Elite unit that seized Hezbollah-bound arms ship continues to foster leaders

Israel's successful interception of a Hezbollah-bound arms ship yesterday shone the limelight once again on Shayetet 13, the naval commando flotilla that usually operates far from the public eye. The Israel Defense Forces does not normally talk about the unit's work, except for successful operations useful for political purposes or failed operations entailing casualties.

However, it can still be said that as Israel has intensified its battle against Iranian weapons proliferation over the past two years, Shayetet 13 has been playing a leading role in operations. It does so under the command of a colonel who can be publicly identified only as D.

The colonel, who has led the unit since the summer of 2007, is continuing a remarkable tradition of command that spans the past decade; his predecessors included Erez Zuckerman and Ram Rothberg, who were colonels at the time but have since risen to the rank of brigadier general, and a commander who can be identified only as Col. N., who is currently working with a different security organization.

In 2002, after some deliberation and adaptation, Shayetet 13, under Zuckerman's command, spearheaded the war against Palestinian terrorism in Gaza and the West Bank.

This transition involved some internal disagreement (the land operations, which were assigned in parallel to the naval ones, supposedly distracted the naval commando unit from its central task), as well as considerable casualties sustained in face-to-face combat with Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

Four years later, in the Second Lebanon War, the flotilla participated in a number of daring operations. In one of them, a large force entered the very heart of the Lebanese city of Tyre, in an unsuccessful attempt to capture a top Hezbollah operative.

But while the Israel Navy did not cooperate well with the commander at the time, N. - an expression of its reluctance to authorize unorthodox operations - D. has enjoyed a more collaborative environment.

The current commander in chief of the Navy, Adm. Eliezer Marom, sees the potential of using the commando unit in the fight against terrorism and smuggling.

Operations like yesterday's capture of the arms ship depend on quality intelligence. They require tight cooperation with Military Intelligence and its naval counterpart, and necessitate a considerable willingness to listen on the part of the Navy command. In contrast to yesterday's success, the unit rarely leaves any trace of its work.

Like his predecessor, D. - who is leading the commando unit with considerable talent - rose through the ranks within Shayetet 13 and took part in many of its operations. He is married to the widow of Yossi Korakin, a naval commander who was one of 12 commandos killed in a botched operation in Ansariya, Lebanon, in 1997.

Next summer, D. will be handing command of the unit to Lt. Col. A. The flotilla is continuing its tradition of producing remarkable officers.

Another decorated officer from the unit, Col. R, was sidelined as a candidate for command of the unit after a military laptop was stolen from him, but this week he was slated to take over command of a division on the northern border.

Surprisingly, two former commanders yet to return to the Navy are N. and Rothberg, who commanded the Haifa naval base and is now a candidate to become military attache to Defense Minister Ehud Barak.