A friend of Unit 11741 recently passed along a research study from Matt Miller at the U.S. Combined Arms Center. Thematically, “We Were Caught Unprepared: The 2006 Hezbollah-Israeli War” is as relevant today as it was in 2006:
One paratrooper platoon had only two light antitank weapons (LAWs) for 30 men. “I’ve never fired a LAW in my life,” a soldier in the platoon stated. “When Hizbullah is firing antitank missiles at us, how do I respond?” Many of the reserve soldiers who arrived at their bases to receive their military equipment found basic items missing from their kitbags. There was also a lack of bulletproof vests, medical vests, radios, ammunition, thermal night-vision devices, as well as food and water.
Some IDF reserve units conducting cross-border attacks against Hezbollah often found themselves without basic sustenance as their supply trucks were not allowed to go forward for fear of Hezbollah’s antitank missiles. In the Alexandroni Brigade, one of the unit’s missions was delayed because of the lack of food and water. A reservist in the brigade noted, “We went as long as two-and-a-half days with daily rations of a can of tuna, a can of corn and a couple of pieces of bread—to share between four soldiers. So we got slowed up because 25 soldiers collapsed from dehydration and had to be evacuated.”
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” -Kohelet, Chapter 1, Verse 9.