Say, top brass: This is a test

Israel’s top brass is undergoing an evaluation today to see if they’ve learned anything from the debacle of the second Lebanon war.

The drill came as a surprise, so that real-time decision making of the higher ranks could be assessed.

Several military facilities will be operated, as they would be in emergency. However, no soldiers, air craft or weapons will be deployed.

Only officers from the General Staff, the different branches and the various commands will participate in the exercise. They will have to respond to various scenarios, most of which will not be disclosed prior to the drill. Their task will be to determine, on paper, how things should be run in the field.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and his deputy Ephraim Sneh will also take part in the training to give them another opportunity to experience war-time decision making.

Apparently, Israel’s enemies are not the only ones who have learned something since last summer.

The officers will have to demonstrate that since the Second Lebanon War, they have improved their ability to respond effectively.

Alongside the general staff, high level reserve soldiers will also man the ranks. Some of them were assigned their positions immediately after the war, to assist the acting officers in dealing with challenges, and to make their knowledge and experience available.

Involving the reserve army was one of the conclusions made by the IDF after the war. The reserve officers had criticized the regular army for not having consulted them and their know-how.

This is the thing about Israel and the IDF: They learn from each experience. The Second Lebanon War may not have been a disaster, but disastrous things happened. Glaring weaknesses were exposed, as shown by the Winograd Commission (which hasn’t yet finished the full report of what needs to be fixed). And because Israel is a democratic society, and, well, because it’s full of Jews, the mistakes are going to be hashed and rehashed and re-rehashed, and then they’re going to be corrected.

This doesn’t mean that Syria and Iran Hezbullah and Hamas won’t be lobbing rockets into Israel in the next war. It means that Israel won’t be responding in the same way—which is how Iran is currently training Hamas and Hezbullah terrorists, as well as Syrian soldiers, to attack Israel.

In other words, Iran is fighting the last war, while Israel is preparing for the next one. And while that is not a good thought, it is a comforting one.

The U.S. Army is doing the same thing in Iraq, though judging by the press about losses, you’d never be able to tell. In fact, Americans are training with Israelis (some have actually done so inside Israel) to better prepare for Iraq, and for the terrorist tactics that are apparently here to stay.

I think it’s only a matter of time before the U.S. Army finds a way to defeat those tactics. No successful army, or nation, stands still. Drills and investigations are two of the means to improve tactics and performance. I am in no way a military analyst—but I can see the reports on adapting and changing tactics. Syria and Hamas are adapting the tactics that worked for Hezbullah—to a certain extent—last summer. But now it’s 2007. The IDF is adapting to those tactics, while Syria, Hezbullah, and the terrorists are essentially standing still.

May our enemies always be a step pr three behind.