Seven months after the second Lebanon war ended, the Israel Defense Forces has begun to implement the lessons learned in the conflict, in particular with regards to training its senior commanders.

Those undergoing retraining include Brigadier General Erez Zuckerman, who led a division of reservists from the Armored Corps. Zuckerman is currently participating in a basic training course for Armored Corps soldiers.

In the past, it was acceptable for officers who rose up through the ranks of the ground forces or special units and who had been given a command in the Armored Corps to undergo such training.

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In some cases, these courses last several weeks, and in others a number of months.

This custom has, however, been neglected, and recently almost no senior officers have taken courses of this kind. Most ground forces officers given Armored Corps command positions in the past few years have completed the officers course without undergoing basic training in tanks.

During the war, Zuckerman led a division that fought in the eastern sector, in the area of Marjayoun. Along with the commanders of three other divisions, he came under particularly heavy criticism, for a range of issues including the difficulties his superiors had in controlling his division.

It also emerged that Zuckerman, who spent most of his military service as marine commando, had never been given any Armored Corps training.

Zuckerman last month began the course, which entails several weeks of study at an army base in the Negev. The IDF now intends to retrain other commanders in the ground forces.