This evening, the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, presented his summary of the Expert Committee Report on the Quality of IDF inquiries, headed by MG (res.) Sami Turgeman to the General Staff Forum.
The summary includes the Chief of Staff’s insights and lessons derived from the report, along with directives for embedding them into the IDF’s work plan for the coming years.
The Chief of Staff determined that, in order to synchronize all future processes stemming from the report and maintain oversight of their implementation, a steering team responsible for oversight and implementation will be established, headed by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff. The team will ensure that the processes are integrated into the IDF’s organizational work plan.
In the coming weeks, a dedicated study day will be held for the General Staff Forum, during which major generals will present their comments, and the process for implementing the lessons-under the responsibility of the various directorates-will be detailed. A subsequent presentation will be given to the IDF’s Production and Deployment Forum.
In his summary, the Chief of the General Staff highlighted several main lines of effort to serve as a compass for the IDF’s evolution in the coming years, including:
* Surprise warfare as the guiding principle for IDF operational readiness.
* Institutionalizing norms of competence and preparedness as part of an operational organizational culture.
* Strengthening intelligence as a “profession” and regulating professional processes within the Intelligence Directorate.
* Ground maneuver as a central component of IDF capabilities and a basis for achieving decision.
* Reinforcing the profession of officership, with an emphasis on developing knowledge, certification processes, and maintaining proficiency.
Additionally, the Chief of the General Staff instructed the establishment of a designated inquiry team to review the “Jericho Wall” program, Hamas's plan to raid Israeli towns, headed by MG (res.) Roni Numa. The team will include several other senior reserve officers and will formulate its conclusions as soon as possible.
Chief of Staff Zamir stated: “We are moving into the next phase regarding the inquiries of October 7th-the phase of integrating the lessons into the IDF’s work plan and implementing them. It is our duty to look failure in the eye and extract everything possible to ensure it is not repeated, and to make sure we have learned all that can be learned to improve the IDF’s competence. I believe this process will guide the IDF for years to come, and we must ensure it is thoroughly embedded throughout all components of the organization.”