New head of IDF Depth Command takes up position

The IDF set up the Depth Command in 2012, in a process overseen by the current chief of staff, Eisenkot.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
From right to left: IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, Maj.-Gen. Roni Numa, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Tal Russo, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
From right to left: IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, Maj.-Gen. Roni Numa, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Tal Russo, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
The new head of the IDF’s Depth Command took up his position following a ceremony on Thursday at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Tal Russo, whose appointment as head of the Depth Command was announced in January, officially took charge during a ceremony attended by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.
The Depth Command is in charge of planning and coordinating military operations far from Israel’s shores. Russo replaces Maj.-Gen.
Roni Numa, who held the position for six months, and who will become the next head of the IDF’s Central Territorial Command.
The IDF set up the Depth Command in 2012, in a process overseen by the current chief of staff, Eisenkot.
During the ceremony, Eisenkot said the decision to create the command stemmed from “the need for a military headquarters for emergencies and war, based on the understanding that the IDF and Operations Branch have an excellent capability during routine times, but that there is also a need for in-depth thinking and meticulous planning.”
He described Russo, who had in the past served as head of the IDF’s Southern Territorial Command, as a commander with a wealth of experience and know-how. “I am sure he will take this command forward in its readiness and ability to contribute to the IDF during war,” Eisenkot said.
Addressing Numa, Eisenkot said he was the most fitting commander to take over Central Command, which operates in a “sensitive and explosive sector.”
Numa said that the IDF has to “continue to deal with the depth sector.” Russo added that the role was an opportunity for him. “When the battlefield becomes broader and more complex, we will have to know how... to integrate with the whole system,” he said.