PROFILElast verified 2026-10-20Sayeret Matkal (General Staff Reconnaissance Unit)
Entry requirements and the path to selection
Sayeret Matkal, the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, is the Israel Defense Forces’ elite special operations unit, known in Israel simply as “the Unit”. It recruits conscripts before enlistment. The IDF recruits’ portal lists the entry conditions — the top medical profile of 97, a psychotechnical score of at least 50 and a Hebrew grade of 7 — and describes a one-day field test followed by a multi-day selection, but it deliberately does not disclose the tasks or any fitness thresholds. This page lists the official conditions and points you to comparable published standards.
This unit does not publish fitness standards for its selection. This page lists only what official sources say.
What is officially known
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Medical profile | 97 (the highest on the IDF scale of 21–97) official · Sources |
| Psychotechnical score (Dapar) | At least 50 (scale 10–90) official · Sources |
| Hebrew grade | 7 (scale 5–8) official · Sources |
| First step: special-units field day (Yom Sayarot) | One-day physical and mental test held in January and October; invitation requires profile 82+ and Dapar 50+; tasks are not disclosed official · Sources |
| Selection (Gibush Matkal) | 5 days, each candidate assessed by 5 different assessors (2019 description) approximate |
Path into the unit
- Before enlistment: the first call-up (Tsav Rishon) sets the medical profile, the psychotechnical score and the Hebrew grade.
- Special-units field day (Yom Sayarot); the result “the Unit” leads to the Sayeret Matkal selection.
- Multi-day selection (Gibush Matkal); candidates who finish but are not taken can be drafted to other units such as Unit 669 or the Commando Brigade.
Test yourself against the nearest official standard
These units publish their standards — the closest public benchmark for this path.
UNITED STATES
POLANDWhat we do not give, and why
The IDF states that the field-day tasks are not disclosed, and it publishes no fitness thresholds for selection. Run times and task lists circulating on preparation sites and forums are unofficial, so we do not give them.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner or a woman apply?
The unit recruits Israeli conscripts; volunteers from abroad (Mahal) are barred from posts that require a security clearance. The 2025 role page lists men only; press reports say women have been admitted to selection since 2024, but that is not on the official page.
Why do you point to Green Berets and GROM?
Israel publishes no fitness standards for its special units. Green Berets (US Army) and GROM (Poland) are land special-operations units whose official entry standards are public — a benchmark for your fitness, not the Israeli test.
Where do the facts come from?
From the IDF recruits’ portal (mitgaisim.idf.il) — the Sayeret Matkal role page and the guide to the special-units field day — read through web.archive.org copies from 2024–2025, because the portal is geo-blocked outside Israel, and from a 2019 article on idf.il.
- IDF recruits’ portal (mitgaisim.idf.il) — role page “Sayeret Matkal” (Wayback copy) (2025-06-07)
- IDF recruits’ portal — “Yom Sayarot: the full guide” (article of 5 Nov 2023, Wayback copy) (2023-11-05)
- idf.il (Personnel Directorate) — article on the reform of special-unit selection (2019-04-28)
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