in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Enlightenment from the use of Israeli reserve forces

Liu Pengyu

【Abstract】Due to its long-standing geopolitical tensions, Israel places great emphasis on the construction and utilization of its reserve forces. In the recent outbreak of the new round of Israel-Palestine conflict, Israel's reserve forces demonstrated rapid mobilization and deployment, once again shocking the world. Currently, the construction of our military's reserve forces is at a critical stage of transformation and development, facing both opportunities and severe challenges. This article, from the perspectives of system construction, officer corps, military training, and equipment support, draws on the beneficial experiences of Israel's reserve forces and proposes specific suggestions for the transformation and development of our military's reserve forces.

【Keywords】Israel-Palestine Conflict | Reserve Duty

On the date of the month in the local time, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a military operation codenamed "Al-Aqsa Flood" against Israel, triggering a new round of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Israel declared a state of war and issued a call-up order. The day after the outbreak of the conflict, Jonathan Conricus, spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, stated on social media that Israel had assembled 30,000 reservists near Gaza to address the "war" with Hamas. As of the date of the month, Israel had mobilized 300,000 reservists.

In the recent Israel-Palestine conflict, the rapid mobilization, well-trained, and well-equipped reserve forces of Israel once again shocked the world. The reason Israel has prevailed in previous Middle Eastern wars and Israel-Palestine conflicts is its strong reserve forces. This article aims to provide insights for the transformation and development of our military's reserve forces by analyzing the distinctive characteristics of Israel's reserve forces.

I. Strengthen the concept of "being always prepared and commonly used, effectively supplementing", and accelerate system reshaping.

Israel's territory is narrow and lacks strategic depth, making it difficult for its comprehensive national strength to maintain a large number of standing army personnel. Therefore, Israel has constructed a national defense force system that uses the standing army as the backbone and the reserve force as the main body, integrating both in construction and utilization.

One is to uphold the principle of "every citizen a soldier," with a large reserve force. Currently, Israel's reserve forces number in the tens of thousands, which is several times the size of the regular army. Citizens of Israel, regardless of gender, must serve in the military upon reaching the age of 18. After completing their military service, they must transition to the reserve force, with a relatively long reserve service period. Generally, men serve until the age of 54, and women until the age of 24.

Second, adhere to the principle of legislation first, ensuring that the use of reserve forces is legally grounded. To ensure the efficient and smooth mobilization, establishment, training, and support of reserve forces, Israel has formulated a series of reserve force regulations with national characteristics, including the "National Defense Law," "Conscription Law," "Reserve Mobilization Law," and others.

Third, emphasis on national defense education and solid foundation for reserve forces construction. Israel mandates that national defense education is a compulsory course for every primary and secondary school student, including military skills training such as reconnaissance, shooting, first aid, and camping, and regularly organizes visits to observe military training and exercises.

On the date, our military's reserve forces have been fully integrated into the military's leadership and command system, marking a historic opportunity for the transformation and rebirth of the reserve forces. We must learn from the beneficial practices of the Israeli military and accelerate the overall restructuring.

First, establish the concept of constant readiness and frequent use. It is not just about treating the reserve forces as a force to be used only in wartime. Reserve forces should maintain the required state of combat readiness in peacetime and be capable of executing corresponding missions in a fully organized manner, ensuring that they can be mobilized and deployed at any time.

Second, accelerate the improvement of regulations and systems. Both military and civilian authorities should, based on the newly promulgated "National Defense Law," "Military Service Law," and "Reserve Personnel Law," formulate a series of laws, regulations, and measures concerning the selection and replenishment of reserves, education and training, promotion and appointment, to ensure the development of reserve forces along the path of normalization and rule of law.

Third, strengthen national defense education for all citizens. In terms of educational content, the focus should be on knowledge closely related to realizing the dream of a strong nation and a powerful military, winning future wars, including science and technology, strategy and tactics, battlefield construction, and war mobilization. In terms of educational entities, a unified national defense education coordination body should be established, involving both military and civilian leaders, to ensure close cooperation among all departments under the military and civilian authorities. In terms of educational targets, defense education and military training should be conducted across all age groups, with differentiated levels and specific focuses.

II. In accordance with the requirements of "attracting top talents and emphasizing quality," we aim to build a strong and capable officer corps.

Israel places great emphasis on the selection and appointment of reserve officers, establishing corresponding promotion systems and service terms. Firstly, the focus is on retired officers to ensure the quality of the team. The Israeli military requires active-duty officers to transition directly into reserve service upon retirement, aiming to increase the proportion of retired personnel in the reserve forces and ensure the overall quality of the reserve units. Secondly, incentives are leveraged to stimulate team vitality. Outstanding reserve officers are selected to undergo further studies at military academies. In terms of rank promotion, they can be elevated up to the rank of lieutenant colonel and serve as battalion commanders. Additionally, in terms of compensation, they receive salaries that are over % of what they would earn in civilian positions. Thirdly, service terms are extended to maintain team stability. Israel's Reserve Service Law mandates that reserve officers serve in the reserves until the age of , with special positions such as pilots and doctors required to serve until the age of , ensuring that key technical personnel are retained in the reserve forces for an extended period.

The key to a strong military lies in securing capable personnel. Reserve officers are not only the backbone of reserve forces but also a source of supplement for active officers during wartime. Their quality directly determines the overall combat effectiveness of reserve forces.

Focus on "organizing for use and organizing for combat," and emphasize selecting and strengthening the team. According to the principles of aiming at actual combat, professional matching, and strict quality control, we should truly select and allocate individuals with good ideology, high education, and specialized expertise, building a reserve officer team that is dense in talent, technology, and intelligence.

Second, focus on "being capable of fighting and winning battles" to improve the talent cultivation system. According to the new concept of military talent cultivation integrating military academies, training bases, and mission units, fully utilize the educational and training resources of these units to offer short-term training courses, concentrated rotation training courses, and special seminar courses, enhancing the modern warfare literacy of the reserve officer corps.

Three must focus on "playing a role and making achievements," and improve the reward, punishment, and promotion mechanisms. Develop detailed measures for the assessment, commendation, promotion, and appointment of reserve officers. Emphasize the evaluation of military and political capabilities and performance in major tasks, establish a "reserve officer performance evaluation file," regularly inform local organizational and personnel departments of the assessment results, and use them as important references for promotion and commendation, guiding reserve officers to conscientiously fulfill their duties and responsibilities.

III. Focusing on the "Fighting for War, Capability Generation" standard, we will solidify military training.

Israeli reservists can quickly be deployed to the battlefield and carry out missions after being called up, primarily due to their solid training.

One is compulsory training time. According to the level of combat readiness, reserve personnel in the military are divided into Category I and Category II. Category I reserve personnel, in addition to one day of training per month or one day of quarterly training, undergo annual training days, totaling days, with officers and non-commissioned officers also needing to attend military school training days. Category II reserve personnel, in addition to one day of training per month or one day of quarterly training, undergo annual training days, totaling days, with officers and soldiers also required to attend military school training days.

The second aspect is the enrichment of training content. Reserve personnel complete various training modules, including individual skills, basic tactics, and joint exercises, on an annual cycle. Reserve units participate in large-scale practical training and exercises alongside active-duty units each year. Additionally, the various military districts in Israel organize reserve mobilization exercises up to several times annually, ensuring that reserve personnel remain in a constant state of readiness.

Three is the training support in place. The military has established multiple training centers across the country for infantry, armored forces, artillery, medical services, and more.

Training is essential for military readiness. Military training and exercises, as pre-war practices, are the necessary path for the combat effectiveness generation of reserve forces. Firstly, integrate active and reserve forces for joint training. As an integral part of the military force system, reserve forces must truly integrate into the joint operational command system of the entire military. Active and reserve forces should participate together in live-fire exercises, placing reserve forces on the front line for toughening. Secondly, differentiate levels for precise training. According to the principle of first training active personnel, then reserve personnel, and first training officers and non-commissioned officers, then ordinary soldiers, implement classified group training, linked training, and hierarchical joint patrol based on the training characteristics of various objects and different levels, to achieve the requirements of familiarizing with job responsibilities, weaponry and equipment tactical and technical performance, and basic operational command procedures. Thirdly, drive practical training with operational needs. Step-by-step and planned arrangements should be made for reserve personnel to participate in the missions of active forces, including performing combat and overseas missions, to completely eliminate the erroneous idea of "reserve without readiness," allowing them to generate combat capabilities in near-realistic combat environments.

IV. Adhere to the principle of "military-civilian integration, integrated planning," and improve equipment support.

Israel places a high priority on the unified deployment of weaponry and equipment to enhance the combat effectiveness of its reserve forces, essentially achieving the same level of development for reserve forces as for regular troops.

One is to benchmark the quantity and quality against active forces. Currently, the Israeli first-tier reserve forces have their weapons and equipment allocation rate during peacetime reaching over % of the authorized number, basically the same as the regular army. The reserve forces not only equip themselves with the weapons of the active forces but also have some in greater quantity than the regular army.

Second, the rapid replenishment of military and civilian integration. Israel regularly registers and numbers supplies, transportation vehicles, and medical equipment, which are all incorporated into the military logistics system during wartime, significantly enhancing the efficiency of support.

The third strategy is to stockpile and arm locally. Various military districts in Israel have established several mobilization assembly points and emergency military warehouses. Mobilization assembly points are usually located in areas where military personnel are concentrated, while emergency military warehouses store military supplies ranging from tanks and artillery to uniforms and medicines, creating a comprehensive system for local recruitment, local stockpiling, and local arming. Upon receiving a mobilization order, reserve personnel can quickly proceed to the assembly points according to regulations and directly receive weapons and equipment.

Inadequate equipment precludes discussion of military strategy. For a long time, our reserve forces have faced significant issues such as under-equipment, incomplete sets, and outdated technology, which severely constrain the generation of combat effectiveness in the reserve forces. Addressing the issue of weapon and equipment support for reserve forces has increasingly become a key factor in advancing the transformation and construction of reserve forces.

One must streamline the weaponry and equipment support system. The entire military's weaponry and equipment support system must incorporate the reserve forces, adhering to the principles of integrated planning, unified allocation, and synchronized updates, with a focus on resolving the prominent issues of inadequate support and outdated equipment for the reserve forces.

Second, increase the allocation of weapons and equipment. In conjunction with the adjustment and reform of the organizational structure, allocate part of the weapons and equipment from active-duty units to reserve units in a planned and phased manner, ensuring that the weapons and equipment levels of reserve units are on par with those of active-duty units.

Three, improve the channels for general equipment support. Fully tap into the advantages of local resources, leverage the military-civilian integration development strategy, rely on local governments and high-tech enterprises, conduct thorough investigations and statistics on the supply potential of equipment and materials, and build a military-civilian general equipment support mechanism characterized by precise supply and storage, and smooth logistics.

references

Xinhua News Agency. "Rockets launched" ! Israel enters "war state". Xinhuanet, --.

Li Lvshan. Israel has mobilized tens of thousands of reservists. Global Times, --.

Liu Xue. Seven Key Words of the New Round of Israel-Palestine Conflict. Xinhua Net, --.

Yang Shengli, Zhang Zhenyu. The Israeli War Mobilization Model of Total National Defense. China National Defense News, --.

Lu Wei, Zhao Hu. Distinctive Israeli National Defense Education. China National Defense News, --.

Title: Overview of the Israeli Military Officer Retirement System. Chinese Retired Military Personnel, ()-.

Lu Xiuru. Five Insights from Israel's Strengthening of its Reserve Forces. National Defense, ()-.

Dong Wentao. Mobilization in Israel - Making Up for Inherent Disadvantages through Mobilization. Chinese Militia, ().

Lu Xiuru. Five Insights from Israel's Strengthening of Reserve Forces. National Defense, (), -.

Zhang Youku. Exploring the Rapid Mobilization of Israel's Reserve Forces. Times Report, ()-.

Enter the mini program and give a thumbs-up to the papers you like!

Editor of this issue: Chen Luyang

This issue reviewed by: Lin Yingxi

Layout Design: Zhou Kaikai

Article Source: "China Military-to-Civilian Magazine"

Collaboration Email: .

Submission email: .