'A Battalion Is Not a Battalion': Israeli Broadcaster Exposes Hollowed-Out Reserves

Army Radio reports units in Lebanon operating far below strength, with damaged tanks awaiting repair and one company left with a single officer

Israel’s reserve military system is close to collapse, with combat units facing acute shortages of both personnel and serviceable tanks — despite the military’s public presentation of reserve formations at full strength — according to a report by the regime’s own Army Radio.

The broadcaster reported that reserve brigades and battalions are operating well below their authorised strength, with field commanders describing widespread gaps in manpower and equipment.

Below strength in Lebanon

A reserve armoured brigade was recently sent to a key operational sector in Lebanon, but commanders and soldiers told the broadcaster the formations were far from full brigades, fielding considerably fewer troops, tanks, and vehicles than required. Many tanks, according to the report, were damaged in the fighting in southern Lebanon and remain out of service awaiting lengthy repairs, leaving reserve armoured companies to operate with reduced equipment.

“Reserve units today are empty. A battalion is not a full battalion, and a company is not really a company,” one unnamed reserve commander was quoted as saying. The public and decision-makers, he said, hear about full brigades in Lebanon, when in reality the formations are far smaller, with significantly fewer soldiers, tanks, and vehicles. Some reserve formations, he warned, had reached a state of “effective collapse.”

The broadcaster also cited the case of a reserve company that completed an operational mission in Lebanon with just one officer left: its commander had been relieved of duty, and with no deputy and no senior non-commissioned officer, the unit was functioning without a working chain of command.

A military under financial strain

The report lands as the Israeli military contends with a severe funding shortfall following a sharp rise in war spending, leaving a budget deficit estimated in the billions of dollars.

That strain has driven a rift between the military and finance ministries over the scale of military expenditure. While the military is pressing for a record increase in funding to sustain operations on several fronts at once, the finance ministry has argued for reduced reliance on reserve forces and lower operational costs.

Reference: PressTv