Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood president, instructed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Thursday to maintain combat preparedness and improve the level of readiness for dealing with the "threats" Egypt faces.
Morsi's message did not specify which military threats he was referring to.
In April of this year, the Egyptian army carried out a large scale exercise in Sinai, which simulated attack and takeover of "enemy army" control centers. The exercise included aerial forces, armor, artillery and infantry from the Second Army.
At the end of Egyptian Television's report on the exercise (embedded below), a short segment showing the Egyptian army's crossing of the Suez Canal in the 1973 Yom Kippur War was broadcast.
The presidential spokesman, Dr. Yasser Ali, said that in the course of the fast-breaking meal held at the presidential headquarters with the new Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Morsi instructed the heads of the military to improve the conditions of officers and soldiers.
Sources in the presidential bureau said Morsi asked Defense Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi to look into giving officers and soldiers a meaningful pay raise. Ali denied that the salaries would grow by 50% and said the matter was still being looked into.