Barak Armored Brigade The 188th " Barak " ( Lightning ) Armored Brigade is an Israeli armored brigade , subordinate to Israel ' s Northern Regional Command . The symbol of the Barak Armor Brigade is a shield with a red border bearing a sword against a blue and white background featuring the Haifa coastline background and a sword on it . The brigade has a long history and was part of the Yishuv ' s forces in Palestine before the foundation of the state of Israel . In the mid - 1990s the brigade was the first to adopt the Merkava mark - III main battle tank , phasing out its older Centurion tank s . History . The brigade was formed as the 2nd Brigade during the 1948 Arab - Israeli war , when it was split off from the Levanoni Brigade . Named the Carmeli Brigade because it was led by Moshe Carmel , the brigade was an infantry formation operating in the northern Palestine . It played an important part in Operation Hiram . After IDF was formed , the Carmeli Brigade became its 18th Brigade . During the Sinai Campaign of 1956 , the brigade was stationed along the Jordanian border , in case the Jordanians decided to open a second front , and was thus not involved in combat . It was shortly later assigned armored units to become the 45th Armored Brigade , also known as the " Barak Armored Brigade " . It consisted of one tank battalion , two armored infantry battalions , a mortar battalion and reconnaissance units . The changeover was completed in 1962 . During the Yom Kippur War , it played an important role defending Israel ' s border against Syria ' s attack in the southern Golan Heights . 112 soldiers were killed in action , including the brigade commander . The brigade was almost completely destroyed . The main Syrian attack at 14 : 30 - 14 : 50 PM , confronted by the newly positioned 74th Tank Battalion , under the command of Lt . Col . Yair Nafshi . Nafshi moved his battalion position 1 . 5 km forward from its previous defensive position , a maneuver that saved his men and machines from the Syrian artillery barrage . His was the only remaining tank force , equipped with 36 Israeli modified Centurion tanks to fight the Syrians for 3 continuous days , until enforcements and reserves were moved into positions . His battalion was reinforced with a tanks company from the 53rd battalion . After 4 days of fighting , his battalion was reduced to 5 operational tanks . More than 102 soldiers and officers died defending the southern Golan Line , from reinforced points ( bunkers ) 107 to 114 . For his gallant , professional and courageous behavior during the war , Yair Nafshi received Israel ' s second highest decoration , the Medal of Valor . He retired from the army with the rank of Brigadier General . During the battle , Lieutenant Zvika Greengold , who had arrived unattached to any unit , fought off attacks with his single tank until help arrived . " For the next 20 hours , Zvika Force , as he came to be known on the radio net , fought running battles with Syrian tanks — sometimes alone , sometimes as part of a larger unit , changing tanks half a dozen times as they were knocked out . He was wounded and burned but stayed in action and repeatedly showed up at critical moments from an unexpected direction to change the course of a skirmish . " After the war , command and the job of rebuilding the brigade was assigned to Yonatan Netanyahu . In the 1982 Lebanon War , it fought in Beirut and participated in the capture of the local airport .