The phases are:[8] At the end of training, Shaldag operators receive a book about David Stirling, founder of the British Special Air Service, and the SAS's actions in North Africa during World War II.

In 1991 it took part in Operation Solomon: On May 24–25, under the command of Benny Gantz, Shaldag unit secured the airlift of 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel.

It proved particularly valuable during the latter, when it helped quickly pinpoint Hezbollah rocket squads in time for the Israeli Air Force to take them out.

[6] It also participated in the Second Intifada, and is known to have been responsible for the assassination of Yussef Abu Sway, a Palestinian militant who had taken part in shooting attacks against Israelis.

Delivered by helicopters near Baalbek at 01:00, its troops proceeded north to the Sheik Habib neighborhood in order to arrest suspected Hezbollah operatives.

The unit is reported to have infiltrated an underground depot near the Syrian site suspected of being a nuclear reactor, in order to designate the target for the incoming Israeli fighters that destroyed it.

Notably, a Shaldag sniper team supported Nahal Brigade infantry forces in the northern Gaza Strip.

[15] Following the surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the unit was deployed to fight Hamas terrorists in the communities they had infiltrated.

Sayeret Matkal fighters fought for long hours to clear the communities of terrorists and rescue the residents.

[18] On December 20, Sayeret Matkal, along with Shayetet 13, the 401st Brigade, and Oketz fighters, completed the takeover of the "Senior Officials' Quarter" of Hamas in Palestine Square in the Rimal neighborhood in central Gaza City.

[19] On September 8, 2024, the journalist Barak Ravid reported on the Axios website that the Shaldag unit conducted a raid in Syria near the city of Masyaf and destroyed an underground precision missile factory that built by Iran.

At the same time as the raid, fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force carried out the airstrikes designed to prevent the Syrian army from sending reinforcements to the area.