The "Scraping of the Barrel": Israel Forces its Teachers into the Trenches

The "Scraping of the Barrel": Israel Forces its Teachers into the Trenches

For the first time since the 1970s, the IOF has announced the formation of a new "maneuver division"—Division 38. Unlike traditional divisions, this unit is being cannibalized from the Ground Forces' entire training apparatus. It will be commanded by Brig. Gen. Sharon Altit and will integrate the officer school (Bahad 1), infantry, armor, artillery, and engineering schools into a single combat structure.

Intelligence & Military Perspective: • A Crisis of Manpower: The creation of Division 38 is an admission of exhaustion. For decades, training schools were the "holy of holies," kept separate to ensure the next generation of soldiers. By turning these schools into a maneuver division, the IOF is effectively consuming its seed corn to plug holes in its depleted ranks.

• The Return to "Mass": Since the 1970s, Israel focused on "Regional Divisions" (static defense) and tech-superiority. The shift back to "Maneuver Divisions" indicates that the Axis of Resistance has forced the enemy back into a high-attrition, large-scale ground war—a scenario the IOF spent 40 years trying to avoid.

• Structural Fragility: Deploying training instructors and cadets as a frontline division is a high-risk gamble. If Division 38 takes heavy casualties, the IOF loses not just soldiers, but its entire pedagogical backbone. This is "Total War" logic, usually reserved for regimes facing existential collapse.

Why the Media Blitz Now? • Domestic Reassurance: The Israeli public is reeling from a massive "personnel deficit" and the failure of reserve calls. The announcement is a PR move to signal that the army is "expanding" and "adapting," when in reality, it is merely reorganizing existing, overstretched assets.

• Psychological Signaling: By invoking the number "38"—Ariel Sharon’s historic division—they are attempting to manufacture a narrative of "offensive spirit" to mask the reality of a military that is structurally fatigued.