Col. Yoni Seida-Marom, commander of the Aerial Defense Academy, discussed the importance of joint exercises in an address at a conference on missile defense
Date: 02/07/2012, 1:07 PM
Author: Yael Livnat and Rotem Pesso
Col. Yoni Seida-Marom, commander of the IDF's Aerial Defense Academy, addressed a conference on missile defense last week. He discussed advanced training in the age of integrated aerial defense exercises, shedding light on the training that occurs at the Aerial Defense Academy.
"Today, the threat is more complex and the warfare is more challenging, which requires us to fight in an integrated way," Col. Seida-Marom said. "We must find the optimal methods of defense and offense against a threat – and bring our people to a high skill level before they begin fighting."
"The pace of change is very high, which makes us train soldiers while new weapons are still in the process of becoming operational," he continued, pointing as an example to the Iron Dome missile defense system, for which soldiers of the Aerial Defense Formation trained before it became operational.
Col. Seida-Marom also stressed the importance of cooperative training exercises, noting that integrated training improves operational flexibility. "Cooperative training lets us utilize the joint fighting of multiple weapons systems across branches of the military," he explained. For instance, he noted, "I must know how to activate various systems simultaneously, so that within a short time after the launch of a mortar, I can transmit information to the Home Front Command, which will give safety directions to the citizens. I can connect all of the components in integrated warfare, to simulate the real situation and to carry out training that prepares us to give a comprehensive response."
As an example of combined training, Col. Seida-Marom pointed to joint exercises involving IDF and U.S. forces, utilizing many systems on land, at sea, and in the air. "When the [Aerial Defense] Formation commander needs to carry out a situation assessment together with an American general, that will be possible – thanks to the cooperative exercise," he explained.
He added that such integrated exercises constitute "the best tool in the world of training, given the strategic changes that we are experiencing," he stated. "As we progress with regard to the modern challenges of warfare and the world of aerial defense, and as the pace of change accelerates, our ability to overcome these challenges comes through joint exercises."
"At the end of the day, we will do whatever it takes to raise our operational effectiveness," Col. Seida-Marom concluded