FORT BENNING, Ga., (Feb. 18, 2015) -- Students in the Maneuver Captains Career Course got the opportunity to hear a firsthand account of leading Israeli troops into battle during a Combat Leader Speaker Program talk in McGinnis-Wickam Hall's Derby Auditorium Feb. 10.
Retired Maj. Gen. Emanuel Sakal of the Israeli Defense Forces spoke to the students about his experiences fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel, Egypt and Syria. Sakal was a tank battalion commander at the time, and for his actions he was awarded the Medal of Courage, Israel's second-highest military decoration for valor.
"We won the war not because of politicians or generals, but because of Soldiers," Sakal told the students.
Sakal talked in detail about how the war played out and what Israel's military and government leaders could have done differently to reach a faster conclusion and minimize casualties.
The war lasted from Oct. 6-25. He cited a lack of clear communication and effective combined arms operations as two of the main issues the IDF faced during the war.
Sakal emphasized the importance of understanding how critical combined arms operations are to success.
"Nobody can win alone and you can't fight alone," he said. "You have to have the right combination of tanks, Infantry, Artillery and Engineers. When I became an officer with some influence on the behavior of the army, this was one of the main things I enforced."
Sakal advised young leaders at Fort Benning to lead from the front and by example.
"Leaders must speak bravely and calmly," he said. "If they see that you are the battalion commander, but you are a Soldier just like them, they will follow you anywhere."
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