The reservists who met with Lt.-Gen. Halutz complained that the war resulted in a crisis of faith in commanding officers. They spoke of lack of food and water, poor equipment and lack of responsibility. "You prevented us from winning," they told him.
The Chief of Staff and senior commanders have been praising the armed forces for operations in the war, in which nearly 120 soldiers were killed and hundreds were wounded.
One officer said last week that food and water supplies were adequate and were lacking only in rare instances or when fighting prevented supply trucks from arriving.
But reservists in the field told a different story to Lt.-Gen. Halutz. One soldier said they were without food for more than 24 hours. Another said his company had to wait until 6 p.m. Saturday evening to eat their first Sabbath meal. Others said they drank from local wells, and some soldiers admitted they had to break into local Lebanese stores in order to overcome hunger between battles with Hizbullah terrorist guerillas.
They spoke of having to take wounded comrades on stretchers for more than a mile while being without water.
Reservists told the Chief of Staff that decisions by commanders were not based on professional calculations. More reservists are to meet with senior officers on Monday.
The most damning evidence came from outgoing infantry and paratrooper commander Brig.-Gen. Yossi Heiman, who surprised commanders at a changing-of-the-guard ceremony Monday with criticism of top officers - including himself.
"We were guilty of the sin of arrogance," Heiman said at the ceremony at the Kiryat Malachi base south of Tel Aviv, where he was replaced by Brig.-Gen. Yossi Bachar. "Everyone tells about his mission, but not what he did not do and where he went wrong."
He praised the "heroic fighting by the soldiers and commanders, especially at the company and battalion level, [but] we all feel a certain sense of failure and missed opportunity." He previously has commented, "What is clear is that the reserve units have not been trained enough."
Heiman added, "I feel the weighty responsibility on my shoulders. I failed to prepare the infantry better for war. I did not manage to prevent burnout among professional companies and platoons. I feel no relief whatsoever in the face of the array of the well-known excuses, even though they are correct - the various budget cuts [etc.] ... At this time, it is not easy being part of the system. Part of the public, and perhaps also parts of the leadership, is expressing lack of faith in us."
He complained that there has been a basic "failure in understanding the past six years" after former Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered the hasty retreat of the IDF from Lebanon, leaving Hizbullah terrorists a free hand to build underground bunkers and tunnels and to stockpile modern weapons.
Brig.-Gen. Heiman's comments came at the worst possible time for the government, which is facing calls for its resignation - or at least for a public inquiry into the war and how it was handled.
Lt.-Gen. Halutz was appointed Chief of Staff last year by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who took the unprecedented step of refusing to extend the term of office of Lt.-Gen. Moshe (Bogie) Yaalon. Yaalon had questioned the plan to destroy Jewish communities in the Gaza and northern Samaria regions, saying it would provide a "supportive wind to terrorism."
Halutz replaced him a month before the expulsion. He managed to survive brief but sharp criticism last week after it was revealed that he spoke to his banker concerning the sale of investments three hours after Hizbullah terrorists kidnapped two soldiers.
A former Air Force commander, Halutz said at the beginning of his term that he envisioned a new technological army that would reduce the need for foot soldiers. He in fact relied on air power in the first few days of the retaliation against Hizbullah terrorist attacks on northern Israel and the kidnapping of two IDF soldiers.
A report in The New York Times on Sunday quoted an unnamed senior commander as saying that the army erred in thinking it could force a ceasefire after two weeks of aerial attacks.
As the war lingered longer than anyone expected, failures in the field became evident.
The attack on a naval ship, which killed four sailors, stunned intelligence officers who were not aware that Hizbullah had the Iranian C-0802 missile.
On the ground, there was such a shortage of equipment that Bank HaPoalim executives donated 400 flak jackets costing more than $80,000. Both enlisted and reserve soldiers had to ask friends and employers to send them army shoes and towels.
Lacking food, soldiers received food from corporations, who also filled the gaping hole left by the government in aiding northern Israel residents, who were under siege from rocket attacks.
Shortly after the war began, one soldier told an Israeli newspaper, "For two days, we barely made any progress. The soldiers simply do not really know what the mission is."
Another soldier stated, "During all the years that I served in the reserves, we had the best equipment, but now that we have reached the moment of truth the equipment has vanished. Many soldiers don't have short-barreled M-16 rifles, communications equipment or even tourniquets."
Another reservist revealed that he had to give his weapon to others who replaced him, and another lamented, "We are supposed to enter the fray against guerilla fighters who have been training for six years."
Hizbullah terrorist leaders have spread the word of the IDF failures. A report this week in the Lebanon Daily Star quoted Hizbullah terrorist guerillas as describing how they killed soldiers at the battle in Bint Jbel.
Army soldiers met no resistance in the city, a Hizbullah stronghold, and then rolled in several tanks. Hizbullah terrorists then popped out of bunkers and surrounding areas and fired anti-rockets and missiles on the IDF. "They fell into our trap," one guerilla said.
On the other hand, Israel pulled off some of its own surprises as well. In one, the IDF outflanked Hizbullah from the north, and was able to kill several terrorists, destroy a 24-cannon Katyusha launcher and capture much weaponry. The ground forces suffered no casualties, though a helicopter was shot down just after unloading dozens of soldiers, causing five casualties.
The Chief of Staff and senior commanders have been praising the armed forces for operations in the war, in which nearly 120 soldiers were killed and hundreds were wounded.
One officer said last week that food and water supplies were adequate and were lacking only in rare instances or when fighting prevented supply trucks from arriving.
But reservists in the field told a different story to Lt.-Gen. Halutz. One soldier said they were without food for more than 24 hours. Another said his company had to wait until 6 p.m. Saturday evening to eat their first Sabbath meal. Others said they drank from local wells, and some soldiers admitted they had to break into local Lebanese stores in order to overcome hunger between battles with Hizbullah terrorist guerillas.
They spoke of having to take wounded comrades on stretchers for more than a mile while being without water.
Reservists told the Chief of Staff that decisions by commanders were not based on professional calculations. More reservists are to meet with senior officers on Monday.
The most damning evidence came from outgoing infantry and paratrooper commander Brig.-Gen. Yossi Heiman, who surprised commanders at a changing-of-the-guard ceremony Monday with criticism of top officers - including himself.
"We were guilty of the sin of arrogance," Heiman said at the ceremony at the Kiryat Malachi base south of Tel Aviv, where he was replaced by Brig.-Gen. Yossi Bachar. "Everyone tells about his mission, but not what he did not do and where he went wrong."
He praised the "heroic fighting by the soldiers and commanders, especially at the company and battalion level, [but] we all feel a certain sense of failure and missed opportunity." He previously has commented, "What is clear is that the reserve units have not been trained enough."
Heiman added, "I feel the weighty responsibility on my shoulders. I failed to prepare the infantry better for war. I did not manage to prevent burnout among professional companies and platoons. I feel no relief whatsoever in the face of the array of the well-known excuses, even though they are correct - the various budget cuts [etc.] ... At this time, it is not easy being part of the system. Part of the public, and perhaps also parts of the leadership, is expressing lack of faith in us."
He complained that there has been a basic "failure in understanding the past six years" after former Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered the hasty retreat of the IDF from Lebanon, leaving Hizbullah terrorists a free hand to build underground bunkers and tunnels and to stockpile modern weapons.
Brig.-Gen. Heiman's comments came at the worst possible time for the government, which is facing calls for its resignation - or at least for a public inquiry into the war and how it was handled.
Lt.-Gen. Halutz was appointed Chief of Staff last year by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who took the unprecedented step of refusing to extend the term of office of Lt.-Gen. Moshe (Bogie) Yaalon. Yaalon had questioned the plan to destroy Jewish communities in the Gaza and northern Samaria regions, saying it would provide a "supportive wind to terrorism."
Halutz replaced him a month before the expulsion. He managed to survive brief but sharp criticism last week after it was revealed that he spoke to his banker concerning the sale of investments three hours after Hizbullah terrorists kidnapped two soldiers.
A former Air Force commander, Halutz said at the beginning of his term that he envisioned a new technological army that would reduce the need for foot soldiers. He in fact relied on air power in the first few days of the retaliation against Hizbullah terrorist attacks on northern Israel and the kidnapping of two IDF soldiers.
A report in The New York Times on Sunday quoted an unnamed senior commander as saying that the army erred in thinking it could force a ceasefire after two weeks of aerial attacks.
As the war lingered longer than anyone expected, failures in the field became evident.
The attack on a naval ship, which killed four sailors, stunned intelligence officers who were not aware that Hizbullah had the Iranian C-0802 missile.
On the ground, there was such a shortage of equipment that Bank HaPoalim executives donated 400 flak jackets costing more than $80,000. Both enlisted and reserve soldiers had to ask friends and employers to send them army shoes and towels.
Lacking food, soldiers received food from corporations, who also filled the gaping hole left by the government in aiding northern Israel residents, who were under siege from rocket attacks.
Shortly after the war began, one soldier told an Israeli newspaper, "For two days, we barely made any progress. The soldiers simply do not really know what the mission is."
Another soldier stated, "During all the years that I served in the reserves, we had the best equipment, but now that we have reached the moment of truth the equipment has vanished. Many soldiers don't have short-barreled M-16 rifles, communications equipment or even tourniquets."
Another reservist revealed that he had to give his weapon to others who replaced him, and another lamented, "We are supposed to enter the fray against guerilla fighters who have been training for six years."
Hizbullah terrorist leaders have spread the word of the IDF failures. A report this week in the Lebanon Daily Star quoted Hizbullah terrorist guerillas as describing how they killed soldiers at the battle in Bint Jbel.
Army soldiers met no resistance in the city, a Hizbullah stronghold, and then rolled in several tanks. Hizbullah terrorists then popped out of bunkers and surrounding areas and fired anti-rockets and missiles on the IDF. "They fell into our trap," one guerilla said.
On the other hand, Israel pulled off some of its own surprises as well. In one, the IDF outflanked Hizbullah from the north, and was able to kill several terrorists, destroy a 24-cannon Katyusha launcher and capture much weaponry. The ground forces suffered no casualties, though a helicopter was shot down just after unloading dozens of soldiers, causing five casualties.