Military career
Golan was drafted into the IDF in 1980. After successfully passing the flight academy acceptance tests, he decided to follow his brother's steps and volunteer for the paratrooper brigade instead. He served as a soldier and a squad leader and fought in the 1982 Lebanon War. After completing Officer Candidate School he became an infantry officer and returned to the Paratroopers Brigade as a platoon leader. Golan served as the commander of the Brigade's anti-tank company and led the 890 Paratroop Battalion in counter-guerrilla operations in the South Lebanon conflict and in the First Intifada. In 1993, he served as a Battalion Commander in IDF Officers' School and afterwards served as Judea and Samaria Division's Operations Branch Officer. Between the years 1996–1997 he commanded the Eastern brigade of Lebanon Liaison Unit and was injured in an encounter with a squad of Hezbollah militants. He then served as the head of the Operations section in the Operations Directorate. During the Second Intifada, Golan commanded the Nahal Infantry Brigade. Afterwards, he commanded the 91st Division and the Judea and Samaria Division.
From 2008 to 2011, Golan served as the Commander of Home Front Command, which he led through Operation Cast Lead. In July 2011, he served as the Commander of Israeli Northern Command, and in December 2014 as Deputy Chief of General Staff. According to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, prior to Gadi Eisenkot's appointment as Chief of Staff in February 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preferred Golan over Eisenkot; however, Eisenkot was chosen, and Golan continued in his role. Golan retired from active service in March 2018, after being replaced by Aluf Aviv Kochavi in May 2017.
Golan was a candidate for replacing Gadi Eisenkot, and discussions were held in 2018. There were strong objections from non-political parties due to his controversial statement during a Holocaust Day speech. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman ended up choosing Aviv Kohavi over Golan.
On 7 October 2023, the day of the attack on Israel, Golan arrived as a civilian to the headquarters of the southern district of the Home Front Command, and asked its commander, Rafi Milo, to "re-enlist". He received a weapon and arrived in his private vehicle to the Gaza envelope, and rescued many survivors who were trapped in the area of the massacre at the Nature Festival near Re'im, using their phone locations. One of the people he rescued was the son of Haaretz journalist Nir Gontarz. He described what he saw as very difficult scenes and claimed that the battle of that day was the worst defeat of the State of Israel ever.
