"An entire year of intensive combat operations and an extensive series of actions taken to prevent kidnappings – all that could go to waste because of faulty behavioral norms," said a senior IDF official on Sunday following the worrisome incident this weekend in which an Israeli soldier was left behind in Gaza after his unit completed an operation in the Strip.
An initial inquiry into the incident determined that the soldier had fallen asleep on the mission, and the headcount, which was carried out a few times was faulty, since other soldiers eager to return to the base answered in the name of the missing soldier, leading the troops to believe all were present.
Only an hour after returning to Israeli territory did the soldiers realize their friend was missing. The troops backtracked and finally located the soldier, who was some 700 meters from the border fence and who caught his unit's attention by waving a fluorescent stick.
The military official said that no one in the army would be surprised to learn that such an incident had taken place in the Golani Brigade of all places.
"It's hard for me to say that this could happen anywhere, but that it happened in the 51st battalion of all places, that's not really much of a surprise.
"You can't ignore the things that have been happening there recently. It's true that there are good soldiers there, courageous soldiers who know how to fight – but when it comes to their behavior, the way they view their commanders – there is something rotten there that must be set right."
"It's not for fun and laughs," said the official of the headcount procedure, "it's vitally important, exactly for these very reasons. It's dark and after an exhausting operation a soldier might nod off or be wounded and left behind. When soldiers don't realize the importance of this procedure and are insolent about it as well as disrespectful to their commanders – it's likely for an incident like this to happen."
The official said the behavior of Golani soldiers last weekend, when soldiers abandoned a Gaza outpost inprotest at what they said were the poor service conditions, was linked to this incident.
"There's an atmosphere that everything is permissible. A soldier who abandons an outpost in Gaza can turn around and completely ignore headcount regulations.
"It's true that the new battalion commander is trying to educate the soldiers, but apparently he hasn't been very successful. We mustn't wait for the worst to happen, we have to examine ourselves and see how we can put these soldiers back on track."
The Southern Command admitted that the weekend's incident was exceptional in the degree of its severity.
Maj-Gen Yoav Gallant, head of the command, has ordered a full investigation to be completed within several days. Sources estimate that there will be no choice but to take serious action against officers in the battalion, as well as various command figures in the brigade.