Internal Israeli military promotion discussion for command of Brigade 401

the war was unscathed: Motta Gur. He, too, had been in Washington. Within days of the inquiry report, he was called back to replace Dado as chief-of-staff. My role changed, too. Not everyone emerged from the war with his reputation diminished. The lion’s share of the credit for Israel’s eventual victory went to the rank and file of our citizen army. But in the officers’ corps, there were also examples of coolheadedness in crisis, and leadership. One was Moussa Peled, who was now made head of the armored corps. My overall wartime commander, Bren, replaced Gorodish as head of the southern command. And Dan Shomron, whose 401" armored brigade played a critical part in defeating the Egyptians, was another. Dan and I had first got to know each other well at Karameh, then during my period as sayeret commander. We would go on in the years ahead to work more closely together than almost any senior officers in the military. He was now promoted as well. He became katzhar, overall head of infantry and paratroop forces, and he recommended me as his successor in Brigade 401. Still, I knew that the Motta would have the final word, with input from the two senior officers most directly affected: Peled and Bren. I don’t think either of them had anything against me personally. But both were tank officers through and through. There were other candidates to succeed Dan who, unlike me, had spent their whole careers in the armored corps. I heard formally I was being considered as I was about to return to my battalion from Ramat Hasharon one Sunday morning. I was ordered to report to Motta’s office. When I got there, he gestured toward the small table at the side. He already had two other visitors: Moussa Peled and Bren. “You probably know you’ re a candidate for taking over 401,” he said. “These two gentlemen think you’re not yet ready. What do you say?” If ’'d had more time to prepare, I might have answered more subtly. But I did very much want to be given command of the 401 st, and had no doubt I would be a worthy and dedicated commander. “I don’t know exactly what the two gentlemen mean by whether I’m ready,” I replied. “So I have a proposal. Find a battle-tested officer whom you trust. Have him check who among the three of us, me or these gentlemen, is more familiar with the tank and its systems. Who of us knows better the terrain, in Syria or Egypt, day or night, where we have to fight? Who knows the operational requirements for an armored force, and the armored doctrine these gentlemen signed off on. Finally, which one of us has spent more time in a turret of a tank, on the battlefield, shooting at enemy forces and being shot at by the enemy?” 160 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_028008