"Preparing for war": The exercise in Judea and Samaria that prepared the Nahal Brigade for another round against Hezbollah
Just 3 months after operating in the northern sector, the 931st Battalion of the Nahal Brigade is holding a tense sector in Judea and Samaria. Between arresting wanted persons and locating weapons, the battalion went out for an intensive exercise in Nahal Kana: "Simulates Lebanon in the best way." The new battalion commander, Lt. Col. N., in a special interview about dealing with the threat of explosive drones, the tension in the sector, and the challenge added by the heat load.
The routine of the 931st Battalion fighters in the Nahal Brigade does not stop for a moment. Only about three months ago, the battalion operated deep in Lebanon, and now it is in intensive operational activity in the Ephraim Territorial Brigade in Samaria. However, between night arrests in Tulkarm and weapons searches in villages, the fighters are required to maintain high readiness - with eyes on the northern front.
This week, the battalion's fighters finished a two-day intensive exercise in Nahal Kana, simulating combat in the complex and mountainous terrain of southern Lebanon. In a special interview, the battalion commander, Lt. Col. N., told about the sharp transition from daily counter-terrorism in Judea and Samaria to preparing for the next war in the north. He detailed the developing response to the drone threat, the challenge added by the heat load, and the most important component from his point of view - the self-confidence of the fighter at the edge.
The return to Judea and Samaria required the battalion to dive immediately into deep counter-terrorism and disruption activity. "We operate in the Ephraim Brigade every day, from weapons searches to arrests and interrogations in the field," explained Lt. Col. N. "I entered here right with the sequence of attacks that occurred. There is no doubt that this raised the tension here, you feel it. But we work very closely with the Shin Bet and the police and do beautiful things together. Just a few weeks ago, following the sound of gunfire, we conducted a scan in one of the locations and found a pistol."
Lt. Col. N. added: "Of course, alongside this stands the daily mission of protecting citizens and preventing terrorism. The directive is clear. There are targets that the battalion raises in light of shooting in the area or in the villages. The battalion intelligence officer analyzes the terrain and we initiate offensive activity. We don't wait for the Shin Bet to tell us who to take, we take a lot of initiative at the battalion and brigade level."
Despite the operational routine, the battalion went out for a full battalion exercise in Nahal Kana. The terrain, characterized by deep wadis, steep ridges, and dense thickets, constitutes a grounded simulation for the complex terrain of Lebanon. "We utilized the terrain cells that simulate Lebanon in the best way," the battalion commander said. "It was a full battalion exercise, while dealing with force constraints of holding a sector, but with all efforts: fire, drones, a whole operational complex that surrounded us, enemy simulation, and explosive drones. The ground of the wadis and the thickets required the commanders and fighters to analyze the terrain again. This is a central lesson of combat - everything starts with terrain analysis, certainly in a terrain cell like Lebanon that is not like any other sector."
To the physical challenge was added the difficulty of the heavy heat load, especially when it comes to an exercise with weights on the back. "It definitely added to the challenge," said Lt. Col. N. "We were required to time the activity according to the orders, we postponed some of the moves by an hour or two until the heat load dropped, and we operated mainly at night. War is a challenging thing, and movement in a complex space with heavy weights under strict procedures is exactly what prepares us."
The response to the drone threat
One of the main threats that occupied the army in the fighting in Lebanon is Hezbollah's use of explosive drones with fiber optics. Lt. Col. N. does not hesitate to address the gaps that existed in the past, and admits: "It is no secret that there was frustration in the army regarding this threat at the beginning of the way. But today we are preparing for the war that will be and not for the war that was. A structured procedure has been written, there are ways of defense and technological solutions of defense and interception that the army brings in cooperation with civilian companies. In the exercise, all our tools were networked and the fighters practiced a precise response procedure."
On the question of how this affects the fighter at the edge, the battalion commander replied that "the moment there is a clear procedure and the fighter understands what he can do at his level to deal with the threat, it raises confidence by several levels. The world of drones is still the main challenge in the next fighting in Lebanon, and the enemy is investing effort there, but there are entire teams in the IDF that deal with this. When the fighter understands that he has an answer, he arrives calmer and more focused."
In summarizing the exercise, the battalion commander testified that the greatest achievement is not only tactical, but also in morale: "A fighter came to me at the end of the exercise and said it was challenging and difficult, but that his confidence in the commanders, in the weapons, and in his friends had increased. The moment that happens, I know I did my part. The Nahal Brigade is the tip of the spear in training while holding operational activity, and the self-confidence of the framework is the most important component for victory in any sector we are required to."
