Closer Cooperation Between Israel's Land and Air Forces

February 28, 2012 Yael Livnat / IDF – defpro.com

IAF official notes unprecedented cooperation between air and ground forces, citing common language and close dialogue

On Sunday (February 28), the Israeli Air Force's (IAF) unit for cooperation held a seminar at the Palmahim airbase for officers in courses to become brigade and battalion commanders.

The seminar, which was attended by dozens of officers, focused on deepening cooperation at high level commands and sharpening the common language between blue and green corps.

The day opened with commander of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Ido Nechushtan, speaking about cooperation between the arms. The various cooperative efforts between the two branches were covered in depth, ranging from battle formations to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and attack helicopters.

"The main goal of the seminar is to improve the level of cooperation with the Air Force, which already stands at a good level, and with proper preparation and maintain an emphasis on the issues, we can cooperate further," said the operations officer from the Southern GOC, Guy Bitton, who will soon be appointed Sagi brigade commander.

"This is an important opening salvo. Any future commander here today will be committed to implement the lessons learned here today. We are here to share our needs, wants, and expectations from each other and this is an essential step," said Lt. Col. Bitton, who commended the close cooperation between air and land forces during the terrorist attack north of Eilat last August. "The challenge is that if we encounter another attack, the Air Force's activation will be more effective and can work well with our brigade, and these are the primary conclusions we reached today."