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Ashkenazi: War left feeling of missed opportunity
New army chief addresses IDF's top ranks with central message: Stability is pivotal. In hour-long speech, Ashkenazi discusses military preparedness, training and values
Hanan Greenberg
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi
said last summer’s war in Lebanon left him with the feeling of “a missed opportunity”.
Addressing IDF senior staff for the first time at a conference at the Hatzor Air Force base, Ashkenazi spoke for over an hour about the need to stabilize the military system, training, reserve duty and the army’s values.
He did not address criticism of the IDF and barely mentioned his predecessor Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz.
The IDF staff conference, attended by the IDF’s upper ranks, was headed by recent appointee Ashkenazi for the first time, and he was the sole speaker at the event.
“It was a direct and honest talk, with no intermissions, no commentary, and not even a computer presentation,” an officer from the audience told Ynet.
Officers who attended the conference agreed that Ashkenazi aimed to communicate a central message of stability.
“It came up a few times during his speech in different ways. He said he had no intention of making extreme changes, reshuffling ranks, or closing units,” a source said.
Ashkenazi discussed a variety of issues including improving the army’s operational preparedness for various scenarios, the strategic situation in the area and defense challenges. However, officers in attendance said Ashkenazi spoke very generally and refrained from going into detail regarding circumstances in the Gaza Strip or south Lebanon.
Addressing last summer’s war in Lebanon,
Ashkenazi said that despite the war’s achievements more could have been accomplished. He stressed the importance of military exercises as a component of IDF training, hinting at the importance of ground force training – in response to controversies that arose due to the heavy Air Force presence during the war.
“He tried to communicate how important it is to bring back training. He called on officers to take charge, serve as an example. He promised there would be dialogue,” one officer said.
The army chief devoted a great deal of his speech to IDF morale. He stressed the values of sticking to a mission, taking responsibility, reliability, professionalism, discipline, loyalty, carrying out orders, attention to detail and aiming for excellence. He spoke of dealing on an individual level and maintaining a “people’s army.”
However, Ashkenazi chose not to respond to recent condemnation of the IDF, nor the criticism expected after the publication of the Winograd commission’s interim report on the failures during the Lebanon war. He mentioned former chief of staff Dan Halutz only briefly, noting that his predecessor was also forced to deal with the problem of information leaks.
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