Budget cuts hit IDF
The IDF has cancelled all reserve operational duty for the remainder of the year due to the cut in the defense budget for 2013 and 2014.
Reserve soldiers from four battalions who received call-up notices in the past two weeks will soon be notified that their duties have been cancelled for the remainder of the year.
...
The coming months will also see a significant reduction in reserve training. The priority in advanced training will be placed on infantry and armored corps reserve forces that are expected to take part in a land maneuver during a future potential war.
The rest of the reserves will undergo basic battle fitness training only. Slashes in training activities for regular soldiers will also be felt, among units belonging to the Home Front Command, Engineering Corps, Artillery Corps. Training programs for the Armored Corps will be cut by a number of weeks. The IDF is also expected to cancel General Staff exercises this year, including one set for the air force and the Central Command.Read the whole thing.
The priorities in this country never cease to amaze me. Forget for a minute that in the middle of all these budget cuts, the IDF is going to be forced to draft thousands of soldiers who don't want to be there, and to arrest them if they don't show up. Forget that the NIS 40 million budget gap could be closed in its entirety by ending the ridiculous tax concessions enjoyed by the country's largest corporations. Worst of all, the IDF itself is still expected to be the great assimilator, taking in soldiers who have no business being in any country's army, let alone the army of a country that is surrounded by implacable enemies.
What could go wrong?
Labels: defense spending, IDF, Israeli economy
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:25 AM
1 Comments:
I hope that this doesn't hurt their readiness.
BTW: If you wish to live in a free nation you should be willing to put your blood on the line for that nation. That is why a full draft for all is necessary. You have 7 million people and are surrounded by almost 1 billion of enemies. If you don't serve you make it harder on those who do.
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