According to the IDF, the proposed adjustments will enable the armed forces to more effectively bolster their troops in anticipation of the evolving threats they confront and to carry out their duties with a greater reserve force Image Courtesy Reuters
Conscripts and reservists will be serving longer terms in the IDF as it gears up for a protracted conflict in the Gaza Strip and seeks to enhance its manpower for upcoming difficulties.
Legislators will need to accept the proposed amendments to the security service and reserve service legislation, which include a reintroduction to the three-year compulsory army service for men, which was in place until 2015.
At the moment, female recruits serve two years, and male recruits 32 months.
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Female soldiers serving in combat and other special positions will also serve a 36-month term under the proposed revisions.
Additionally, the IDF intends to increase the retirement age from reserve duty.
Officers can currently retire at 45, special duties (such as drivers) at 49, and troops at 40.
According to IDF plans, commanders would retire at age 50, special posts at age 52, and soldiers at age 45 from reserve duty.
Reservists will now need to serve for a shorter period of time each year.
Plans call for soldiers, who must now serve 54 days in reserves within three years, to serve 42 days annually; non-officer commanders, who must serve 70 days within three years, to serve 48 days annually; and officers, who must serve 84 days within three years, to serve 55 days annually.
Additionally, the IDF intends to raise from 25 to 40 the total number of consecutive days that reservists participate in “operational activity.”
The IDF also intends to increase pay for reservists who serve in combat and other front-line positions as part of the adjustments.
The IDF has called up 287,000 reservists in all during the Gaza Strip conflict, however many of them have already been relieved of service for the time being. It was the biggest reservist call-up in Israeli history.
During the war, a large number of conscript soldiers completed their required service and went on to serve as reservists without any problems.
According to the IDF, the proposed adjustments will enable the armed forces to more effectively bolster their troops in anticipation of the evolving threats they confront and to carry out their duties with a greater reserve force.
The IDF expects that the modifications will result in a five-fold rise in the number of active duty reservists compared to 2023.
