Transformation of the Israel Defense Forces an application of the U.S. military transformation?

Abstract

The thesis studies the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) transformation in the context of the U.S. military transformation. The thesis argues that the uniqueness of the U.S. military transformation does not prevent other militaries from applying the relevant concepts and considers the IDF as a good candidate for such a demonstration. Therefore, the thesis explores the U.S. military transformation as a model to be benefited in the IDF's continuing transformation. The thesis also studies IDF from many perspectives to identify the transformational imperatives and the relevance of the current IDF transformational efforts. Main areas of interest are the Israeli security environment, societal transformation, and the features of the IDF's transformational efforts. During the analysis, the thesis discovers weak points concerning, both, the U.S. military transformation and the IDF's current organization. The examination of the IDF's transformation in relation to the U.S. transformation reveals similarities between the two transformations and comes up with recommendations, primarily for the IDF, but to a lesser extent for the U.S. military.