combat division, composed of Ground Forces training units

For the first time in decades, the IDF announces the formation of a new combat division, which will be composed of the Ground Forces’ training units.

The 38th Division will contain all of the units currently in the Ground Forces’ Basic Training Division — headed by Brig. Gen. Sharon Altit — including the School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders, the Bahad 1 officers’ school, and the training schools for the Armored Corps, Artillery Corps, Combat Engineering Corps, and Border Defense Corps.

The IDF is also in the midst of establishing a signals battalion and a logistics regiment for the new division.

Since the 1970s, the IDF has not established any new “maneuvering divisions,” meaning ground units that are trained to enter deep into enemy territory. It has established new regional divisions — those tasked with defending Israel’s borders — as well as merged and restructured other maneuvering divisions in recent years.

The 38th Division derives its number from a historical division that fought during the 1956 Sinai Campaign and the 1967 Six Day War, before being merged into what is now the 146th Reserve Division. The historic 38th Division was last commanded by Israel’s eleventh prime minister, Ariel Sharon.

The military expects the new 38th Division to be combat-ready for ground operations in 2027.

Until now, in wartime, the IDF’s training schools would turn into fighting brigades and be deployed under various other divisions. The new formation will see the commander of the Basic Training Division, currently Altit, command those units himself during ground operations as chief of the 38th Division. The division would only be activated in times of war.