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I understand your position, and I agree with some of your points.

However, lack of discipline is a management problem. That problem unless addressed will, most surely, come back to bite you in the a$$. I am sure you have heard that in order to perform as a good soldier (airman, sailor, Marine, etc.) it is important to look the part. As simplistic as that sounds, it is 100% correct.

An individualistic military will fight or not fight as same, and in the long run, it loses battles and wars that would have otherwise have been won.

If your officer corps, and your NCO corps have not been trained properly, and do not understand the importance of appearance, pride in uniform, discipline and attention to orders, then that's what you get with your young soldiers.

There is no excuse acceptable for a fighting force, especially one that has a large burden to defend an entire nation to allow silliness as was portrayed in the photos.

Just my opinion, but there it is.

Regards,
AR

I have to agree with you. From the pictures, some of the things suggest that the IDF may not be all that well trained. In the last 13 months I've spent about 5 weeks in the UK training with the British Army. From the American perspective (it was most definitely unanimous among us), the British have almost no weapons discipline. I mean, they'll point at you with their rifle (muzzle in your face or chest) like it's a pointing stick. And they have a very bad habit of leaving their weapons lying around. Look, I'm an intel soldier in an essentially non-deployable MOS, but I'd NEVER, EVER do that. If an American infantryman ever did that, I'd hope his squad leader would physically beat him and produce some blood (I'm serious). The only time I do not have hands on my weapon is when I am sleeping. Yeah, I could put it in my sleeping bag, tie it to my wrist, etc. And I felt very uneasy about propping it up against my cot as I slept! I don't think I ever got used to that.

Now, weapons discipline is way different than saluting, but still. Drill and Ceremony is emphasized big time in the U.S. Army (at least in schools and the training environment). At your unit - not so much.

I will say that these Israeli soldiers are indeed very beautiful. I have to admit seeing so many females in uniform does make me cringe, though. I can't stand most of the females I've come across in the military. Some are OK, and indeed some are excellent soldiers. But the majority? Pass. And for whatever reason, it seems that the Army has the least attractive females of all the branches. But there is definitely no connection between attractiveness and the quality of the soldier.

And last thing - the uniforms. I guess equivalent to Class B's, or the U.S. Navy's utilities? Probably the latter. Yeah, it makes the female soldiers look really good. Sure does. But the appearance is neither professional nor military. Plus it doesn't exactly discourage sexual assault/rape.