Last update - 00:00 20/05/2007
IDF called up untrained soldiers to fight in Second Lebanon War
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces ombudsman's report publicized Sunday revealed that reserves soldiers were called up to perform duties they were not trained to perform during the Second Lebanon War last summer.
In some cases, the report maintained, the utilization of these IDF reserves soldiers in live combat they were not trained for was only prevented by last minute interventions.
The report, drafted by Brigadier General (res.) Avner Barzani, describes in detail three incidents out of a series of complaints mentioned in the report.
Barzani's report said that during the war, a medic who had been living outside Israel for 12 years was called up to fight. He was annexed to a paratroopers battalion, a combat unit, though he had had no training nor had he participated in any drills over the 12 years prior.
In another incident described in the report, a man who had been at one time a civilian doctor, but had left the medical profession several years prior, was called up for service as a field doctor during the war. The fact that he had not practiced medicine for several years did not prevent the IDF from compelling him to perform medical procedures under fire. A last minute intervention by the ombudsman, who is responsible for fielding soldiers' complaints, prevented this man from being sent into combat.
In a third incident, the report continued, a reserves soldier was called up to drive a truck during the war. The man, a computer programmer by profession, had not undergone a truck driving training, as specified in the IDF instructions. While driving the truck, the man felt that he did not know how to operate it and called his commander to tell him. He asked for an escort to accompany him until he gains confidence and feels safe enough to drive the truck alone. The commander refused his request, and tried to instruct him as to how to operate the truck via the telephone. When the driver returned to the base, he took a driving test which concluded that he must undergo at least 12 hours of additional training. Nevertheless, he was sent back out to drive ammunition trucks without receiving any additional training.
Barzani wrote in the report that ignoring the soldiers' level of training for the sole purpose of filling manpower quotas is much worse than not filling the quotas. "It creates a false appearance, and when put to the test, could undermine the operation."
Barzani also wrote that his office had fielded other complaints filed by reserves soldiers regarding the lack of basic supplies, among other things, during the war in Lebanon. He wrote that he had decided not to devote an entire chapter to these complaints because there are "different committees dealing only with the war."
The report, handed to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Sunday, covers grievances filed in 2006. During the course of the year, 6,076 complaints were filed and more than 60 percent of them were categorized as justified.
The report also shows a sharp increase in complaints filed against commanders for the treatment of their soldiers. 37 percent of the complaints of violence, lack of compassion and over-strictness on the part of the commanders were found to be justified, and in some cases, the accused parties were dismissed from the IDF. "The soldiers' conditions are improving from year to year," Barzani said. "They are more assertive, file more complaints and are fighting for their rights. They are no longer willing to suffer humiliation."
According to Barzani, most of the complaints are filed by soldiers serving in the home-front units, rather than soldiers serving in the front lines, who are reluctant to complain against their commanders.
Barzani also mentioned the absence of complaints of racism in this year's report, as opposed to 14 in last year's.