General Officer Commanding Army Headquarters
MAZI emblem (Mifkedet Zro'a ha-Yabasha)
Founded1998
Country Israel
Allegiance Israel Defense Forces
Branch Israeli Ground Forces
Size126,000 active[1]
400,000 reserve[1]
Nickname(s)Mazi
EngagementsSouth Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)
First Intifada (1987–1993)
Second Intifada (2000–2005)
Second Lebanon War (2006)
Operation Cast Lead (2008–2009)
Pillar of Defense (2012)
Protective Edge (2014)
Commanders
Major GeneralTamir Yadai[2]

The GOC Army Headquarters (Hebrew: מפקדת זרוע היבשה, Mifkedet Zro'a HaYabasha, abbreviated Mazi), is a multi-corps command headquarters of the Ground Forces of the Israel Defense Forces. The current size of the Israeli Ground Forces is estimated at 126,000 active soldiers and 400,000 soldiers in reserve.[1]

Name

The GOC Army Headquarters is known unofficially as Mazi, the Hebrew pronunciation for an acronym for "Ground Arm Command" (מז"י, (מפקדת זרוע היבשה, Mifkedet Zro'a ha-Yabasha), which was the GOC Army Headquarters' previous name before being renamed to the current "Ground Arm" (זרוע היבשה‎). After this renaming, the acronym MAZI officially refers nowadays to "Commander of the Ground Arm" (מפקד זרוע היבשה, Mefaked Zro'a Ha-Yabasha). However the old acronym MAZI still remains the popular name for the GOC Army Headquarters.

Units and structure

The structure of the ground forces

The Headquarters of the Ground Forces commands the following five corps:

In addition, the Headquarters includes four "staff divisions":

  • Planning Division (Budget and Organization Planning) (חטיבת התכנון)
  • "Ground" Division (Training and Doctrine) (חטיבת יבשה)
  • Personnel Division (חטיבת כוח-אדם)
  • Technological Division (Materiel R&D and Acquisition) (חטיבת הטכנולוגיה)

The IDF's third arm

Under the IDF 2000 reforms, MAZI was set to become the IDF's third Arm, alongside the Air and Space Force and the Navy. Until the creation of MAZI, IDF ground forces were directly subordinated to the Chief of Staff through the Regional Commands (North, South, and Central). The intention of the reform was to subordinate the ground forces to one ground commander, who is a part of the Joint Staff, by the example of the Israeli Air and Space Force and Navy; and unlike most of the other armed forces, where operational Army, Air Force, and Navy plus other auxiliary support units, are all subordinated to unified commands.

The proposed reform for the Ground Arm was rejected and the ground forces remain subordinated to the three regional commands. Likewise with combat support and rear-line corps, which are partly subordinated to the respective Directorates. In times of war, the Ground Arm Commander acts as an advisor to the IDF Chief of Staff on ground warfare.

As an IDF arm, the Ground Arm is meant to build of the ground forces' strength and working toward balance, combination, and coordination between the ground corps. It does so by instruction and training of individual units, planning and publishing the relevant doctrine, organizing the forces respectively for their missions, and R&D and acquisition of materiel. Its authority ranges up to the corps level. Above it, meaning the regional commands themselves, the authority is of the IDF Joint Staff.

Commanders

No. Picture NameTook officeLeft officeTime in officeRef.
1
Dan Shomron
Shomron, DanAluf
Dan Shomron
(1937–2008)		September 1983January 19851 year, 4 months–
2
Amir Drori
Drori, AmirAluf
Amir Drori
(1937–2005)		January 1985August 19861 year, 8 months–
3
Uri Sagi
Sagi, UriAluf
Uri Sagi
(born 1943)		August 1986March 19914 years, 6 months–
4
Emanuel Sakel
Sakel, EmanuelAluf
Emanuel Sakel
(born 1940)		March 1991August 19943 years, 6 months–
5
Zeev Livne [he]
Livne, ZeevAluf
Zeev Livne
(1945–2013)		August 1994June 19961 year, 9 months[3]
6
Amos Malka [he]
Malka, AmosAluf
Amos Malka
(born 1953)		June 1996July 19982 years, 1 month–
7
Moshe Soknik [he]
Soknik, MosheAluf
Moshe Soknik
(born 1949)		July 1998June 20011 year, 11 months–
8
Yiftah Ron-Tal
Ron-Tal, YiftahAluf
Yiftah Ron-Tal
(born 1956)		June 2001November 20055 years, 5 months–
9
Benny Gantz
Gantz, BennyAluf
Benny Gantz
(born 1959)		November 200520 December 20072 years, 1 month–
10
Avi Mizrahi
Mizrahi, AviAluf
Avi Mizrahi
(born 1957)		20 December 2007September 20091 year, 8 months–
11
Sami Turgeman
Turgeman, SamiAluf
Sami Turgeman
(born 1964)		September 2009February 20133 years, 5 months[4]
12
Guy Tzur
Tzur, GuyAluf
Guy Tzur
(born 1962)		February 2013August 20163 years, 6 months–
13
Kobi Barak [he]
Barak, KobiAluf
Kobi Barak
(born 1964)		August 2016May 20192 years, 9 months–
14
Yoel Strick
Strick, YoelAluf
Yoel Strick
(born 1966)		May 2019October 20223 years, 5 months–
15
Tamir Yadai
Yadai, TamirAluf
Tamir Yadai
(born 1969)		October 2022Incumbent1 year, 3 months–

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 International Institute for Strategic Studies (25 February 2021). The Military Balance 2021. London: Routledge. p. 344. ISBN 9781032012278.
  2. ↑ "General Staff". Israel Defense Forces.
  3. ↑ "Major-General Zeev Livne". presidentialholdings.com. Presidential Holdings, Inc. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "IDF chief Ashkenazi announces new hires in General Staff - Haaretz - Israel News". www.haaretz.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
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