Micha Ram (July 4, 1942 – January 14, 2018) was an Israeli

Aluf ''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion or "First\leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew; ) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. ...

(

Military reserve A military reserve, active reserve, reserve formation, or simply reserve, is a group of military personnel or units that is initially not committed to a battle by its commander, so that it remains available to address unforeseen situations or ex ...

) in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. He was the Commander of the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...

in the years 1989–1992. :he:מיכה רם Israel Defense Forces: Navy

Biography

In 1956, at age 14, Ram joined a Naval Academy in

Akko Acre ( ), known locally as Akko ( he, עַכּוֹ, ''ʻAkō'') or Akka ( ar, عكّا, ''ʻAkkā''), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies an important location, sitting in a natural harb ...

. He joined the missile fleet of the

. In early 1973, he became the commander of a

Sa'ar 4 class missile boat The Sa'ar 4 or ''Reshef'' class were a series of fast attack craft built based on Israeli Navy designs grounded in accumulated experience derived in the operation of "Cherbourg" (Sa'ar 1, Sa'ar 2, and ) classes. Thirteen were built at th ...

. During the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

, his missile boat, along with four other missile boats under the command of General

Michael Barkai Michael (Yomi) Barkai ( he, מיכאל ברקאי; January 26, 1935 – May 28, 1999) was the Commander of the Israeli Navy, a recipient of the Medal of Distinguished Service for his command of the missile ships during the Yom Kippur War. Biograph ...

, took part in the historic naval

Battle of Latakia The Battle of Latakia ( ar, معركة اللاذقية; he, קרב לטקיה) was a small but revolutionary naval action of the Yom Kippur War, fought on 7 October 1973 between Israel and Syria. It was the first naval battle in history to se ...

against the

Syrian Navy The Syrian Navy, officially the Syrian Arab Navy ( ar, الْبَحْرِيَّةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Baḥrīyah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is the navy branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. The main role ...

. Two days later he was involved in

Battle of Baltim The Battle of Baltim (also Battle of Damietta, Battle of Baltim–Damietta, Battle of Damietta–Baltim or Battle of Damietta – El Burelos) was fought between the Israeli Navy and the Egyptian Navy on October 8–9, 1973, during the Yom Kippur W ...

. By the 1970s, Ram became in charge of many roles in the command center of the Israeli Navy, and in 1975 he was given command of the Israeli missile boat fleet. In 1977, he was promoted to the rank of

Aluf mishne ''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion or "First\leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew; ) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral ...

and he became the assistant commander of the Israeli Naval Fleet in the Red Sea. In 1980, he was promoted to the rank of

Tat aluf ''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion or "First\leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew; ) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral ...

and he became commander of the Israeli Naval Intelligence arm. After Operation Peace for the Galilee in 1982 Ram became Israel's

Military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

to the United States. After his friend from basic training Avraham Ben-Shoshan became Commander of the Israeli Navy, Ram became in charge of Naval operations. Under his command, the

bought the new

Sa'ar 5-class corvette Sa'ar 5 ( he, סַעַר, lit=storm) is a class of Israeli Navy corvettes. They were Israeli designed using lessons learned from the s. Three Sa'ar 5 ships were built by Huntington Ingalls Industries (formerly Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporat ...

s and the new

Dolphin class submarine The ''Dolphin'' class (Hebrew: הצוללות מסדרת דולפין) is a diesel-electric submarine developed in Israel and constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) in Kiel, Germany, for the Israeli Navy. The first boats of the cl ...

. In 1989, Micha Ram became Commander of the Israeli Navy. Under his command, the Israeli Navy upgraded its

Sa'ar 4.5 class missile boat The Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boats ( he, סער 4.5) is a class of Israeli Sea Corps missile boats designed and built by Israel Shipyards Ltd. as an improved and stretched . There are two different subclasses that are both named Sa'ar 4.5. The fir ...

. The Israeli Navy took part in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and the

First Intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...

. Under Ram the Israeli Navy transformed in order to combat the new threat of

Palestinian terrorism Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence perpetrated for political ends in relation to the State of Palestine or in connection with Palestinian nationalism. Common political objectives include self-determination in and sovereig ...

. In 1992, Ram finished his term as Commander of the Israeli Navy and subsequently retired from the Israeli Navy after 32 years of service.

Personal life

Ram was married to Chayah from the Simkin family, who were one of the founders of

Petach Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...

. The couple had three children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ram, Micha 1942 births 2018 deaths Israeli Jews Israeli Navy generals