Editing Nahal (section)

===The national mission period===
The national mission period lasts a year, in which all the core group stays together, under the command of the Education and Youth Corps. During the establishment of the state, the national mission was mostly the establishment of new settlements in periphery areas to serve as a security presence able to respond to terrorist incursions such as in the Jordan Valley (by means of [[Nahal settlement]]s) and expansion of the existing [[kibbutz]]im. Over the years, and in accordance with the changes in the Israeli society, the national mission has changed to helping the poor populations throughout the country and nowadays the Nahal groups perform in the National mission period social and educational-based missions in the social periphery of the state of Israel. The soldiers live in apartments in different local authorities, and work in different education tasks in the schools, in the community centers, in the youth clubs, in the absorption centers, etc. The group is accompanied by Military commanders, the Youth organizers in the local authorities and representatives of the youth movement to which the group belongs to core.

The unpaid military-service periods are a remainder of the Nahal course which included living in [[kibbutz]]im, but today are more similar to the national mission periods, yet are shorter and are less monitored by the army.

In general, the military service of male members of the Nahal group is four months longer than the military service of most soldiers. However, some of the Nahal groups continue to work together, anyway, even after the military service, as part of adult movements or choose to continue living together, regardless of their original movement.