This Sayeret unit is the reconnaissance and special forces unit within Ugdah 99, and its soldiers carry some of the hardest assignments in the IDF. Much of the work happens in close quarters inside populated areas, moving building to building, where the threat comes from a few meters away rather than across a field.

After several months of advanced training, this unit is ready to begin live missions across Yehudah and Shomron while advanced training continues. The operational tempo starts now.

The army does issue gear. That gear has been handed down from soldier to soldier, cycle after cycle, and it is old by the time it reaches a new class. It is also stored and distributed at the unit level, which means a soldier waiting on issued equipment is a soldier waiting.

When a soldier owns his own gear, he keeps it with him. He can move the moment he gets the call, and he goes out in current generation protection rather than whatever was left in the storeroom.

Two pieces of equipment matter most for the work this unit does.

Level 4 ceramic plates. The highest protection rating available, rated to stop armor piercing rifle rounds.

Ballistic eyewear. Shrapnel, blast debris, and dust are constant in urban operations and in vehicles. Eye injuries are among the most common and most permanent wounds soldiers sustain, and they are among the most preventable.

We work directly with IDF approved vendors and have secured significantly discounted pricing:

Level 4 ceramic plates: $400 per set (normally $825)
Ballistic eyewear: $240 per pair (normally $365)
Full protection for one soldier: $640 (retail cost of $1,190)

45 soldiers. $28,800 total. Our goal is $40,000

The difference covers individual gear requests. Every soldier in this unit fills a slightly different role, and the equipment that makes him effective differs with it. A machine gunner, a medic, a radioman, and a point man each carry different loads and need different items. Funds beyond the core purchase go to those specific requests, such as thermal or night scopes, night vision, lights for the weapons etc…, soldier by soldier, so each man goes out with what his particular job actually requires.

Every dollar goes to equipment purchased and delivered directly to the unit. $640 covers one soldier's plates and eyewear. $400 covers a set of plates. $240 covers a pair of glasses. Any amount moves a soldier closer to being fully equipped before he goes out.

These soldiers volunteered for the hardest job in the army. Getting them properly protected is something donors can actually finish.

Donations are made through a registered 501(c)(3) public charity and are tax deductible in the United States.

Gear for an Elite Unit

Plates and Ballistic Eyewear

Team Members