do you come from? From nowhere, from Tehran, from Eilat, from a tiny apartment in a housing project." He became determined to become a paratrooper in the army, seeing it as a way for him to become fully Israeli. Military service Upon graduating from high school in 1966, he was conscripted into Israel Defense Forces and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War as a paratrooper on the southern front against the Egyptian Army. After his mandatory service, Mofaz remained in the IDF as a career officer. He became an officer in 1969, and took command of a paratrooper platoon in the 890th Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade, then commanded a company of the 890th Battalion in 1971. He took part in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. During the Yom Kippur War, he took part in Operation Gown and Operation Davidka, two raids deep in Syrian territory. Mofaz became Deputy Commander of the 890th Battalion in 1974. He was appointed Deputy Commander of Sayeret Matkal, an elite commando unit, in 1975, and took part in Operation Entebbe the following year. After taking a sabbatical to study at Bar-Ilan University in 1976, he returned to active service in 1978 and was appointed commander of the 202nd Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade, and became Deputy Commander of the Paratroopers Brigade in 1980. He commanded the 769th Territorial Brigade in 1981. Mofaz served as an infantry brigade commander during the 1982 Lebanon War. Afterwards he attended the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia, United States. On his return he was briefly appointed commander of the IDF Command and Staff College before returning to active service. He was appointed Commander of the Paratroopers Brigade in 1986, and led its forces in counterinsurgency operations in the South Lebanon security zone. He played a major role in Operation Law and Order. Mofaz served in a series of senior military posts, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1988. In 1993 he was made commander of the IDF forces in the West Bank. In 1994, he was promoted to Major General, commanding the Southern Command, during which the IDF battled Hamas and Islamic Jihad networks in the Gaza Strip. In 1996, he served as head of the Planning Directorate of the IDF General Staff. His rapid rise continued; in 1997 Mofaz was