IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir delivered a wide-ranging and emotional address today at the graduation ceremony of the IDF Combat Officer Training Course, praising the new commanders, recalling the army’s failures on October 7, and vowing the military will press on until all obligations - including the return of hostages and the fallen - are fulfilled.
“I look at you, and my heart skips a beat. Standing before this moment, one you have awaited for many months, for generations, no Israeli commander has remained indifferent,” Zamir told the cadets, describing the pride and responsibility that accompany the command role. “These are moments when you can feel pride filling every chamber of your heart, as you face the magnitude of the mission awaiting you, along with the sense of responsibility that at times cannot be put into words.”
Zamir noted that the customary graduation was postponed repeatedly during the past two years of intense fighting, when many cadets assumed command roles and returned immediately to the front. “This ceremony was missed more than once over the past two years. Hundreds of cadets received command roles on the battlefields and immediately returned to combat during two years of a multi-arena war in which we fought uncompromisingly - until victory,” he said.
The chief of staff paid solemn tribute to soldiers killed and wounded in the fighting. “On the battlefields, we lost the finest of our sons and daughters. Their absence leaves a void in the heart of the nation, an absence, and their loss will echo within us for generations to come. We are bound to their memory, to their legacy; we will prove ourselves worthy of them and of their devotion, and we will continue to stand beside the bereaved families every step of the way.” He added that wounded soldiers face a long road of physical and mental recovery, and pledged the army’s continued support.
Turning to the IDF’s self-examination after October 7, Zamir said the army must never forget its failure to prevent the massacre and kidnappings then carried out. “On October 7th, 2023, the IDF broke its most sacred promise to the civilians of the State of Israel. We were not prepared as required for the barbaric assault… The pain, the shame, the sorrow, and the responsibility to make things right - we carry them with us wherever we go.” He praised the courage of soldiers who rose to confront the assault and credited them with restoring the IDF’s fighting capacity.
Zamir emphasized ongoing missions and unfinished obligations: “The mission is not complete and we bear responsibility for its full realization - even at this very moment. Returning our deceased hostages who still remain in Hamas’s hands to their eternal rest with the dignity they deserve stands before our eyes. We will not be silent until we have fulfilled this clear moral and ethical duty.” He also warned against any tolerance for threats to Israeli civilians and pledged the IDF will act with no appeasement.
Highlighting the character expected of commanders, Zamir urged intellectual rigor as well as operational fidelity. “Responsibility requires us to probe the facts with persistence, to ask the right question even when it is uncomfortable, and not to be afraid of holding a minority opinion. A strong society is also built from the ability to think and critique alongside the necessary obedience required for the functioning of a combat army.” He called backing for commanders “the soul of command” and described it as partnership that enables difficult decisions.
Zamir drew on a famous Theodore Roosevelt passage to exhort the new officers to lead from the front: “Credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… he who, at best, tastes the fruit of success, and at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” He invoked the memory of fallen officers MAJ Yaniv Kula and MAJ Dvir Revach as moral compasses for those assuming command: “May the words of Yaniv and Dvir be a compass and a lighthouse for you as you set out in peace for the command mission you now carry.”
Addressing families and course instructors, Zamir thanked parents for raising the next generation of commanders and praised course commanders for preparing cadets “what leadership means in wartime.” He closed by reaffirming his trust in the graduates: “Commanders, we look to you and your leadership across all arenas. I trust you, I am proud of you, and I urge you to step confidently into the arena for you are the eternal nation of Israel.”