Lt. Col. (res.) Or Paz Avri, commander of the 8112 Reserve Battalion who hosted Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz in Lebanon last week, told Army Radio on Monday that reservists cannot sustain 100 days of annual service. He said the political echelon acknowledged the distress but offered no effective solutions — repeating promises heard two years ago.
Lt. Col. (res.) Or Paz Avri, the reserve battalion commander who hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz during their visit to Lebanon last week, delivered a stark public critique of the military's reliance on reservists in a Monday radio interview. Speaking on N13 / Army Radio's midday program, Avri said that annual service of 100 days has become the norm — far beyond what reservists signed up for, and what their families can bear.
"We told them there is a problem — we are not built to do 100 days every year," Avri recounted of his closed-door meeting with the PM and defense minister. "Being away from home 100 days every year is not merely a complex event — it exceeds complexity and challenge, and becomes impossible. People are sliding into distress." Asked what the leaders replied, Avri said they acknowledged the distress, said solutions were coming, and that the military and reserves would expand. "But in practice, I met these same people at the start of the war, two years ago. Even then we heard that solutions were on the way — but the solutions are dragging. As a battalion commander, that does not satisfy me."
The comments come amid growing public and political pressure over the IDF's reliance on reservists, as The Zioneer has previously reported on warnings from the IDF Personnel Directorate about a structural turnover failure in 2027 and calls by former prime ministers Bennett and Lapid to protect soldiers in the field. Avri's account — from an officer who personally hosted the country's most senior leaders — carries unusual weight within the security establishment.
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