Directly after high school, Ziva was in the Israeli army ("Tzahal" being Israel Defense Forces) for two years as is compulsory for all Israeli women. Contrary to speculation, she claims she volunteered to join Mossad as soon as she was eligible, and was not motivated by the desire to avenge the death of her sister. During her time at Mossad, Ziva was part of a special operations unit known as "Kidon", which is part of the "Metsada" (which is now code named "Komemiute"). This unit specialized in assassinations, paramilitary operations, sabotage, and psychological warfare. Her position was control officer. As a result of early, intensive training, she is very skilled in hand-to-hand combat and shooting, later attempting to teach a class on knife throwing at NCIS.