Unit 669

Unit 669 has been credited with hundreds of rescues. Some of the more high-profile missions are listed below.

On September 15, 1997, the Shayetet 13 Naval Commandos sent an assault team to conduct a raid in Lebanon. The team encountered an improvised explosive device (IED) and was ambushed by Hezbollah in what has subsequently been called the Ansariya Ambush. 13 of the naval commandos were killed and 3 were injured. Unit 669 responded by sending a team to evacuate the injured commando team, while taking heavy enemy fire. For bravery and performance under fire the 669 team received a formal citation.[5]

In 2003, 669 rescued ten Turkish seamen when they were caught in a heavy storm in the Mediterranean Sea. Under these severe weather and sea conditions, the 669 soldiers rescued and evacuated the sailors from their ship at sea.[6]

During the Second Lebanon War (2006) and Operation Cast Lead (2008), Unit 669 made dozens of high-profile rescues of injured soldiers under enemy fire.

During the 2014 military campaign Protective Edge, 669 evacuated hundreds of casualties. These rescues, often under fire, earned the unit a formal citation award from the Chief of Staff of the IDF.[7]

The defining factor for an operator in Unit 669 is the ability to make difficult decisions under pressure. Due to the small-team nature of the unit, every soldier is expected to be a leader. All unit combat soldiers must pass a commander's course during their training. This is unlike typical IDF infantry units, where only a minority of the soldiers are recommended for the commander's course. After the 18-month training pipeline in 669 and once the soldier has collected combat experience, an additional advanced commander's course is required. This intensive course is entirely mission-based, and instructs advanced command and control methods and leadership. The advanced commander's course also functions as a selection process: the soldiers with the highest scores are chosen to be the next generation of small-team rescue commanders of the unit.

The demands on these small-team commanders are great, including the ability to manage radio communications and issue orders simultaneously to pilots, ground forces, doctors, and their subordinate rescue soldiers. This must be done from inside the helicopter on the way to the target and on the ground after landing. Difficult decisions that can mean the difference between life and death must be made under fire and under severe time pressure, with imperfect information and no pre-mission preparation. Due to the emergency responder nature of the unit, the type of mission, time of day, and location cannot be anticipated. Therefore, these commanders and their soldiers must know all specialties from their training perfectly (diving, rappelling, etc.), because there is no time to review them when the mission siren goes off.[8]

During peacetime, the unit often helps rescue civilians injured during various catastrophic incidents. The unit has also served as a civilian medevac for hikers who have gotten lost or stuck and need extraction from Israel's deserts or canyons. These civilian operations, while expensive, help train the unit fighters for their wartime roles. There is an ongoing debate whether extracted hikers should be forced to pay at least part of the extraction cost, especially in cases of hiker negligence or improper call for extraction. In the past, the unit's recruits had also patrolled agricultural areas for illegal animal traps.[9]

Unit 669 soldiers, including reservists, were among the IDF personnel sent to Nepal in late April 2015 to take part in search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake and subsequent avalanches.[10]

In 2012, 669 sent soldiers to Bulgaria following the Burgas bus bombing which targeted Israeli tourists.[11] In a matter of hours after the attack, the 669 soldiers were already en route to Israel with 32 of the wounded for treatment in Israel.