IDF to probe fitness program, lack of defibrillator after officer’s death
Army announces third investigation into fatal collapse of Col. Sharon Asman, 42, following run, after previously launching Military Police probe and medical inquiry
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday announced it was launching a third investigation into the sudden death of Col. Sharon Asman, who collapsed while exercising on a military base last week.
The probe, which will examine the military’s fitness program and access to medical equipment, will join two other probes already launched into Asman’s death: a Military Police investigation launched automatically anytime a service member dies and a medical post-mortem to determine the exact cause of death and evaluate the treatment Asman received.
“The team will make recommendations for steps that can be taken to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future,” the IDF said Sunday, announcing the third probe.
Asman, 42, collapsed suddenly after a short run with a number of other military officers on Thursday. He received first aid on the scene but was pronounced dead a short while later. According to Army Radio, it took nearly 20 minutes for a defibrillator to be brought to the scene, though it was not immediately clear if access to the device, which can control the rhythm of the heart, would have necessarily saved Asman’s life.
His exact cause of death was not immediately known, but it appeared to be a form of heart failure, likely caused by an undiagnosed heart condition.
Channel 13 news reported that the military was reevaluating the medical tests senior officers receive in an effort to better find such defects.
The probe into the military’s fitness regiment will be led by top medical officers and combat fitness instructors, the IDF said.
“The team of experts will check issues relating to the IDF’s combat fitness routines, including: preparedness for fitness routines, medical equipment and evacuation during combat fitness exercises, training fitness instructors to provide medical care and any other issue that comes up during their work,” the IDF said.
In part, the investigation was due to look into the lack of a defibrillator at the gym where Asman collapsed — despite civilian fitness centers being required by law to have the machines on hand.
On Saturday night, the military announced it was tasking a senior medical officer with leading a panel probing Asman’s death, to begin work Sunday.
The IDF said the committee would examine a “broad range of medical issues” relating to Asman’s death.
Asman’s death came as a particular shock to the military, as he had only started in the post of brigade commander a few days before and was seen as a rising star in the IDF.
He was buried in Tel Aviv’s Kiryat Shaul military cemetery on Sunday.
Asman’s widow, who is also named Sharon, thanked him for “wonderful years of love, support and friendship.”
“Thank your for our two amazing daughters. Thank you for the conversations, the wisdom, the insight, the composure. Now everyone knows what we knew all along — how special you were, a rare combination of a man of spirit and a fighter,” she said.
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi eulogized Asman as “an officer and a gentleman,” who was “professional and thorough, cool-headed and brave.”
Asman had served in the military for some 25 years and fought in Lebanon and Gaza.
Head of the IDF’s Northern Command Amir Baram said Asman was “a warrior and a wonderful military man.”
“He was a sabra — tough on the outside and sensitive on the inside. He always cared for his subordinate soldiers and officers, his colleagues and his commanders,” Baram said.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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