A significant number of senior Israel Defense Forces officers are not undergoing the required training for their posts, according to a state comptroller report released Monday.

The report, which was compiled by members of the defense division in the comptroller's office under the auspices of Major General (res.) Yaakov Orr, paints a dismal picture of the state of training of the IDF's upper echelons.

State Comptroller Judge (ret.) Micha Lindenstrauss presented the report on IDF officer training, planning and border police to Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik on Monday.

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The comptroller's report points to shortcomings in the training programs, their supervision and the standard of personnel.

Although the report was written before the start of the war in Lebanon in mid-July, it was not difficult to see diagnoses that at least partially explain the problems experienced by soldiers during the conflict.

The report found that most senior officers do not pass through the IDF's central training stages, the supervision on the study material is minimal and there is no systematic training.

Additionally, officers' preference for a degree in business administration from an Israeli university or for studying overseas reduces the status of the army's professional training. Even among the General Staff, the academic background varies greatly and frequently depends on where the officer was sent for training - the United States, Britain or France.

Senior officers training in the IDF is comprised of three primary elements: the National Defense College, the "Turning Point" program, which is designed to provide senior officers with management training, and the Advanced Military Campaign Course, which is a theoretical course taught by a number of academic scholars and reserve officers whose teaching methods are controversial within the IDF.

In the past, the training for top brass was not anchored in specific IDF orders, and there were no training prerequisites for advancement. In February 2003, then-IDF chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon approved the recommendations of a committee, which called for officers who the IDF intends to advance to the rank of brigadier general or higher undergo all three training programs.

According to the comptroller's report, no IDF Manpower Branch orders or instructions were given to this effect, nor did a multi-year plan exist to ensure a certain number of spaces for IDF officers in the courses.

According to data provided by the IDF Manpower Branch in December 2005, 82 percent of major generals, 68 percent of brigadier generals, and 76 percent of colonels did not undergo the National Defense College training. Additionally, in the past four years the percentage of officers that did not complete all three training programs has increased.

"This worrying situation contains the hidden danger of a lack of a common and clear professional language, which is essential for the building and management of, as well as command over, the large organizational framework of the IDF, both in routine periods and emergencies," said the report.

"What is needed is a thorough IDF and Defense Ministry examination of [the army's] outlook and organization, as well as the upholding the standards," the report continued. "A comprehensive and binding IDF policy must be enacted concerning the training of senior officers, which will be anchored in orders and will be translated into a detailed plan of action that will ensure its implementation."

Report: Planning in the IDF is not coordinated with General Staff
The report also addressed planning procedures in the various IDF branches, which it said are not coordinated with the General Staff's planning division.

Consequently, when the planning division finally steps in, it is frequently too late. Thus the air force can decide to close down a base, for example, without the planning division having a clue when it still has a say in the matter.

More serious perhaps is the picture of inadequate stores reserves that has emerged. Indeed, for some weapons the IDF stock records are badly out of date.

The report also exposes deficiencies in the Border Police's activity along the Egyptian border, a surplus of administration workers, inferior standards of investigating deaths in the territories and faulty work procedures regarding the cooperation with the IDF.

The report finds that over the years the distinctions between the soldiers' and Border Police's roles have been blurred.

Instructions on preference for female officers not implemented
Some 40 percent of the female draft candidates receive an exemption, mostly for religious reasons. In the past five years the number of exemptions for religious reasons has increased by 10 percent and the army suspects many of them are based on false statements.

The comptroller found several improvements since his last report, but not in the number of women officers and clerks. Army figures say women comprise 25 percent of career officers. In 2005 19.3 percent of the majors were women, similar to 2002. But in moving from major to lieutenant colonel there is a sharp drop of 45 percent, and women in this rank comprise less than 11 percent. In the move from lieutenant colonel to colonel there is a 60 percent drop, and only 4.5 percent of the colonels are women.

The report finds that the order of then-chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon from 2003, to practice affirmative action in promoting women officers as qualified as their male counterparts, has not been implemented.

The comptroller's report also slamed the IDF for footdragging and red tape in addressing sexual harassment complaints. Furthermore, it exposes deficient disciplinary procedures in the indictment of those accused of sexual harassment.

The comptroller says the IDF's policy views sexual harassment grimly, advocating harsh, decisive action against perpetrators. However, this policy is not enforced fully. This is reflected in the unreasonably long time it takes the Military Police, the Military Adjutant General and military tribunals to handle the complaints. Consequently, harassment victims and sometimes the accused suffer miscarriages of justice. In some cases the complainant is discharged before the procedure is completed.

The report also found delays in disciplinary indictments of those accused of sexual molestation. It transpires that commanders fail to consult with a military adjutant, as required, when dealing with sexual harassment. The existing directive, to bring career soldiers who were convicted of sexual harassment before a committee to dissolve their contracts, is not fully enforced.

About half the IDF's units failed to hold talks and lectures for preventing harassment, as directed by the army.

The comptroller recommends shortening the time for handling sexual harassment complaints and strengthening the control and supervision of disciplinary indictments. He also recommends that sexual harassment victims who are discharged continue to be treated at rape crisis centers.

Nuclear center employees receiving excessive pay, benefits
The management of the Negev Nuclear Research Center (NRC) acts as though it were on a desert island or a state within a state, in an ongoing waste of state funds regarding personnel, wages and perks. NRC workers received excessive pay benefits and work conditions, against regulations, the report says.

This is the first time the comptroller has examined the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) or any body subject to it. Apart from personnel the report on all NRC topics is classified.