ABSTRACT
The centrality of combat motivation to a successful outcome in military operations, from regular patrolling to full-scale wars, cannot be overstated. Combat motivation, in fact, is a key factor in enabling standing armies to win conflicts; in Israel’s case, it has been ‘referred to as the “secret weapon” of the IDF’.1 On numerous occasions quantitatively inferior armies have been able to have the upper hand because of their fighting spirit, aggressiveness and relatively buoyant high morale. Indeed, research has consistently demonstrated that there is a ‘strong relationship between cohesion, soldiers’ level of morale and combat efficiency’.2
