The IDF's New Ground Arm
As part of the 'Gideon' long-term program, the IDF decided to merge the Technology & Logistics Directorate (ATAL) into the IDF Ground Arm. The objective of this merger is to establish a single command for the ground chain of supply and force build-up
Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 08/12/2016
IDF ground forces (Photo: IDF)
As part of the 'Gideon' long-term program, IDF decided to merge the Technology & Logistics Directorate (ATAL) into the IDF Ground Arm. In this way, the Chief of Staff wishes to achieve maximum efficiency in the employment of the ground forces during peacetime and emergencies. "The project was launched sometime in January 2016 under the codename 'Yachad' (Hebrew for 'together')," says a senior functionary in the IDF Ground Arm. "One of the three primary decisions of the 'Gideon' long-term program concerns the merging of the Ground Arm with the Technology & Logistics Directorate. Among other things, this merger was intended to solve the problem of decentralized force build-up processes within the Ground Arm, owing to the division between the various elements. The Ground Forces HQ is in charge from the battalion level all the way up to and including the army corps level. ATAL is in charge of the regional command medium, including the logistics groups and construction units, and the Planning Directorate (AGAT) is in charge of the regional command HQs. These are three different jurisdictions involved in ground force build-up.
"Look at other IDF arms, take the IAF for example. Over there, the commandant of IAF is the only authority in charge of force build-up and actual employment. In the Ground Arm this situation cannot exist, as the IDF Chief of Staff is in charge of the employment of ground forces through the generals commanding the IDF regional commands, while the Ground Arm is responsible for the force build-up and for providing the various services to the regional commands. This is a fundamental differentiation between employment and force build-up on the ground. The merging of ATAL with the Ground Arm will make the new Ground Arm more efficient with regard to the functions it is responsible for.
"Today, when you run a project like the one involving the Namer APC, the Ground Arm is in charge of the Namer APC and ATAL is in charge of the infrastructures and the transporter. In 2005, in 2008 and in 2011, treaties were formulated and signed by the Ground Arm and ATAL for the purpose of regulating a 'coexistence'. These treaties have run their course, and we cannot achieve maximum efficiency unless we merge those organs."
Unified Operational-Logistics Command Center
One of the results of the merging of the two organs is a joint operational-logistics command center that operates 24/7. If an operational situation emerges, the orders will be issued from the supreme command to the joint command center that handles logistics aspects associated with the employment of the forces as well as force build-up aspects in real time. "The advantage is that when you go up to attend a meeting with the Deputy Chief of Staff regarding the operational status, the Ground Technological Division and ATAL will report to that meeting after having viewed the same battle picture. That makes the decision-making process more effective and accurate," says the senior functionary.
"What we have here is an upside-down situation, where the operational command center of the Ground Arm has merged with the logistic command center of ATAL to form a joint command center of both organs. As far as force build-up is concerned, the officer commanding ATAL is the commander of the Ground Arm. As far as the employment of forces is concerned, ATAL remains one of the nine command centers in charge of the employment of forces at IDF GHQ. In other words, when a force is employed, as far as the command and control axis is concerned, when you have to relocate a battalion or when a certain battalion faces a food supply problem, IDF GHQ will continue to communicate directly with the head of ATAL.
"This creates a situation where in the new Ground Arm, the commander of the Ground Arm, who's a major general, will have two major-general officers subordinated to him: the major-general commanding ATAL and the major-general commanding the GHQ Army Corps, employed by the Chief of Staff in an emergency while in peacetime it is responsible for the training of the command and operational staff. This is a completely new outlook – they have taken all of the command training activities, of all of the command centers, and unified all of them under a single management. The objective is for one element only to oversee the axis of human capital development (the commanders) and the axis of command center development, and see to the necessary adjustments between the two axes.
"We have merged the Ground Technological Division into ATAL, and that means merging two executive organs. We have taken logistic elements of the Ground units and joined them with logistic elements that provide solutions to the IDF as a whole. We have established a single logistic organ that provides solutions to the Ground Arm and to the IDF as a whole. We have taken the planning capabilities of ATAL and transferred them to the staff of the Ground Arm. At the same time, we have also eliminated multiplicities. This will improve things with regard to the aspect of inter-arm interoperability, as that unified planning organ will view the force build-up of the Ground Arm as well as viewing the force build-up through a multiple arm perspective. This applies to the weapon system aspect as well as to the logistic aspect.
"Once you have taken the management of the chain of supply (maintenance, supply and transportation), the technological development and the actual employment and placed these three axes under a single hat along with supporting technological systems, you will substantially improve the efficiency of the Ground Arm with regard to the force build-up and force employment aspects."
Another split that currently exists involves the aspect of maintenance. The same functionary explained that today there is no complete overview of the logistic activities. "Who is responsible for the maintenance organ within the divisional jurisdiction? The Ground Arm. And within the regional command jurisdiction? ATAL. If you view it from above, from the GHQ level down, no one actually sees the complete picture with regard to maintenance. This was another problem we wanted to solve."
Another point concerns the budgeting of the maintenance activity. To this day, in a situation of two separate organs, it was difficult for the Ground Arm to weigh the trade-off between maintaining and revitalizing specific arsenals. "These are scenarios where you have to decide whether to continue maintaining a certain arsenal or to scrap it and acquire a new one," explains the functionary. "In the previous situation, calculating this trade-off was almost impossible. In the new situation, the head of the Ground Technological Division will carry out the calculation and submit his recommendations to the Planning Division at the Ground Arm. They will make the decision regarding the working point, and the head of the Ground Technological Division will conduct the actual execution as a single central organ. This will save IDF a lot of money in the future.
"The merger is also intended to prevent situations of platforms at the front line facing a situation of ammunition, food or water shortage, as now the management functions of the weapon system arsenals and logistic activities work together out of the same operational-logistic command center."
Another improvement of this holistic approach will be reflected in the enhancement of the software house of the Ground Arm. A part of the work of the merger administration involves the charting of the needs for complementary information systems. The Ground Arm currently uses the IDF-wide systems of 2020, along with such tactical systems as the 'Massuah' system. In the present situation, there are gaps with regard to software needs. These gaps should be filled by the Ground Arm software house which is to operate under the Ground Technological Division.
"We are already thinking about the IoT world," say sources in the Ground Arm. "The platforms of the Ground Arm are currently fitted with highly advanced management systems on the one hand, while on the other hand we are currently implementing a setup of unified regional logistic centers. The objective is for the platform, through its management systems (like the Battle Management System [BMS] or other systems) to report directly, automatically, any shortage or damage to a unified supply center. Based on these real-time reports, the center will prepare a suitable package of supplies for each battalion, which is to concentrate all of the requests submitted by that battalion, and that package would be delivered to the battalion through ground, sea or air transport. That is our vision.
"Such a system will also enable the Ground Arm to be aware of the state of each platform in real time, namely – if the platform sends an alert to the unified supply center, to the effect that a certain assembly is about to fail, the center will have the option of deciding whether to have the platform repaired immediately, thereby preventing the malfunction, or allow the assembly to fail. If it is decided that preparations should be made for a failure to be handled on the ground, an alternative platform will be shipped to that battalion, and the damaged platform would be returned to the restoration and maintenance facility."
More Flexibility for the Regional Commands
The merger between the Ground Arm and ATAL should eventually improve the efficiency of the employment of forces as well. The implication is that the new Ground Arm will have to institutionalize more flexible working relations with the regional commands. "Not everything must go through the Ground Arm," says the functionary. "As long as you do not change model units, by all means manage your manpower on your own in the context of the regional command personnel complement basket. Today, if a regional command wants to transfer a specific complement function from here to there, this will prove to be a complex procedure that requires authorization from the Ground Arm. The process of institutionalizing the working relations with the regional commands is currently led by the commander of the Ground Arm.
"The commanders of the regional commands want an option for prompt changes. The general commanding IDF Northern Command, when he picks up his binoculars and observes Hezbollah doing something, wants an immediate solution, be it an organizational, infrastructural, C4I or weapon system related solution. In the future, we would like to provide him with such flexibility, as long as he maintains his sector boundaries. This is a work in progress that still needs to be completed. It will also relieve the Ground Arm of substantial operational overheads.
"The implementation phase for the merger between the Ground Arm and ATAL extends from September 2016 to September 2017. The division of responsibilities between the Ground Arm and the regional commands will be finalized by the end of 2016 and subsequently implemented in 2017. The merger planning administration will cease to operate in mid-2017, and the responsibility for subsequent implementation will be assigned to the Ground Arm Chief of Staff.
"There are other, subsequent plans. Among other things, in the context of the second phase we would like to merge some of the combat support corps with the maneuvering layout. We are also considering the subordination of the multiple-theater divisions, namely – whether it will be the right thing to leave them subordinated to the generals commanding the regional commands, as they are today, or whether it will be more appropriate to have them subordinated to the command of the Ground Arm."
As part of the 'Gideon' long-term program, the IDF decided to merge the Technology & Logistics Directorate (ATAL) into the IDF Ground Arm. The objective of this merger is to establish a single command for the ground chain of supply and force build-up
As part of the 'Gideon' long-term program, IDF decided to merge the Technology & Logistics Directorate (ATAL) into the IDF Ground Arm. In this way, the Chief of Staff wishes to achieve maximum efficiency in the employment of the ground forces during peacetime and emergencies. "The project was launched sometime in January 2016 under the codename 'Yachad' (Hebrew for 'together')," says a senior functionary in the IDF Ground Arm. "One of the three primary decisions of the 'Gideon' long-term program concerns the merging of the Ground Arm with the Technology & Logistics Directorate. Among other things, this merger was intended to solve the problem of decentralized force build-up processes within the Ground Arm, owing to the division between the various elements. The Ground Forces HQ is in charge from the battalion level all the way up to and including the army corps level. ATAL is in charge of the regional command medium, including the logistics groups and construction units, and the Planning Directorate (AGAT) is in charge of the regional command HQs. These are three different jurisdictions involved in ground force build-up.
"Look at other IDF arms, take the IAF for example. Over there, the commandant of IAF is the only authority in charge of force build-up and actual employment. In the Ground Arm this situation cannot exist, as the IDF Chief of Staff is in charge of the employment of ground forces through the generals commanding the IDF regional commands, while the Ground Arm is responsible for the force build-up and for providing the various services to the regional commands. This is a fundamental differentiation between employment and force build-up on the ground. The merging of ATAL with the Ground Arm will make the new Ground Arm more efficient with regard to the functions it is responsible for.
"Today, when you run a project like the one involving the Namer APC, the Ground Arm is in charge of the Namer APC and ATAL is in charge of the infrastructures and the transporter. In 2005, in 2008 and in 2011, treaties were formulated and signed by the Ground Arm and ATAL for the purpose of regulating a 'coexistence'. These treaties have run their course, and we cannot achieve maximum efficiency unless we merge those organs."
Unified Operational-Logistics Command Center
One of the results of the merging of the two organs is a joint operational-logistics command center that operates 24/7. If an operational situation emerges, the orders will be issued from the supreme command to the joint command center that handles logistics aspects associated with the employment of the forces as well as force build-up aspects in real time. "The advantage is that when you go up to attend a meeting with the Deputy Chief of Staff regarding the operational status, the Ground Technological Division and ATAL will report to that meeting after having viewed the same battle picture. That makes the decision-making process more effective and accurate," says the senior functionary.
"What we have here is an upside-down situation, where the operational command center of the Ground Arm has merged with the logistic command center of ATAL to form a joint command center of both organs. As far as force build-up is concerned, the officer commanding ATAL is the commander of the Ground Arm. As far as the employment of forces is concerned, ATAL remains one of the nine command centers in charge of the employment of forces at IDF GHQ. In other words, when a force is employed, as far as the command and control axis is concerned, when you have to relocate a battalion or when a certain battalion faces a food supply problem, IDF GHQ will continue to communicate directly with the head of ATAL.
"This creates a situation where in the new Ground Arm, the commander of the Ground Arm, who's a major general, will have two major-general officers subordinated to him: the major-general commanding ATAL and the major-general commanding the GHQ Army Corps, employed by the Chief of Staff in an emergency while in peacetime it is responsible for the training of the command and operational staff. This is a completely new outlook – they have taken all of the command training activities, of all of the command centers, and unified all of them under a single management. The objective is for one element only to oversee the axis of human capital development (the commanders) and the axis of command center development, and see to the necessary adjustments between the two axes.
"We have merged the Ground Technological Division into ATAL, and that means merging two executive organs. We have taken logistic elements of the Ground units and joined them with logistic elements that provide solutions to the IDF as a whole. We have established a single logistic organ that provides solutions to the Ground Arm and to the IDF as a whole. We have taken the planning capabilities of ATAL and transferred them to the staff of the Ground Arm. At the same time, we have also eliminated multiplicities. This will improve things with regard to the aspect of inter-arm interoperability, as that unified planning organ will view the force build-up of the Ground Arm as well as viewing the force build-up through a multiple arm perspective. This applies to the weapon system aspect as well as to the logistic aspect.
"Once you have taken the management of the chain of supply (maintenance, supply and transportation), the technological development and the actual employment and placed these three axes under a single hat along with supporting technological systems, you will substantially improve the efficiency of the Ground Arm with regard to the force build-up and force employment aspects."
Another split that currently exists involves the aspect of maintenance. The same functionary explained that today there is no complete overview of the logistic activities. "Who is responsible for the maintenance organ within the divisional jurisdiction? The Ground Arm. And within the regional command jurisdiction? ATAL. If you view it from above, from the GHQ level down, no one actually sees the complete picture with regard to maintenance. This was another problem we wanted to solve."
Another point concerns the budgeting of the maintenance activity. To this day, in a situation of two separate organs, it was difficult for the Ground Arm to weigh the trade-off between maintaining and revitalizing specific arsenals. "These are scenarios where you have to decide whether to continue maintaining a certain arsenal or to scrap it and acquire a new one," explains the functionary. "In the previous situation, calculating this trade-off was almost impossible. In the new situation, the head of the Ground Technological Division will carry out the calculation and submit his recommendations to the Planning Division at the Ground Arm. They will make the decision regarding the working point, and the head of the Ground Technological Division will conduct the actual execution as a single central organ. This will save IDF a lot of money in the future.
"The merger is also intended to prevent situations of platforms at the front line facing a situation of ammunition, food or water shortage, as now the management functions of the weapon system arsenals and logistic activities work together out of the same operational-logistic command center."
Another improvement of this holistic approach will be reflected in the enhancement of the software house of the Ground Arm. A part of the work of the merger administration involves the charting of the needs for complementary information systems. The Ground Arm currently uses the IDF-wide systems of 2020, along with such tactical systems as the 'Massuah' system. In the present situation, there are gaps with regard to software needs. These gaps should be filled by the Ground Arm software house which is to operate under the Ground Technological Division.
"We are already thinking about the IoT world," say sources in the Ground Arm. "The platforms of the Ground Arm are currently fitted with highly advanced management systems on the one hand, while on the other hand we are currently implementing a setup of unified regional logistic centers. The objective is for the platform, through its management systems (like the Battle Management System [BMS] or other systems) to report directly, automatically, any shortage or damage to a unified supply center. Based on these real-time reports, the center will prepare a suitable package of supplies for each battalion, which is to concentrate all of the requests submitted by that battalion, and that package would be delivered to the battalion through ground, sea or air transport. That is our vision.
"Such a system will also enable the Ground Arm to be aware of the state of each platform in real time, namely – if the platform sends an alert to the unified supply center, to the effect that a certain assembly is about to fail, the center will have the option of deciding whether to have the platform repaired immediately, thereby preventing the malfunction, or allow the assembly to fail. If it is decided that preparations should be made for a failure to be handled on the ground, an alternative platform will be shipped to that battalion, and the damaged platform would be returned to the restoration and maintenance facility."
More Flexibility for the Regional Commands
The merger between the Ground Arm and ATAL should eventually improve the efficiency of the employment of forces as well. The implication is that the new Ground Arm will have to institutionalize more flexible working relations with the regional commands. "Not everything must go through the Ground Arm," says the functionary. "As long as you do not change model units, by all means manage your manpower on your own in the context of the regional command personnel complement basket. Today, if a regional command wants to transfer a specific complement function from here to there, this will prove to be a complex procedure that requires authorization from the Ground Arm. The process of institutionalizing the working relations with the regional commands is currently led by the commander of the Ground Arm.
"The commanders of the regional commands want an option for prompt changes. The general commanding IDF Northern Command, when he picks up his binoculars and observes Hezbollah doing something, wants an immediate solution, be it an organizational, infrastructural, C4I or weapon system related solution. In the future, we would like to provide him with such flexibility, as long as he maintains his sector boundaries. This is a work in progress that still needs to be completed. It will also relieve the Ground Arm of substantial operational overheads.
"The implementation phase for the merger between the Ground Arm and ATAL extends from September 2016 to September 2017. The division of responsibilities between the Ground Arm and the regional commands will be finalized by the end of 2016 and subsequently implemented in 2017. The merger planning administration will cease to operate in mid-2017, and the responsibility for subsequent implementation will be assigned to the Ground Arm Chief of Staff.
"There are other, subsequent plans. Among other things, in the context of the second phase we would like to merge some of the combat support corps with the maneuvering layout. We are also considering the subordination of the multiple-theater divisions, namely – whether it will be the right thing to leave them subordinated to the generals commanding the regional commands, as they are today, or whether it will be more appropriate to have them subordinated to the command of the Ground Arm."
