GOC Army Headquarters
The GOC Army Headquarters (Hebrew: מפקדת זרוע היבשה, Mifkedet Zro'a HaYabasha, abbreviated Mazi), is a multi-corps command headquarters created in 1998, which amalgamates the ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces. The current size of the Israeli Ground Forces is estimated at roughly 133,000 active soldiers and 380,000 soldiers in reserve.
| General Officer Commanding Army Headquarters | |
|---|---|
.svg.png.webp) MAZI emblem (Mifkedet Zro'a ha-Yabasha) | |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Country |  Israel |
| Allegiance |  Israel Defense Forces |
| Size | 133,000 active 380,000 reserve |
| Nickname(s) | Mazi |
| Engagements | South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) First Intifada (1987–1993) Second Intifada (2000–2005) Second Lebanon War (2006) Operation Cast Lead (2008–2009) Pillar of Defense (2012) Protective Edge (2014) |
| Commanders | |
| Major General | Yaacov Barak[1] |
Name
The GOC Army Headquarters is known unofficially as Mazi, the Hebrew pronunciation for an acronym for "Ground Arm Command" (מז"י, (מפקדת זרוע היבשה, Mifkedet Zro'a ha-Yabasha), which was the GOC Army Headquarters' previous name before being renamed to the current "Ground Arm" (זרוע היבשה). After this renaming, the acronym MAZI officially refers nowadays to "Commander of the Ground Arm" (מפקד זרוע היבשה, Mefaked Zro'a Ha-Yabasha). However the old acronym MAZI still remains the popular name for the GOC Army Headquarters.
Units and structure
The Headquarters of the Ground Forces commands the following five corps:
- Maneuvering corps:
- Infantry Corps (חיל הרגלים)
- Armor Corps (חיל השריון)
- Combat support corps:
- Artillery Corps (חיל התותחנים)
- Combat Engineering Corps (חיל ההנדסה הקרבית)
- Combat Intelligence Corps (חיל האיסוף הקרבי)
In addition, the Headquarters includes four "staff divisions":
- Planning Division (Budget and Organization Planning) (חטיבת התכנון)
- "Ground" Division (Training and Doctrine) (חטיבת יבשה)
- Personnel Division (חטיבת כוח-אדם)
- Technological Division (Materiel R&D and Acquisition) (חטיבת הטכנולוגיה)
The IDF's third arm
Under the IDF 2000 reforms, MAZI was set to become the IDF's third Arm, alongside the Air and Space Arm and the Sea Arm. Until the creation of MAZI, IDF ground forces were directly subordinated to the Chief of Staff through the Regional Commands (North, South, and Central). The intention of the reform was to subordinate the ground forces to one ground commander, who is a part of the Joint Staff, by the example of the Israeli Air Force and Navy; and unlike most of the other armed forces, where operational Army, Air Force, and Navy plus other auxiliary support units, are all subordinated to unified commands.
The proposed reform for the Ground Arm was rejected and the ground forces remain subordinated to the three regional commands. Likewise with combat support and rear-line corps, which are partly subordinated to the respective Directorates. In times of war, the Ground Arm Commander acts as an advisor to the IDF Chief of Staff on ground warfare.
As an IDF arm, the Ground Arm is meant to build of the ground forces' strength and working toward balance, combination, and coordination between the ground corps. It does so by instruction and training of individual units, planning and publishing the relevant doctrine, organizing the forces respectively for their missions, and R&D and acquisition of materiel. Its authority ranges up to the corps level. Above it, meaning the regional commands themselves, the authority is of the IDF Joint Staff.
Commanders
| No. | Picture | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aluf Dan Shomron (1937–2008) | September 1983 | January 1985 | 1 year, 4 months | – | |
| 2 | Aluf Amir Drori (1937–2005) | January 1985 | August 1986 | 1 year, 8 months | – | |
| 3 | Aluf Uri Sagi (born 1943) | August 1986 | March 1991 | 4 years, 6 months | – | |
| 4 | Aluf Emanuel Sakel (born 1940) | March 1991 | August 1994 | 3 years, 6 months | – | |
| 5 | Aluf Zeev Livne (1945–2013) | August 1994 | June 1996 | 1 year, 9 months | [2] | |
| 6 | Aluf Amos Malka (born 1953) | June 1996 | July 1998 | 2 years, 1 month | – | |
| 7 | Aluf Moshe Soknik (born 1949) | July 1998 | June 2001 | 1 year, 11 months | – | |
| 8 | Aluf Yiftah Ron-Tal (born 1956) | June 2001 | November 2005 | 5 years, 5 months | – | |
| 9 | Aluf Benny Gantz (born 1959) | November 2005 | 20 December 2007 | 2 years, 1 month | – | |
| 10 | Aluf Avi Mizrahi (born 1957) | 20 December 2007 | September 2009 | 1 year, 8 months | – | |
| 11 | Aluf Sami Turgeman (born 1964) | September 2009 | February 2013 | 3 years, 5 months | [3] | |
| 12 | Aluf Guy Tzur (born 1962) | February 2013 | August 2016 | 3 years, 6 months | – | |
| 13 | Aluf Kobi Barak (born 1964) | August 2016 | May 2019 | 2 years, 9 months | – | |
| 14 | Aluf Yoel Strick (born 1966) | May 2019 | Incumbent | 1 year, 9 months | – |
Future
The IDF is currently planning major structural reform. Due to the poor training and equipment among army reservists, large numbers will be dismissed.[4]
See also
- Israeli Ground Forces equipment
References
- "General Staff". Israel Defense Forces.
- "Major-General Zeev Livne". presidentialholdings.com. Presidential Holdings, Inc. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- Winer, Stuart. "IDF to discharge 100,000 reservists, slash officer corps". www.timesofisrael.com.