IDF: Chief of the General Staff during the first exercise of the new 38th division in training: “This week, we mark 53 years since the Yom Kippur War and three years since the October 7th Massacre — two painful shortcomings, two failures, with a connecting thread between them. The lesson we must all learn from both wars is that the possibility of a surprise attack must concern us all; the IDF must always be prepared for a surprise war”

“A commander who does not question and entrenche himself in his perceptions will be defeated. Reality is constantly sending us signals, and it is our duty to identify those signals, listen to them and constantly adapt”

Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, visited today (Wednesday), together with Commander of the Ground Forces, MG Nadav Lotan, and Commander of the 38th Division and Head of the Ground Forces Operations Brigade, BG Sharon Altit, during a divisional exercise of the 38th Division the new division in training.

During the visit, the Chief of the General Staff examined the troops’ readiness and preparedness for their missions.

From the remarks of Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir:

“This week, we mark 53 years since the Yom Kippur War and three years since the October 7th massacre — two painful shortcomings, two failures, with a connecting thread between them. The lesson we must all learn from both wars is that the possibility of a surprise attack must concern us all; the IDF must always be prepared for a surprise war.

We are examining the roots of the failure and engaging in a process of learning. We opened the week with a learning day to review the lessons of the October 7th Massacre, and we are constantly working to implement and embed them so that the failure does not happen again.

This is my responsibility as Chief of the General Staff, and it is the responsibility of all uniformed personnel, both active-duty and reserve.

A commander who does not question and entrenches himself in his perceptions will be defeated. Reality is constantly sending us signals, and it is our duty to identify those signals, listen to them and constantly adapt.

At the same time, we must not become immersed solely in failure — we must confront it, learn from it and move forward.

Over the past 20 years, we reduced the size of the IDF. This trend has stopped. Our missions are growing, and the size of the military constitutes our strategic depth in a country as small as Israel. The establishment of the 38th Division and the establishment of additional frameworks over the past year are essential steps in the IDF’s force build-up and in strengthening the security of the State of Israel. The 38th Division is now becoming an operational division, and over the coming year it will establish itself as a flexible General Staff reserve division capable of operating in any arena.

To the reservists here, I say thank you. The entire State of Israel owes you its gratitude for the activities you have carried out over the past three years with extraordinary sacrifice.”

Attached are photos on the subject: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC02853