Command and Staff College (Israel)

Command and Staff College
המכללה הבין-זרועית לפיקוד ולמטה
Command and Staff College logo
Active1954–present
Country Israel
Allegiance Israel Defense Forces
Commanders
Current
commander
Tat Aluf Avi Bluth

The Command and Staff College (Hebrew: המכללה הבין-זרועית לפיקוד ולמטה), abbreviated Hebrew: פּוּ"ם, פום, PUM, also translated as Inter-Service Command and Staff College, Israel, is intended for the training of senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officers. It was established on May 31, 1954.[1]

In the mid-1980s the collected statistics showed that a significant number of senior officers paid little attention to this kind of study. This, together with the drawbacks in military training revealed during the 1982 Lebanon War, had led to a series of reorganizations,[2] continued well into 2010s.[3]

In 1991, all military colleges, including PUM, were merged into the IDF Military Colleges unit under the General Staff.[4]

PUM graduation ceremony (2020)

In 2004, it was decided to add a course for Air Force.

Eventually the two courses were merged into a single "Afek course" (named after Sharon Afek) intended for commanders and staff officers ranked Lieutenant Colonel and above from all military arms.[5]

In 2018, the University of Haifa had won the first-ever educational tender from the IDF for all military colleges, including PUM.[6]

  1. ^ Jacob Zigdon [he], עיונים בתורת בניין הכוח הצבאי (Studies in the Theory of Military Force Building), 2004, Quote (translated): "The Inter-Armed Forces' College of Command and Staff (abbreviated: PUM) was founded on May 31, 1954 and is designed to train senior IDF officers."
  2. ^ Libel, Tamir (2010). "Teaching citizens to be professional soldiers: IDF responses and their implications". In A. Cohen, Stuart (ed.). The New Citizen Armies. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203861714. ISBN 9780203861714.
  3. ^ Finkel, Meir (2020). "AI Singularity and the Growing Risk of Surprise: Lessons from the IDF's Strategic and Operational Learning Processes, 2014-2019" (PDF). PRISM. 8 (4): 30–39. JSTOR 26918232.
  4. ^ על אודות המכללות הצבאיות
  5. ^ Military Colleges, IDF website
  6. ^ "University of Haifa wins tender for military colleges". Israel National News. June 25, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2023.