The IDF is introducing a new medical fitness classification, “Profile 70,” in a significant change aimed at expanding the number of recruits eligible to serve in combat and operational positions amid a severe shortage of combat soldiers.

The new classification will fall between Profile 64, which generally prevents soldiers from serving in combat positions, and Profile 72, which is considered a combat profile.

Profile 70 was developed following extensive work by the IDF Medical Corps together with the Manpower Directorate. It will apply to prospective recruits undergoing their initial IDF screening in the near future, but will not be applied retroactively to soldiers who have already enlisted.

Under the change, recruits who previously would have received Profile 64 because of certain medical conditions will be considered for a broader range of combat and operational positions, including roles in the Artillery Corps, Air Defense Array, Air Force and other units.

The IDF decided to create the new classification after finding that hundreds of Profile 64 soldiers each year were already receiving individual medical exemptions allowing them to serve in positions officially requiring at least Profile 72. Instead of continuing to issue hundreds of individual exemptions, the military will now have a formal medical category covering many of those recruits.

The move comes as the IDF works to address its shortage of combat manpower and increase the number of recruits available for frontline and operational service.

The IDF’s existing primary medical classifications include Profile 21 for those deemed unfit for military service; Profiles 45 and 64 for non-combat service; and Profiles 72, 82 and 97 for varying levels of combat eligibility. Profile 70 will now serve as an intermediate category between non-combat and traditional combat profiles.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)