Appointment of senior officer to "Commander of the Corona" is doomed to failure: Ministers simply will not relinquish their powers • Only one body can lead the battle with the virus - the military • Interpretation

• Deep in the consensus. IDF soldiers distribute food in Bnei Brak

  Photo: 

  Coco

The heavy fog that fell on us around the war in Corona leads to significant decisions regarding command and control, the cornerstones of any war and campaign management. The discussion at this stage is who will lead the campaign - who is the commander? The names that have come up so far have been refused, it can be said elegantly. They probably know why.

The principle of unity of command is a supreme principle in the various armies, and its purpose is to regulate the relationship between the commanding echelon and the operational echelon. In simple language, this principle regulates the areas of responsibility and authority given by an official, and that he bears the sole and overall responsibility for the process he leads.

Hence, the campaign has one "manager" and he is the same commander. This has come to simplify the understanding that the multiplicity of "managers" for a campaign will lead to inconsistent decisions, frequent changes, inequality, and ego wars, and all the human phenomena that we are well acquainted with when authority and power are required to be exercised.

This matter is essential in the context of continuing to deal with the cunning virus. All systems have already realized that a multi-system concentration of effort is needed here to deal with the problem, and ministers, including the prime minister, are finding it difficult to produce the required achievement. Hence the thought of appointing a "commander" who would concentrate his efforts in front of the corona, whose role in the definition would be to deal only with this matter.

This decision is complex, since a decision on the appointment of such a "commander" requires that he also be appointed to the headquarters, and that he be given the necessary powers. It is clear that all this takes away from the ministers and their offices powers given to the same commander, and this supposedly harms the management of the offices and their capabilities - hence the ego wars surrounding the decision on the appointment itself.

Photo: Yoni Rickner, David Perlmutter / The group of ultra-Orthodox protesters

In the previous article I wrote about the fight against the virus, I touched on three main failures: information, isolation, and discipline. In my view, these are the three steps in which one should invest efforts that will lead to maximum change in minimum steps. Must remember: a million actions can be performed, the question is what will be the price paid, and how effective it will be. The above three steps are intended to create a change in public behavior, out of an understanding of the situation and needs, in order to lead a normal lifestyle, while minimizing harm to the economy.

Can such a commander-in-chief benefit from these efforts?

If you ask me - I'm really not sure. I do not see any benefit in the "parachuting" of one character or another to conduct a multi-system effort given that we are required to decentralize powers from within the ministries themselves. Only the chaos that will be created as a result of this move will not strengthen the citizens' trust in the guidelines, and certainly not their understanding.

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Hence I see two possibilities. One - to the IDF and to give him the authority, told by deputy chief of staff, to lead the campaign in Corona all available means, based on the understanding that Chief of Staff is required to complete assembly of unrelated things happen.

The second possibility is to appoint a comprehensive body One of all the efforts. From within the government. Let there be a bunch of ministers who are subordinate to him and he will lead. The

"unity of command" is important in order to win any battle, especially the current battle. However, given the efforts required and the existing dynamics, it is not right to build a role, but to give the powers to a reliable official who can integrate the necessary efforts and lead This campaign, 

given that the IDF has a wealth of capabilities, especially command and control, and a ready and skilled home front, the time has come to give it the responsibility to manage this campaign, and to move forward. 

In today's Israeli reality, it seems that only the IDF can be agreed upon by the majority of the population. Today, after politics has entered every field, and a situation has arisen where every opinion holder cynically exploits the uncertainty, weaknesses and hardships - it is true The IDF has won the highest trust of all state institutions. So it is today. He has everything he needs, and all that is left is to decide to hand over the responsibility to win this campaign.

The author is a former brigade commander in the IDF, and is currently a researcher on military-social relations