Israeli Commanders will Control Aircraft Providing Close Air Support to Forces

Or Heller joins IDF Paratrooper Brigade commander, Col. Amir Baram, during the large brigade exercise, and discusses the enhanced integration of forces and the lessons learned from Operation Pillar of Defense

Amir Baram's face is painted with camouflage paints – green and brown – but his eyes are as red as his beret and boots. With self-improved combat vest, a vigorous gait and a somewhat boyish appearance, he seems younger than his 44 years. Col. Amir Baram resembles a commander of a training company or, at most, a commander of a reconnaissance battalion – but he is the commander of the IDF Paratroopers Brigade who in early January, led the brigade offensive maneuver at the major training exercise conducted in the wintry Jordan Valley.

Even the storm and heavy rains of early January left the Valley yellow and bare. The gradients and cliffs make life difficult for the troopers, who carry enormous loads. It's war, as we said, and they are trying to make everything resemble the real thing as closely as possible.

We join Baram at the training exercise. He has been 'red' since the age of 18. In the past, he served as commander of the brigade's anti-tank missile company, commander of the brigade's reconnaissance battalion, commander of the 890th battalion and commander of the Maglan unit. Next summer, he will be promoted to the rank of brigadier general and is expected to be appointed as commander of the reservist paratrooper division, known as the “Fire Formation."

Baram's service record includes many years in Lebanon and many years in the territories, during the Second Intifada, including Operation Defensive Wall (2002). Baram is regarded as one of the most brilliant minds among IDF field officers, an enlightened and erudite person, keen on military history – mainly British. Many people believe he will go far - at least as far as the General Staff. "My profession is also my hobby," he says with a smile about his current position as commander of the IDF 35th Brigade, the paratroopers.

Are you practicing here in the Jordan Valley a wartime scenario expected to take place concurrently, against both Syria and the Hezbollah?
"The Middle East has been undergoing a process of change, and the threats, their severity and the unexpected directions from which they may arrive have changed with it. Consequently, the scenario we are dealing with is a northern one. The entire northern region is relevant in this context. On one hand, we deploy and prepare to fight a structured military organization with set, organized elements. On the other hand, we engage in unorthodox warfare against a dispersed, decentralized enemy force capable of operating in built-up areas, out of the subterranean medium or in snaggy areas where combat operations are extremely difficult to conduct. It can happen in the north as well as in the north-east."

Have you raised the level of alert for paratroopers, in view of the possible collapse of Assad's regime and the possibility that the massive Syrian chemical warfare arsenal will fall into the hands of the rebels or Hezbollah?
"I would not like to make any appraisals regarding the chemical weaponry in Syria.”

There were those within the tactical echelon of the IDF who maintained that it was a mistake to 'compress the spring' of the ground maneuver during Operation Pillar of Defense (November 2012) by mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists without actually employing them. What are the feelings in the Paratroopers Brigade?
"The feelings within the brigade are excellent, despite the fact that the brigade was not activated, eventually; the brigade prepared and trained for this scenario before the operation and while it was under way, from the air. I think it is legitimate and even mandatory, as far as the political echelon is concerned, to have doubts, review additional options and examine all the various courses of action before they decide to launch a ground operation.

"The troopers and commanders of the 35th brigade, me included, would welcome anything. We would welcome waiting. We would welcome changes and we would welcome a decision to use military force, in any sector. Our job is to be ready and the job of the political echelon and the military strategic echelon is to have doubts and select the various courses of action. We are not disappointed and we do not have any problem with it. You know, this is the Middle East. If it has not happened today, it will happen tomorrow; and if not tomorrow – on the day after tomorrow. I think we would have to operate from the air as well as on the ground, and – as much as I regret it – in all of the sectors."

Can we see in Operation Pillar of Defense a certain withdrawal from the IDF's strict adherence to the ground maneuver, as it was reflected since the end of the Second Lebanon War? Has the IDF reverted to thinking that whatever can be resolved from the air should be resolved from the air?
"I think that the age-old dispute between fire and maneuvering is not something that has been decided during Operation Pillar of Defense. It is an old dispute between different doctrines. Both are logical. I think that the military solution for complex situations is a complex solution that cannot be resolved with a single strike, be it from the air or on the ground. Incidentally, in my view, the real winner of Operation Pillar of Defense was neither the IAF and the stand-off fire, nor the ground forces. The real queen of this campaign was the Iron Dome active defense system."

What are lessons you derived from Operation Pillar of Defense?
"I think that in the future, just as in the past, the IDF will have to invest more and more in combat operations in built-up areas and in the subterranean medium. It will have to invest in combat operations using various types of demolition devices, and in improving close contact so as to make it more powerful, while still being able to distinguish between those who should be engaged and those who should be spared."


Controlling Aircraft from the Ground
The brigade's reconnaissance battalion, which celebrated its tenth anniversary during the exercise, returned to its roots on its anniversary: for the first time since the First Lebanon War in 1982, the paratroopers managed to "restore" the ability of calling for close air support by fighter aircraft. The commander of the reconnaissance battalion, Lt. Col. Nimrod, can now communicate directly with the pilot of an F-16 fighter circling overhead, and explain to the pilot where, precisely, he wants him to drop his bombs.

"There are lots of new things we cannot discuss, but it would definitely be correct to say that we have conducted a brigade training exercise with live fire, during the night, while incorporating tanks, fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, guns and mortars," says Baram.

"The exercise in question was an extremely difficult and complex night exercise. This brigade specializes in night operations, among other things, and for this reason we employed fighter aircraft to provide close air support for the first time. Fighter aircraft would no longer be employed by a specialist unit. Instead, battalion commanders and company commanders will be able to communicate with the fighter pilots and employ them only hundreds of meters from the maneuvering element, to obtain close air support. This has been another breakthrough in the integration of the different branches of the IDF."

What is the idea in bringing this ability “downwards”?
"Eventually, the 35th brigade may operate in the context of special situations. It will require massive fire support, and the idea is to provide it with the best tools available to it in the IDF so that it would be able to execute its mission effectively."


Source: Israel Defense Magazine (israeldefense.com) News - 9 February 2013

Photo: The Israeli Air Force Paratrooper Brigade Paratroopers during their first operational drill in 15 years (Photo by IDF)


(9.02.2013)