IDF Official Honors Fallen Commander Asaf Hamami

The Head of the Manpower Directorate, Major General Dudu Bar-Kalifa, spoke at the memorial ceremony for Colonel Asaf Hamami, commander of the Southern Brigade, who fell on October 7th alongside his soldiers. Bar-Kalifa remembered Hamami as a leader and a person, emphasizing the lessons to be learned from his path.

Bar-Kalifa began by discussing his visits to the families of the fallen, describing each visit as a lesson and a source of insight. He shared that he seeks to learn new details about each fallen soldier from their families, focusing on their character and way of life.

Recalling Hamami, Bar-Kalifa highlighted the commander's personal motto, "Be good, be Hamami." He described this phrase as reflecting Hamami's life and character, noting that Hamami himself would likely never have said it about himself. Bar-Kalifa characterized Hamami as the most humble person he knew and urged others to "be good people, good soldiers, good commanders."

Bar-Kalifa expressed a wish that Hamami could once again address a forum of commanders to explain the meaning of "be good." He described the longing that grows with time and the desire for one last talk from Hamami on this subject.

Concluding his remarks, Bar-Kalifa outlined Hamami's command philosophy, stating that good commanders live by the principle of "the war in your lying down and in your standing up," meaning they do what they say and say what they do, preparing for war day and night. He urged commanders to view every role as their last, to speak their minds, and to act on their beliefs, with the mission and their people always at the forefront.