After more than five years of talk, the security
establishment appears poised to make major changes in the
army reserve system. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is said to
be backing the proposals. IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon
has expressed some reservations about the plan. Mofaz has
indicated that the plan may be gradually adopted over the
next two years.
The main proposals are:
* In the future, reservists will be sent on combat missions
in the field only in times of emergency. Reservists are to be
called up just for training and for emergency field
assignments when necessary. Patrol assignments in the
territories or on borders, which today constitute the bulk of
reserve service, will not be given to reservists any more.
The government will determine when an emergency exists.
* Reserve service will be limited to 42 days over a three
year period, an average of 14 days a year. At least seven
reserve days a year.
* The age of discharge will drop below 40. Someone over 40
may serve as a volunteer. The age most mentioned is 36.
The new model is to be anchored in law, as part of the
general reserve service law.
According to Prof. Dan Tzidon, who is a member of the think
tank that prepared the reform, the IDF's reserve forces under
these new proposals will be more fit and better-trained. He
also calculates that the new approach will save at least NIS
1 billion a year, while nonetheless improving public
security.
Tzidon says that an average day of reserve duty costs NIS
430. The estimated cost of each reserve soldier now is NIS
12,000 a year for close to 30 days of service, and the total
cost, including training and operational activities, is NIS
15,000 a year.
The plan calls for replacing reservists on combat operations
with short-term career soldiers and other arrangements, such
as residents of settlements in the territories who serve
under special projects. Short-term career soldiers would be
soldiers finishing their draft duty and signing on for a year
or two of additional service, but not for their entire
career.
The final basic budget for the new reserve model has not yet
been determined, because the cabinet and IDF are have yet to
decide on the size of the army.
IDF sources told Globes that under current plans, the
reserve forces will be 2.5 times the regular army forces.
Under these assumptions, the cutoff age for reservists will
probably be 36.
IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said
reservists would probably only be called up for operational
duties once every few years.
The final part of the new reserve duty model states that most
soldiers completing their regular service will not become
part of the reserve forces. Reservists will serve under
improved conditions, including financial compensation for the
entire period of service, transportation costs, use of
personal cellular telephones, and other expenses.
