Last year, the Israeli army reduced its active reservist forces by a further 20 percent. It’s now focusing on quality over quantity, with an emphasis on advanced training for select reservists. The announcement was made on National Reservists Appreciation Day–Yom Miluim in Hebrew. Going forward, those days that reservists must report for duty every year will be filled primarily with drills and exercises, rather than guard duty.
In 2013, about 34 percent of Israelis eligible for military service (men and women under the age of 40 with military experience) were classified as “active.” That means that they’ve completed a total of at least 20 days of reserve service over the three previous years. In 2015, this figure was reduced to 26 percent. Over the last year, it fell even further so that now barely 21 percent are classified thus.
“We have units that are larger then they need to be. We are gradually reducing the number of soldiers to...
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