“In upcoming conflicts, if and when they occur, we will achieve significant victories,” said Defense Minister Ehud Barak while attending an exercise of military might that was held in the Shizafon military compound in the Negev. “What I see here is only a part of the great effort that has been placed, during the past year, on implementing the lessons learnt from the Second Lebanon War into our training and readiness. Barak continued by saying, that the IDF will continue to combat attacks such as the Qassam rocket barrage on Sderot and this weeks suicide bombing attack in Dimona. “We will provide the solutions, just as we have provided the solutions to threats in the past.”

During the exercise in Shizafon, the participating forces underwent drills that simulate emergency situations, emphasizing communication between the ground troops, the Air Force and artillery units.

The drills were observed by senior ranking officers, among them: Defense Minister Barak, Deputy to the Chief of Staff, Major General Dan Harel and GOC of the Army Headquarters, Major General Avi Mizrahi.

The exercise was designed to illustrate the military capabilities of the combat teams in coordination with combat vehicles, helicopters and Engineering Corps against Syrian threats and other hostile entities.  “During the drills we were shown only some of the current capabilities,” explained Major General Mizrahi. “Today’s drills truly illustrate the integrated combat capabilities of the army, in coordination with the Air Force during the ground exercises. There is a great need to familiarize the Corps with each other to effectively conduct operations.”