GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yair Golan on Monday sacked Lt. Col. Muli Cohen, commander of the IDF Armored Corps 74th Battalion, after his failure to count his soldiers upon leaving the West Bank Palestinian village of Budrus more than a week ago resulted in one of them being left behind. Cohen was dismissed from his position as battalion commander, but an IDF spokesman said that he would be eligible for a different command position in the future due to his otherwise impeccable military record. Golan and GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi who is responsible for the area in which the soldier was left behind issued an order on Friday to suspend Cohen until an investigation against him was completed. IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz also reportedly intervened and requested Cohens suspension. In a meeting Friday with 36th Battalion Commander Brig. Gen. Tamir Hayman, Cohen was told he was being suspended until completion of the investigation, while some IDF officials predicted he would not be allowed to return to his post. The investigation turned up an ethical lapse, concluding that Cohen did not submit a complete and accurate report of the incident to his superior. He also failed to conduct a count of his soldiers upon leaving the village. Apparently, Cohen realized the soldier his personal radio operator who rode in his jeep was missing only when the regional brigade commander called to notify him, after information from Palestinians reached the Coordination and Liaison offices of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria. In recent years, two Armored Corps battalion commanders were sacked due to poor judgment during operational activities. Three years ago, then Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi sacked Lt. Col. Yair Baranes - commander of Battalion 9 of the 401 Armored Brigade - for not confronting terrorists head-on during an incident in Gaza. Lt. Col. Omri Borberg, commander of Armored Battalion 71, was dismissed in 2008 due to his involvement in the shooting of a handcuffed Palestinian who was arrested in Naalin - a Palestinian town near Ramallah in the West Bank. Meanwhile, in another more minor lapse of judgment, an IDF soldier left behind his night-vision equipment in Hebron on Thursday, after purchasing cigarettes in a Palestinian store, in violation of standing orders. The store owner decided to return the equipment to Civil Administration officers who were patrolling the area. The advanced night-vision equipment is believed to offer IDF soldiers an advantage over Palestinian terrorists. Most such equipment is manufactured in the U.S., and the loss of such sensitive equipment is often investigated by the highest levels in the IDF. The IDF Spokesmans Unit said in a statement: The case was transferred to the Civil Administration. The incident was investigated, and the soldier will be dealt with accordingly.
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IDF sacks battalion commander who forgot soldier in West Bank
Lt. Col. Muli Cohen, who left his radio operator behind and neglected to count his soldiers after leaving Palestinian village of Budrus, will no longer remain in his current post • Cohen allowed to remain in the IDF due to his otherwise exemplary record.