Opinion The beehive and the focus on the sensitive issue: the preparations of the next Chief of Staff Halevi for the "duty of his life" | Israel Hayom

General Herzi Halevi will enter the office of the Chief of Staff only this coming Tuesday (January 17), but he began the preparations for his life's role already months ago when word of his appointment became known.

Halevi established work teams that have since examined various issues that he intends to focus on at the very beginning of his term.

Work teams established by Halevi examined key issues he intends to deal with, including the areas of the IDF's use of force, training, the issue of army-society, personnel, the multi-year plan and the budget.

Halevi follows closely

Key lieutenant generals take part in these teams, including the head of the Operations Division until recently Brigadier General Yaron Finkelman, the commander of the Land Training Center until recently Brigadier General David Zini, the commander of the Inter-Army Command and Staff College (IOC) Brigadier General Yaniv Alalof , and also the economic advisor to the Chief of Staff (Complainant) Brigadier General Gil Pinchas.

Major General Herzi Halevi will be appointed the 23rd Chief of Staff // Photo: IDF spokesman

Major General Halevy, from next week Major General Halevy, closely followed the work of the various teams, and after months of preparation, in the coming period he is expected to hold a strategic conference where he will deal with the IDF's future directions. The incoming Chief of Staff intends to give special emphasis to military-society interfaces, Emphasis on the motivation for recruitment, the people's army and special populations.

One of the most disturbing issues today is the issue of manpower in the army.

As we revealed last year in "Israel Hayom", in the recent period there has been a tens of percent increase in the number of officers in the IDF, mainly in the ranks of captain and major, who leave the army of their own accord, and in the IDF they recognize a trend in which the army is left with fewer quality personnel.

The incoming Chief of Staff understands this, and one of the directions he is currently considering is a dramatic change in the treatment of personnel in the IDF. 

Kochavi (left) and his replacement as Chief of Staff, Halevi, photo: Yossi Zeliger

Another topic that Levy will deal with intensively is the Iranian nuclear issue, and the fact that as of this time the IDF does not have a good enough plan to attack Iran, and this at a time when in recent years Iran has been intensively enriching uranium, and according to all estimates it is only a few weeks closer to enough enriched material for a bomb one nucleus. 

At the same time, Halevi is assembling his beehive, and has already appointed an assistant to the Chief of Staff, the Chief of Staff's Chief of Staff, and an IDF spokesman, and made sure that the head of the MDA (Behavioral Sciences Unit), who is considered to be close to Chief of Staff Kochavi, will finish her job, and be replaced by Another officer.

A new hive

The incoming Chief of Staff also decided that Lt. Col. Sharit Schiff would be promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed head of the Behavioral Sciences Department instead of Brigadier General Hadas Minka.

Brigadier General Minka is considered one of the officers closest to the outgoing Chief of Staff Kochavi, and about two years ago Yoav Limor revealed that Kochavi decided to give her the rank of Brigadier even though all of her predecessors in the position held the rank of colonel.

This decision of outgoing Chief of Staff Kochavi was severely criticized, and now the incoming Chief of Staff has decided to correct this and appoint another officer in her place.

Prepared for the role of his life, Major General Herzi Halevi (archive), photo: IDF spokesman

Contrary to cases in the past, the appointments already made by the incoming Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, have so far been considered professional, and not appointments of associates. Therefore, with Halevi taking office, quite a few senior officers in the IDF are breathing a sigh of relief, after in recent years there has been a trend of promoting officers with " Red berets" close to Chief of Staff Kochavi, at the expense of promoting less close officers.

The response of the IDF spokesperson to this article: "In the report we will not refer to the contents of the learning process of the designated Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi."

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