A year for a stellar term: Chief of Staff trying to make the IDF the country's largest startup

The digital revolution is a top priority for the chief of staff who concludes his freshman year. The ambitious plan that stars Kochavi may change the face of the battle with a system that brings together all forces under one language. But to leave his mark as a breakthrough, Kochavi will also have to face the challenges outside the field. The battle

A year for a stellar term: Chief of Staff trying to make the IDF the country's largest startup

(In video: Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi refers to the Bug investigation, December)

Do not allow the clouds of dust in the Middle East to hide reality. It was not the targeted thaw of senior Islamic Jihad Baha Abu al-Ata while sleeping in his bed in Gaza was a turning point, not the process of arranging a crawl with Hamas, and certainly not the foreign publications about a mysterious attack in the heart of the Bejah quarter that stunned Hezbollah - an organization that intensified dramatically Israeli Governments. So are the intense attacks on the Syrian T-4 base against Iranian targets that produce a sense of effort to empty a sea with a spoon.

The IDF's transformation process is undergoing as the largest start-up in the country, and the operational digital revolution is a highlight of the first year of Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. The first foundations for the revolution were laid, even though a full and uninterrupted budget for the multi-year plan for impetus and the political system had not yet been received.

On January 23, the head of the Communications Division will press Major General Lior Carmeli on the power button and launch the fire circle system. Not far from it, on the 14th floor of the General Staff building, a star will be staring at the computer screen that says "Extremely confidential", smiling with pleasure, leaning back in his office chair with a sense of satisfaction, behind him a picture of Alexander Zaid, one of the founders of the Jewish Shield Force in Israel. To the office's officials, who, despite the technological advancement, do not forget the DNA sources on which the IDF is based.

The Fire Circle is an operational retina system designed to connect all arms, commands, corps and units under one language. It will include a fire plan detailing which targets to attack accurately, intelligence available at all levels, what the required achievement is, and criteria for achieving the achievement. No more disproportionate shooting and logic. Through the system, the information will be reflected at all levels from a company commander in Givati ​​to the chief of staff. For example, a brigade, battalion or squadron that will be required to work with Hamas or Hezbollah will be given a detailed mission before the outbreak of the war: what to attack to achieve.

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During the battle, they will feed the attacks into the system and when they meet the complex task, the system signal that the target was achieved. Only then will they be given the next task. This is an accurate and effective system that will save the IDF many combat days, unlike the Second Lebanon War that shuffled more than thirty days or a "stiff cliff" operation that lasted more than fifty days.

But each coin has two sides. At this point in the IDF, the process is wrapped up in blast terms that are as unclear to all as multidimensional and digital transformation, concepts that cause recoil in the IDF. Neither are there pessimists and commanders of pessimistic corps and leg-dwellers who fear advanced artificial intelligence-based systems that take responsibility from the warrior and the commander. There are senior officers who claim that Kochavi’s brilliant head is in space and should always make sure his feet are connected to the ground. Therefore, as written by Malcolm Gladwell's "Turning Point," the change requires explaining throughout and across the need and importance of the process.

He would say to Kochavi that he is aware of and aware of the military bureaucracy that lacks revolutionary ideas, and for this he decided to establish two bodies that the army leadership does not necessarily know in depth, or at least do not know what their purpose is. The first body is a Forwarding Brigade under the command of Brigadier General Eran Niv. A brilliant and creative figure in its own right. The purpose of this division is to design and formulate new multi-armed combat methods, to build operational architecture and to promote military innovation to accelerate the pace of change that stars want from the IDF. Brigadier Niv is also required to adapt the methods to future threats to Israel, including a decade-long look. Some not all of them talk about cyber and distant geographical ranges.

The highlight - the digital revolution. Southern Command Fire Brigade (Photo: IDF Spokesman)

Southern Command Fire Brigade (Photo: IDF Spokesman)

The second move designed to secure the revolution that inspires all the major high-tech companies in the economy is the construction of the Digital Transformation Manager. Again, there is quite a blast and it is not clear to everyone, headed by Brigadier General Ziv Avtalion. The manager is responsible for leading the digital process and extracting information throughout the IDF space. Its purpose is to bring down walls. There will be no critical and important piece of intelligence that military or other bodies will keep to themselves, while at the end a small particle is needed to complete the puzzle in order to beat the enemy.

The combination of the "Fire Circle" system, the fire manager and targets manager he set up in order to accurately combat the battle at all levels, jointly with network-based digital spatial divisions in Judea and Samaria, will make the difference between the last decade and the next decade in routine and emergency.

The system requires commanders at all levels to be accurate in combat reports to determine if they have met the required operational performance. If the missile hits the selected antenna, the question is whether the antenna has been destroyed or only damaged. Is the area to which the battalion maneuver is fully or partially occupied? How many warriors of the enemy's chosen force have been able to kill? If there are no truth reports the whole process on the operational network will not work and the technological effort will be insignificant. The report in the Personnel Division reports on the scope of ultra-Orthodox recruits to the IDF casts a heavy shadow on the military's ability to accurately data. Especially that computerized systems allow for transparency, data exploration and full control of the General Staff at the end of the operational line. If the unit system fails, the war will prolong and the price will come. An expression of enormous destruction, killed and wounded on the Israeli side.

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The challenges are not just on the battlefield. IDF forces at Gaza border, November (Photo: Reuters)

Deployment of IDF forces at Gaza border November 13, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

The various systems of the last two decades have been disproportionately lengthened by the imposition of very costly and unreasonably expensive armaments in order to search for enemy centers of gravity. A kind of trial and error. Instead of being precise in the first place to the places that will paralyze it in the critical places. It will be a major challenge for the stars until the end of their term, to improve military culture, to organize the operational and organizational IDF space that will be ready to change and improve in a network-based era.

Kochavi has established a steering team over all processes, headed by Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ilam Zamir, Chief of Operations, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliwa, and Chief of Planning, Maj. Gen. Amir Abulafia, to review progress every week. As befits the processes described in Aviv Kochav's EXC book: SEAR By Tom Peters Robert H. Waterman JR, which deals with what makes organizations effective. Long before the question of whether a multi-year plan will be budgeted over the next few years or whether the CEO will be required to cancel projects and reject some of them to fund the change.

A fusion reactor and not a crucible

But not all of Star's challenges have been in the field this past year on the battlefield. One of the biggest landmines that politicians have assumed in the past year has been a social military issue that for an unclear reason has been reduced to two issues: warfare and haredim. The stars of the complex political process in Israel eluded them with the skin of their teeth elegantly. There was no frontal collision with them. Apparently, he took office from Gadi Eisenkot who fought the exemption forms of old shaving soldiers, conducted the arguments between the military rabbinate and the education corps, opened the question of statehood and paid a heavy image price irrespective of the Alur Azaria affair. The politicians did not spare him either.

In the first day, permanent stars in the role of the IDF are a unifying center for almost all parts of the nation. "National Integration Center." The IDF unites according to its method rather than as defined in the past. Strategic statement changes rules and thinking. It would be interesting if he stopped the Aman crossing south or left the Aman bases in office in the prestigious places of Gush Dan.

Neither does Kochavi expect the same thing and thinks that everyone should be allowed to keep his identity. That everyone will feel at home despite wearing a uniform. Despite the pragmatic approach, the transparent dome phenomenon that exists today also makes it clear that the situation does not necessarily exist in the army and that few commanders who go up the ranks prefer to walk around with a hat or avoid wearing a skullcap despite being strict about a religious lifestyle. Kochavi began demanding that the ECHA commanders in particular and the military in general intensify their concern with integrity, unit pride, identification and significance with the military service. Even in the realization of the potential of Israeli youth. An issue that did not necessarily fit in with the complex process of the Mishlob (security service candidate) and attentiveness of The focus of the absorption and sorting base (best) for the various problems of youth and their parents.

Permanent Stars The IDF is a center that unites almost all parts of the nation. The IDF Championship in combat (Photo: IDF Spokesman)

IDF Combat Championship, November 2019 (Photo: IDF Spokesman)

Regarding the transparency and quality of investigations in the IDF, the stars of the Red Beret were engaged directly. He did not facilitate the investigation into an incident at Snail Creek during which the Patrol Brigade's battalion fighter was killed and, accordingly, also imposed heavy penalties. Neither in the various events in the Gaza Division and 91 there were various camps. Discount stars hold round tables in divisions to teach lessons, allocate 25% of training time to commanders and conduct in-depth investigations under new guidelines and supervision of the Torah and Training Division, according to investigations by the Northern Command last month that he has faced challenges in assimilating the quality of investigations. Dropped the chief of staff " Desired depths. For example, the deputy chief of staff as commander of the Southern Command has a unique safety project, which is the same as Halevi Rani, but no similar trend has been recorded in other commands and corps.

At the Home Front Command, the chief of staff has not yet folded sleeves. At the last conference attended by the chief of staff at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, in memory of Major General Amnon Lipkin Shahak, efforts were made to coordinate expectations with the public about the next war, the heavy price and the damage. From a General Staff view, the correspondence with the public about what will actually happen when they fall across Israel in one day more than a thousand rockets and maybe more. We saw what happened when individual rockets were launched at Tel Aviv. Coordination of expectations is also required regarding the price that the IDF will pay in the front and in the depth of the enemy territory. We must reduce as far as possible the public's expectations of the IDF in routine and emphasize war on several fronts. To the credit of the Home Front Commander, Major General Tamir Yedai says that the unique activities of public relations, courses for the authorities, and the technological changes that led to Royal Hamas-based "Hamal Lakes", despite the budgetary difficulty, help to reduce the public-military gaps.

On the political-political challenge, the chief of staff spoke at the same conference, emphasizing that in his view the IDF is part of the strategic-political process and not necessarily only part of the operative strategic process. Major Kochavi unlike other chief of staff does not say to the political echelon the sentence: "Tell me what you want and I will tell you how" but insist on being a partner in the planning phase from "what?" And surely "How?"

The challenges are still ahead of him

Last year, Kochavi proved that despite the political pressures from all the archery and clashes between the right, center, and left blocs, criticism in the international arena at its doorstep proved that he was able to balance when diplomats raged in front of the cameras and the network. Kochavi ran for a year without a full-time defense minister, but with direct subordination to a prime minister whose attention was very limited not only because of political-political issues but mainly legal ones. Recently, with the appointment of a fresh and inexperienced defense minister to say the least, he has been required to act as a responsible adult, balance and reject provocations. The challenge ahead of him was especially the near term for voting at the polls in the third round. Not to mention the possibility of a second round here.

An examination of operational activities during the first year proved that Kochavi takes the initiative, brave and well understood the broad context of all the operations in the near and far calves. At least according to foreign publications, he was not afraid to carry out widespread and targeted attacks in the depths of Syrian territory despite tensions with Russia and Iran. Attacks were also attributed to the IDF in Iraq despite tensions with the United States and even in the Dahiya quarter in Lebanon, including running a "black belt" operation in Gaza that was a "game changer".

Conducted for a year without a full-time defense minister. Stars with Netanyahu (Photo: Haim Zach, GPO)

PM, Benjamin Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi during a Security Patrol in the North of August 25, 2019 (Photo: Haim Zach / GPO, official website)

All without deteriorating into broad escalation or war. But in the Middle East as in the Middle East, any deterrence requires maintenance and the majority is therefore not allowed to suffer from some kind of successful operation that relates to Israel in the various arenas. Connecting Israel's enemies to religion and radical ideology produces tons of determination, motivation, terrorism and new threats. Like friction foci we didn't hear about in the assessment of the annual status of the UN: Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Libya, Egypt, which is intensifying at sea and in the air, emerging maritime axes and other circles about which the Public Intelligence Division did not expand, including the entry of influential powers into the region.

Another area that remains in the gap is the handling of the permanent staff, which has put them at the center of action, but has not been able to implement broad plans. Doubtful of priorities Doubtful of political problems and budget for a multi-year plan While the economy enjoys 3.4% unemployment there are bickering proposals in the civilian market and accordingly there is a brain drain from the IDF. Turning a blind eye to civilian hot jobs is a headline for complex personnel issues. Motivational surveys among captains and majors are not encouraging to say the least. The idea of ​​the week after commander-in-chief as a chief of staff instruction and avoiding interviewing on Fridays is just a nice start. Actual steps are required.