An IDF General Staff suited to reality

The latest round of appointments to the IDF's General Staff is likely to be met with natural acceptance: No firestorms from within or from outside. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot made recommendations, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman approved them; it was all very to-the-point and professional, (almost) without intrigue.

This is partly due to Eizenkot's character, and partly due to the character of the generals: The era of cliques and pressure groups is over. Everyone who was appointed has a full career behind them, and no one jumped ahead in line.

As a whole, the appointments made were also a long time coming: GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi as new deputy chief of staff (which will lead to GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman's departure), Homefront Command chief Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick as GOC Northern Command, Planning Directorate Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin as the new commander of the Israeli Air Force. Each one brings with him extensive experience: Strick, for example, was a division commander in the north, brigade commander for operations and Homefront Command chief -- worthy training for someone who will now preside over the most volatile region. His replacement in the Homefront Command, former Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brig. Gen. Tamir Yadai, also has multi-sector experience as a senior commander, which will help him improve emergency preparedness on the homefront.

Overall, the new general staff will be better-suited to the modern reality of the IDF: multi-operational, multi-sectorial, facing an evasive enemy at varying intensities -- warfare that is in large part unseen, but its potential for damage (on the front and on the homefront) is extensive.

It's no wonder, then, that Eizenkot only chose infantrymen: Kochavi, Strick, Yadai, commander of the IDF's 162nd Armor Division Brig. Gen. Amir Abulafia, commander of the IDF's National Center for Ground Warfare Training Brig. Gen. Muni Katz -- all of them commanded infantry brigades, and most of them are also skilled in commanding special forces (Katz, by the way, is the third person from IAF commando unit Shaldag to be a member of the general staff at present, along with GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Roni Numa and Gaza Division commander Brig. Gen. Mickey Edelstein).

This says something about the status of the Armored Corps in the current general staff, as well as its place in the future battlefield, as the IDF sees it, where preference is given to the IAF and cyber intelligence.

This round of appointments really increases Kochavi's chances of becoming the next chief of staff (in 2019), despite the criticism of him expected in the upcoming state comptroller's report on the terror tunnels. It is still unclear whether he will only run against current Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, or if outgoing IAF chief Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, who is widely admired following his five-year term, could be a realistic candidate for the role.

The appointments that were approved are not supposed to dramatically change the character of the General Staff, which will remain professional and focused, as well as apolitical. But the built-in volatility of the region, the internal Israeli reality (particularly the secular-religious issue, service for women and the integration of the ultra-Orthodox) and moral issues (such as the case with Sgt. Elor Azaria, the soldier who a shot a neutralized terrorist in Hebron) will hold up a mirror to all the new appointees on a daily basis, and they will need to look into it and dedicate themselves fearlessly to integrity.

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