The IDF announced on Sunday that servicewomen will have the option of choosing between two types of pants for their uniform, following an extensive survey conducted among female soldiers regarding their uniform. One is a regular pair of cargo pants with pockets along the legs like combat soldiers wear, and the other with only back pockets, which are generally given to female non-combat soldiers.
Soldiers from the air force and the Navy, who wear beige uniforms, will be able to choose pants with front pockets ("kopiko") and a shirt with two pockets, or pants with two back pockets and a shirt with one pocket.
When will Israeli soldiers be able to choose their pants?
The choice will be available starting in August 2023, at which point female soldiers will receive on their enlistment day three sets of uniforms of their choice – uniforms with back pockets, combat uniforms or a combination of the two.
Cargo pants (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)Female soldiers already in service will also be able to choose. Female conscripts with at least six months left in their IDF service will have the opportunity to receive an additional set of uniforms of their choice, although it has yet to be determined how these uniforms would be distributed.
In addition, women in the IDF are currently given ¾ shoes (shoes that are three-quarters the length of a normal combat boot), which are commonly known in the army as "girls' shoes." As part of the new pilot, the IDF decided to make an improved version of the ¾ shoes - a "mini" version of combat boots - to improve the quality of shoes for female soldiers.
If the pilot takes place as planned, all female soldiers will receive a pair of improved ¾ shoes as early as the November 2023 recruitment cycle. At the moment, no distribution is planned for those already in service. Soldiers will be able to wear the shoes with both the cargo pants and the pants with back pockets.
