The conspiring human mind sought to find reason on Wednesday for the sudden large Israel Defense Forces exercise. An army maneuver of such an extraordinary magnitude, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, had to mean something was going on, or at least that someone knew something. But we can all relax. Nothing is going on. It was just an exercise, nothing more, a large surprise drill before Yom Kippur. The IDF made sure the relevant people were notified, both inside and outside the country in Israel to avoid panic over the sight of military convoys throughout the country, and outside, in Syria, so that it would not think a surprise attack was coming from Israel. Until the notifications, the exercise remained shrouded in secrecy. The sudden deployment came as a surprise to the troops, including two artillery division commanders. Last year, Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz held a similar exercise for a reservist armored corps brigade. This time he chose to test the artillery corps' ability to go from training to immediate wartime operations on the Golan Heights, including reconnaissance, targeting and live fire. The decision to use the artillery corps was no coincidence. They are vital to blocking an enemy's advance with accurate shelling and missile bombardment, as well as pummeling strategic targets in the enemy's front and rear. The artillery corps are an integral part of every operational plan for both the "small" northern front, Lebanon, and the "large" one, Syria. The speed with which they get to their vehicles and join the battle are critical to the first days, and have a dramatic effect on the fighting. The importance of being ready was just one of the messages Gantz wanted to convey when he decided to hold the drill. No less important was getting the officers to learn to adjust immediately to an emergency situation (like war), which can happen abruptly and requires the utmost readiness, even in seemingly quiet times. While the intelligence report presented to the government two weeks ago pointed to a lower chance of a planned war against us, the possibility of a spontaneous conflict was said to be much more likely. There was another message within the drill, meant for the public. While the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran has seemingly become less likely, it still doesn't mean we are Switzerland. The IDF is preparing for war, which may break out at any moment and on all fronts. That is what soldiers train for, which brings us to the last and most important reason, in Gantz's eyes, for holding this drill: The IDF is worried about budget cuts next year, and is now signaling that there can be no impediment to the readiness of forces. This, more than anything, was the real reason for the missiles fired yesterday on the Golan Heights: to promise that the IDF would be ready, prepared and well-equipped for a "pop-quiz," as well as for the moment of truth.
