Brig. Gen. Dr. Tarif Bader, the first Druze individual to serve as the IDF’s chief medical officer. Photo: IDF.

JNS.org – Brig. Gen. Dr. Tarif Bader was sworn in Thursday as the IDF’s chief medical officer, marking the first time in Israel’s history that the position is manned by a Druze officer.

Bader replaced Brig. Gen. Dr. David Dagan, who served in the post for three years.

“It is our duty to preserve the lives of our soldiers and grant the necessary medical treatment to them and to anyone who needs it, across all parameters: routine missions, operational activity, and in times of emergency,” Bader said. “This is the challenge that we face and that obligates us to be at our best at all times.”

Previously, Bader headed the IDF’s medical mission to treat wounded Syrians on Israel’s northern border, and commanded three of the military’s humanitarian delegations: to Haiti in 2010, Nepal in 2015 and Turkey in 2016.