9900 is increasingly working with neurodivergent young people to conduct its analysis. Photo: Alon Talmor/IDF
Corporal N is unequivocal in her opinion. reply. “Yes, my workload has increased significantly since the start of the war,” she says. “The work is carried out around the clock. To do my job, I need to be much more aware, because everything happens — and happened — immediately.”
But what exactly her “job” is remains a mystery. There's talk of «cognitive ability,» the need to «remember all the little details,» «creativity» and, perhaps most importantly, she says, patience. “You need a lot of this.”
This ambiguity stems from the fact that Corporal N, who is only 19 years old, serves in the intelligence unit of the Southern Command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). This is a responsible job, shrouded in mystery and secrecy, but Corporal N copes with it excellently — largely thanks to his autism.
The teenager, who has just graduated from high school, is one of 400 autistic recruits currently serving around the world. IDF in a variety of units, from the Air Force to the Navy to the Army (although none of them are stationed in combat positions).
But only a small portion of this group is stationed in the IDF's highly classified intelligence units, including the famous 9900 and 8200.
9900 is responsible for analyzing visual information from satellites and aircraft, which is then transmitted to the troops. on the battlefield, while the 8200 is similar to the British DSP and covers everything from analyzing public data to using operators in the field.
“Accuracy is the key adjective,” he says. says Corporal N. Credit: IDF
Corporal N insists that she «can't talk about most aspects of her position» and gives no clues as to which intelligence unit she serves in, but cryptically emphasizes that «accuracy is key adjective here for the requirements of my job.»
At least until the events of October 7, which tarnished the reputation of Israeli intelligence agencies, analysts believed that Units 9900 and 8200 were among the most formidable of their kind in the world, protecting civilians from insider attacks. and external threats.
Enrollment in any of the units has long been a source of pride for any Israeli, but only those with the sharpest minds and good «attention to detail» are considered — which is why teenagers with autism often achieve success.
«Obviously they have a qualitative advantage over other soldiers, and that's why they end up in the cyber and intelligence units,» says Lt. Col. Rotem Sabag, service chief of the IDF's Meitav department, which handles the new recruits.
“The abilities that are often associated with autism—the ability to concentrate, the ability to remember specific details very well—all contribute to their advantage.”
Once an autistic soldier is integrated into an intelligence team (a process that can take time and usually involves the support of a mentor), his photographic memory and cognitive skills are used in a range of jobs: aerial photo analysis, geographic data collection, 3D mapping and more.
In turn, these men, who as children may never have imagined that they would play such a vital role for their country, «will have a challenging and interesting military service,» says Lt. Col. Sabag. . «In the Army, we like to say it's a win-win.»«Higher independence and less demand»
Their value to the IDF is so great that the force even created an entire team within the 9900 called the Roim Rachok Program. (RR), which means “far beyond the horizon” in Hebrew, and is made up entirely of autistic recruits.
< p>«The work carried out under the RR program is primarily carried out in cooperation with other units of Unit 9900. They use satellite imagery and maps to understand the geographic landscape of Israel and protect its borders,» the IDF said.
But getting into 8200, 9900, or any of the military's many other intelligence units—some of which are so secret that the Israelis refuse to acknowledge their existence—is not easy, especially for autistic recruits.
First, these individuals must receive a place in the Israel Defense Forces' Titkadmu program, which determines whether a person with autism is fit to serve in the military and provides support to those who are accepted.
Only teenagers who » People on the autism spectrum are very independent and have low “needs,” says Yuval, Titkadmu’s commander. They undergo questionnaires and interviews with autism experts and psychologists to initially assess their suitability.
After this, the recruit will undergo further interviews and thorough testing. “Depending on how they score on these tests, they can go to any of the units that regular soldiers end up in,” says Lt. Col. Sabag, “including intelligence.
Research definitely shows that people with autism may be well equipped to meet the demands of service in a unit such as 9900.
“A growing body of research shows that autistic people outperform neurologically typical children and adults on a wide range of perceptual tasks, such as detecting patterns in distracting environments,” Laurent Mottron, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, wrote in his book. A 2011 Nature column.
Most people with autism “perform excellently on auditory tasks (such as recognizing pitch), recognizing visual structures, and mentally manipulating complex three-dimensional shapes,” he added.< /p > 
Perception tasks are a critical element of intelligence work. Photo: IDF
In Israel, as in many developed countries, there has been an increase in the incidence of autism in recent decades. According to the Israeli Society for Children and Adults with Autism, the number of autism diagnoses is increasing by an average of 13 percent annually.
During this period, public attitudes towards people with autism have improved — although not completely — paving the way for such teenagers like Corporal N, have proven their worth.
There was no need for her to join the army. At 16, she received a medical exemption stating that because of her autism, she was not required to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces.
Military service is compulsory for most people over 18 in Israel, including men. required to serve for 32 months, and women for two years, but not with mental or physical illnesses such as autism.
But the desire to serve his country proved much stronger than the social anxiety that characterized Cpl. N.'s childhood
Once a girl who had difficulty communicating and making eye contact with others, she now thrives in the IDF, gathering vital intelligence that is passed on to armed soldiers fighting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
There are times when She says autism is resurfacing with «difficulty understanding social situations or anxiety.» But thanks to years of mental training and input from her mentor Titkadmu, she knows how to cope.
“I usually ask people to switch off for 5 to 10 minutes and go breathe to kind of get their senses back,” she says. “I find the tricks and methods that work best and use my brain to overcome stress.”
Corporal N. is more dedicated to her job than most since she lost her 23-year-old sister in attacks on October 7. The horrors of that day continue to haunt her, and the loss of her brother still haunts her. But it is thanks to serving Israel that she continues to live on. “To cope with this, you need to work and do.”
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