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| Re: The world is upside down! (2006176) | |||
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Re: The world is upside down! |
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Posted by subfan on Sun Nov 24 01:06:02 2024, in response to Re: The world is upside down!, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Sat Nov 23 21:40:43 2024. OK, let's take it from the top:1. The lack of a budget presented by the government and passed by the Knesset meant that the prior year budget was effectively rolled over. That led, though, to an inability to fund new equipment that is not purchased on an annual basis, but only periodically - it hadn't been in the prior year's budget, and so therefore was not in the rolled-over budget. Had a new budget been passed, the necessary equipment would have been sourced, ordered, and procured. No budget - no new equipment. 2. A budget WAS passed by the Bennett-Lapid government - and yet another by the current Netanyahu government. These helped start to solve the problem - but three years without a budget takes time to correct for - think how much maintenance is needed to bring a machine back up to spec if it's been ignored for three years. As such, the army was not as fully prepared and equipped as it would have been absent the budget fiascos. 3. In case of an all-out war, which is essentially what has been going on for the last year-plus, it is necessary th obtain significantly more equipment than would have been necessary in peacetime. This is particularly true with respect to munitions, which are used up rapidly. Israel has a fairly extensive weapons-manufacturing capability, but this is generally supplemented by US pre-positioned equipment that Israel is allowed to use in case of national emergency under signed agreements with the US. However, much of this equipment was drawn down by the US and shipped to Ukraine prior to 7 October - necessitating rapid shipment of additional US equipment to Israel for Israel's needs. Yes, this was military aid - some purchased, some transferred at no cost. So? 4. The helmets being purchased and shipped are so-called "tactical" helmets, lighter and more comfortable than the "classic" helmets, while providing equal protection. The army had been in the process of cutting over, but they'd been doing it more gradually - first for the elite units, then for infantry, then armor, etc. During the current war, though, there was a massive influx of reservists in active combat as well - and while the older helmets were just as protective, their weight, in particular, meant that soldiers were more likely to take them off in what they perceived as safer locations - which were often still not quite safe enough. There was therefore a need for as many more tactical helmets as they could get their hands on - with many generous donors doing what they could to get hold of these and ship them. As an aside, many of these privately-donated helmets were unfortunately not up to spec - they were cheap knock-offs, mainly intended to look cool when going paintballing rather than to really defend against bullets or shrapnel. As a result, a couple of months in, the IDF manned the use of these privately-donated helmets. 5. Donations of Tefilin - most Israelis are not Orthodox, and don't necessarily put Tefilin daily. Many soldiers, though, became more religious during the war - both as a way of showing Jewish national pride and as is common amongst soldiers in wartime - and there was therefore a demand for Tefilin by these soldiers. The army's religious services department tries to accommodate, but there is always need for more - so donations are welcome. I hope the above is helpful in making some sense of the situation - and the reality on the ground. subfan |
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