IDF's Cyber Defense Academy school welcomes first autistic cadets

• Published date: 07 October 2021
• Author: ANNA AHRONHEIM
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The Ramat Gan school teaches dozens of courses related to tech needs in all parts of the military, including the C4I Directorate, Navy, Air Force, and ground forces.

The academy is ground zero for the training of all personnel who will have a computer-related position in the military, and it "gives the opportunity to everyone," said its commander, Lt.-Col. Liat Litvak.

cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });

>

"We don't only take people who have prior [computer] knowledge," she told The Jerusalem Post. "It can be anyone who has math skills; they can come and succeed."

There are nine cadets on the autism spectrum who will be taking the school's cyberdefense course, an intensive program of several months.

Most of them are high-functioning autists who will be doing everything that non-autistics cadets are doing, but they will "just be getting a bit more help along the way," Litvak said.

Every four cadets will be assigned an officer, compared with one officer for each six non-autistic cadets. They will be learning from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will have several breaks during the day to make sure they can maintain their concentration.

The cadets spent six weeks prior to the course with mentors who helped them integrate into military life and will accompany them throughout their service. During the six weeks, the mentors also met with the families of the cadets to learn about them.

"Everyone is totally different, and we can learn so much about each cadet," said Cpl. Pnina Gershenkroin, a special integration mentor. "Our goal is to integrate all of the cadets into the army. They have equal opportunities just like everyone else who is drafted into the IDF."

In recent years, the IDF has been giving special emphasis to cyberwarfare, increasing funding and training the next generation of online soldiers for the IDF's most coveted units, which are responsible for much of Israel's breakthrough technology.

Learning at the school is not easy. The...