Even Eyal Zamir has heard: from this room will come one of the next IDF chiefs of staff

The IDF's 'Erez' program for training officers was revealed following the fall of Second Lt. Itai Yavetz. Brig. Gen. (res.) Yuval Bazak, head of the program, told 103FM that it accompanies officers along their path and directs its graduates to the spearhead of the ground battalions. The program, which opened in September 2023 with 70 cadets, is now in its third cohort.

The IDF's 'Erez' program, designed to train a generation of quality officers, was revealed to the public following the fall of Second Lt. Itai Yavetz, who was a cadet in the first group of the track. Brig. Gen. (res.) Yuval Bazak, who heads the program, said in an interview with 103FM that the program accompanies officers throughout their professional path out of shared responsibility with the brigades, and defined it as a 'marriage for life.' He emphasized that the best leaders should be at the spearhead of the ground battalions, where the soldiers fighting in the harshest conditions are. The program gives future commanders deep education in military history and security, out of understanding that the army is a profession whose foundations must be studied in depth. Lt. Col. K., the program commander, said the program opened a month before the war, and is now in its third cohort, while in the process of locating and screening for the fourth cohort. Itai Yavetz began the track in September 2023 together with 70 additional cadets, just one month before October 7th.