IDF Infantry Platoon

"Aharai! (Follow me!)"

– Common battlecry among IDF infantry officers

In Team Yankee

The IDF Infantry Platoon is a combined arms force with weapons to tackle virtually anything that the enemy has to offer, with up to 4 Galil teams, 3 MG teams, 3 RPG-7s, a 52mm mortar team and an M47 Dragon team.

Unlike most other factions, IDF platoons lack the ability to do any single task excellently. Compared to the infantry of other factions like the British Mechanized Platoon or Soviet Motor-Rifles, IDF platoons will almost always lose out in firefights in a fair fight against their counterparts (points-wise). Similarly, they lack a dedicated anti-armor infantry unit to deal with tanks, like a Milan platoon or 3 Spigot teams which can be added to the motor-rifles. Furthermore, their cost makes them a questionable choice for the sole purpose of holding forests or towns defensively.

What it excels at, however, is the ability to tackle virtually any opponent. When played correctly, IDF units are versatile enough to take advantage of your opponents’ units and adapt accordingly. 4 MGs may not be enough to win out in a firefight against other NATO platoons, but will be more than enough to keep Soviet infantry from pulling off their assaults. Fighting in forests or urban areas? Your Galil teams are more than capable of closing in with assault 3+ and a full ROF3 while on the move. Playing against an armoured list? Your RPG-7s will make the platoon’s points back when guarding your flanks and going for sideshots. The M47 may not be able to defeat most tanks even from the side, but can pick off key units like vehicle ATGMs or lightly armoured tanks like the Leopard 1 and the T-55AM2.

A solid unit that requires a different play style from most other factions' infantry. Exploit the weaknesses of your opponent and adapt their role accordingly: they are a Swiss army knife that performs abysmally when fighting enemy units at their own game.

IRL

The IDF infantryman was the backbone of the Israeli army, holding the Tiberius lake against Arab attacks and leading the attack against the Hermon outposts while their armoured comrades took most of the credit for winning Israel's wars. Going through boot camps with an extremely high number of veterans, Israel's training courses at the time were notorious for the sheer extent of brutality taken to ensure these troops would not break under stress. Despite their excellent standards, most soldiers (even today) are dressed in plain green fatigues much like the G.I.s of the Second World War and have equipment which was rather unimpressive, compared to their neighbours.

Even though they aren't Pact aligned, the standard issue rifle was a cousin of the AK with inspiration from the M16. The Galil is based on the Finnish RK62 (essentially a high quality AK) but in 5.56 and half a pound heavier with a non-freefloated bipod. The Galil maintains the RK62's aperture sights with full sight radius while adding a selector lever/safety that doesn't require breaking firing grip, eliminating two of the major flaws of the AK platform. It uses a proprietary rock and lock 5.56 magazine, though an adapter existed that let it use M16 magazines. It includes a bottle opener on the rifle itself because the IDF were a bunch of drunks deployed in a hot climate and drank from soda bottles to keep hydrated. Without such an innovative leap in weapon design, the ignorant conscripts brave soldiers of the IDF would otherwise damage the magazines when used to pry open bottles (No, seriously. That was an actual problem they had with Uzi magazines.). There's a 7.62 NATO version as well, but it was mostly for export.

Even today after 40 years of service, the Galil is the weapon of choice for police units and certain Israeli SOF units operating in environments the Tavor and M16 would choke in, such as the 13th Flottila. Modernized versions exist in carbine versions with picatinny rails, but are mostly meant for export to civilian customers.

For those wondering why nearly all combat units are led with that battlecry instead of the unit motto as in most other countries, the IDF were notorious for having their officers leading attacks from the front. Whether this is a smart move simply ignores the esprit de corps such a move creates, with officers being understood to be leaders among men fighting on the ground rather than the notorious stereotype of a young officer giving orders via radio and sending his men to very unnecessary deaths.

Israeli Forces in Team Yankee
Tanks:	Merkava - M60 Patton
Transports:	M113 Armored Personnel Carrier
Troops:	IDF Infantry Platoon
Artillery:	M109 Howitzer -M106 Heavy Mortar Carrier -M125 Mortar Carrier
Anti-Aircraft:	M163 VADS - ZSU 23-4 Shilka - M48 Chaparral - Redeye SAM Platoon
Tank Hunters:	Pereh - M150 TOW - Jeep TOW
Recon:	M113 Recce - Jeep Recce
Aircraft:	AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter - A4 Skyhawk