Caracal Battalion

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The Caracal Battalion is a combat battalion of the Israel Defense Forces that is composed of male and female soldiers. Previously women had been prevented from serving in direct combat positions, but due to growing public pressure, the Caracal unit was formed in 2000, and was assigned patrols along the Israel-Jordan border. It became an independent and separate battalion under the command of Col. Dedi Simchi in 2004. The battalion recently took part in Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005.

The battalion is named after the Caracal, a small cat whose sexes appear the same["Caracal" from the Honolulu Zoo].

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