In first remarks on ‘Messiah’ patch incident, IDF chief says ‘path to victory’ goes through a disciplined military

After a soldier was sentenced to 30 days in jail this week for wearing a non-military patch bearing the word “Messiah,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warns that military frameworks “may fall apart” without discipline.

“There is no issue here with one insignia or another insignia; there is the appearance of the IDF, and there is the uniformity of the IDF. The uniformity is what connects all of us. Therefore, we have the unit insignia (on the uniform) and, above all, the most important thing, the Israeli flag,” Zamir says to officers while visiting a drill in the Jordan Valley today.

He says that “the path to victory goes through a disciplined, fit, trained army, with fighting spirit and a very strong sense of mission.”

“This matter of discipline, order and organization is something that begins in the small details, and it is part of our ability to function efficiently and effectively, and part of our ability to fulfill our mission,” he continues.

“Our test is precisely in a period in which we have already been in war for more than two and a half years. Two and a half years, that is unprecedented. Therefore, the test of [soldiers’ sense of] mission, values, norms and discipline is expressed precisely in wartime, and it is precisely there that one must insist on things, otherwise the framework may fall apart.”