While Israel’s defense industry is booming, many of its units are reportedly lacking in necessary equipment. Since the October 7 attacks caught the IDF unprepared, commanders in the field have been soliciting donations to make up for the shortfalls, despite an official prohibition on doing so. Diaspora Jews have responded by organizing networks to meet their requests. Asaf Elia-Shalev writes that civilians have delivered individual units an estimated billion dollars or more in helmets and drones as well as clothing, night-vision goggles, body armor, rifle scopes, and other items.
Elia-Shalev describes what moved a reserve officer named Micha Shtiebel, one of the few willing to speak on the record, to start doing his own logistics:
Many of his soldiers were stuck with standard-issue army helmets, some from as early as the 1970s, which are not only horribly uncomfortable but possibly unsafe. Combat helmets, especially when they have taken a beating, can offer less ballistic protection over time. The volunteers quickly provided Shtiebel with 150 new tactical helmets, which cost $400 each. Then, he asked the volunteers for drones.
Israeli infantry units didn’t typically use drones before the current war, but as civilian volunteers began providing them, ordinary soldiers found that the ability to survey the battlefield from the sky or search the inside of homes that might be booby-trapped with explosives could save their lives. Soldiers have come to regard these small drones, which are readily available in American electronics stores, as nearly as essential as helmets.
Read more on JTA: https://www.jta.org/2024/06/10/united-states/israeli-battlefield-commanders-explain-why-they-are-breaking-idf-rules-to-solicit-donations-for-gear