Naval commanders to be censured for fatal accident
Refusing to wait for completion of investigation into accident that killed two Navy officers and injured two others, IDF chief decides to reprimand base heads for 'command responsibility'
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz has decided to formally censure two commanders at Ashdod's naval base for their "command responsibility" in a car crash that killed two naval officers last month.
Captain Omri Shahar, 25, of Kfar Saba, and First Lieutenant Rafael Bublil, 22, of Ramat Gan, died on June 27 when their car collided with a truck and overturned at Holot Junction. Two other officers were injured in the crash.
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The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that Gantz has reviewed the investigation of the case and decided to follow through on Navy Chief Major General Ram Rothberg's recommendation to reprimand the base's commander, Colonel Dror Friedman. Moreover, the officers' company commander, whose name is being withheld, is to be barred from service in a command position for the next two years.
Officers' car crashed into truck (Photo: Ofer Amram)
Army officials stressed that the two commanders carry no personal responsibility in the incident, but rather command responsibility, due to the fact that two of their charges elected to drive back to the base at 3 am after going out for a unit function at a restaurant.
The Military Police has yet to discern whether Shahar and Bublil were drunk during the accident.
Gantz has ordered the appropriate officials to draw disciplinary, cultural and organizational conclusions from the investigation and implement them across the IDF.
Some units within the army prohibit alcohol consumption, especially in between operational activities; the officers who were killed commanded over navy patrol vessels before going to the function, and were driving back to the base late at night.
Troops are often instructed to rest and avoid drinking alcohol before driving. The Navy's investigation suggests that the officers who drove the car that night did not follow these instructions.
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