IDF Combat Command Training Adapts to Battle-Hardened Officers
Translated & summarized from Makor Rishon by baba
Colonel Uri Levin leads the IDF's combat command training program, which now includes officers with extensive recent combat experience. The training emphasizes practical application and adapts to the realities of modern warfare, focusing on areas like night fighting and subterranean combat. Levin stresses that the professional standards remain high, despite the officers' battle-hardened backgrounds, and encourages open dialogue and leadership from the front.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- IDF combat command training now includes officers with direct, recent battlefield experience.
- Colonel Uri Levin leads both a combat brigade and the officer training program.
- The curriculum emphasizes practical skills and adapts to new combat realities.
- Training for reservist and career officers maintains identical professional standards.
- Open dialogue and leadership from the front are key aspects of the training.
- The IDF maintains high entry and training standards despite officer demand.
Colonel Uri Levin, simultaneously commander of the Tel Hai Brigade and head of the combat command training program at the IDF's Command Training Center, emphasizes the crucial link between operational experience and officer education. The center trains company and battalion commanders, and Levin notes that recent courses are filled with officers who have already experienced intense combat, casualty evacuation, and battlefield setbacks. These experiences shape discussions on command, leadership, and combat doctrine.
Levin explains that his dual role allows him to apply lessons learned in training to his brigade's operations and vice versa. The instructors are not mere educators but active commanders bringing current operational insights. The latest company commander course, number 139, comprised officers with extensive combat service, bringing real-world challenges, including casualty evacuation and leadership questions, into the classroom. A recent tour of the Gaza border area exposed them to the failures of October 7th and the subsequent recovery, helping to connect individual combat experiences into a broader understanding of warfare.
Levin himself experienced the disruption of training on October 7th, when a course he was leading was sent directly into combat. He observes that officers today, particularly reservists, possess a deeper understanding of the demands of command, having often served in junior roles before attending the course. There is a pronounced eagerness for learning, both theoretical and practical, with some officers attending extra drills to gain more knowledge.
The training for reservist and career officers is professionally identical, as the enemy does not differentiate. However, Levin notes that reservist commanders face unique challenges, balancing command duties with family and civilian careers. A dedicated workshop for reservists addresses these issues, fostering peer-to-peer learning and mentorship from experienced commanders.
While the course duration is fixed, the war has prompted an increased focus on subjects like night combat, defensive battles, subterranean warfare, and close-air support drones. Core values, leadership, and the Israeli commander's ethos remain non-negotiable. Levin encourages open discourse and dissent within the ranks, viewing it as a strength and a crucial lesson learned from the war's dangers of groupthink. He also highlights the Israeli military's culture of senior commanders leading from the front, citing the high number of colonels killed in action, which contrasts sharply with historical examples of leadership crises in other armies.
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