Missions remain, soldiers released: IDF cuts reservists a day before deployment

Approximately 600 reserve soldiers from the Carmeli Brigade reported for training ahead of an operational deployment of about 110 days on the Syrian border. A day before deployment, IDF leadership ordered a reduction in manpower. Dozens of soldiers were sent home, while the rest remained with the same scope of missions. A battalion commander described frustration with the decision and the burden placed on the remaining soldiers.

Approximately 600 reserve soldiers from the Carmeli Brigade reported for training ahead of a prolonged operational deployment of about 110 days in the southern sector of the Syrian border. Just a day before deployment, an IDF directive was received to reduce manpower. Dozens of soldiers who reported for duty were informed that their emergency call-up order (Tzav 8) was canceled and they would be sent home, while the others would remain and be required to fulfill the same scope of missions with fewer soldiers. A commander in one of the brigade's battalions described the frustration: "The big army decided to reduce reserve days in the battalion. That's fine, it's their right. But what? When we are already in an operation that started before Rosh Hashanah. Tomorrow we are already going up to the sector." According to him, the main problem is that the mission load remains the same, and now it is divided among fewer soldiers. The commander also addressed the soldiers who were notified of their release after adjusting their constraints to the army's needs: "There is a problem with our commitment to them. Soldiers who left their lives, their work, their families, and now we have to come and tell them 'go home'." He added that the decision creates an operational dilemma: "Instead of dealing with operational matters, I have to deal with bringing reserve days to the battalion so that the people already here will stay." The IDF has not yet responded.