IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi was expected on Sunday to issue his conclusions in the case of Sgt. Evyatar Yosefi's drowning death in a training exercise in early January. It is believed that Kochavi's findings will have a far-reaching impact on the army as a whole as well as for the officers personally involved, including their dismissal.
Yosefi was killed during a nighttime navigation exercise in harsh terrain during a spate of inclement weather in northern Israel. He served in the Paratrooper Brigade's elite reconnaissance battalion. Two of Yosefi's comrades were treated for hypothermia after the exercise.
A military commission of inquiry was appointed immediately following the tragedy, headed by Col. Oren Simcha. The IDF Military Police Corps also launched an investigation, which is standard operating procedure after every incident that results in a soldier's death.
While the military police investigation is still ongoing, the commission of inquiry has completed its work. it presented its findings to the chief of staff 10 days ago. Kochavi asked the investigators for additional information, which he was slated to receive on Sunday.
The prevailing belief within the IDF is that Kochavi will seek to establish a clear protocol for training in extreme weather that will regulate which exercises are considered vital and when and under whose approval they can be held, and which exercises must be postponed if inclement weather is forecast.
In the case of Yosefi's death, the commanding officers were aware of the forecast. They had also been approached by some of the soldiers slated to participate in the exercise, along with parents who asked officers to reconsider holding the exercise during a winter storm. Once the exercise was underway, several of the soldiers radioed their commanding officers to ask whether they had to cross the rising stream where Yosefi ultimately slipped and drowned. The response they received, the soldiers recounted, was "good luck."
Kochavi's findings are also expected to focus on the actions of the officers involved. The exercise itself had been approved by the entire chain of command in the Paratroopers Brigade, GOC Army Headquarters and GOC Northern Command. Assessments are that Kochavi – who became military chief two months ago – will take a harsh stance to emphasize what is and what is not acceptable, and what steps he expects commanders to implement when it comes to the lives of the soldiers under their command.
