Transformation of the Israel Defense Forces : An Application of the U. S. Military Transformation?

This thesis studies the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) transformation in the context of the U.S. military transformation. The author argues that the uniqueness of the U.S. military transformation does not prevent other militaries from applying relevant transformation concepts and considers the IDF a good candidate for such a demonstration. Therefore, the thesis explores U.S. military transformation as a model that is beneficial to the IDF's continuing transformation. The thesis also studies the IDF from many perspectives to identify its transformational imperatives and the relevance of current IDF transformational efforts. The primary areas of interest are the Israeli security environment, societal transformations, and the specific features of the IDF's transformational efforts. During the analysis, the author 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 processes and results in recommendations for the IDF, and to a lesser extent for the U.S. military.Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA is the author of 'Transformation of the Israel Defense Forces : An Application of the U. S. Military Transformation?', published 2004 under ISBN 9781423521211 and ISBN 1423521218.