Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
The IDF produce generally very competent officers, with a great deal of command experience, if you get slated for the Command stream. I know one guys who has commanded 3 Battalions and 2 Brigades - all for 3 years!
All Majors are now expected to go and get a Masters Degree - why I do not know!
The German Army of the 1930's - 50's 60' and into the 1980's produced above average combat officers, by the accounts of the men who have studied them.

My point, and nothing to do with US Service Academies, is that there is a good body of evidence that says you can produce very good officers without too much cost, time or process. Surely that is the requirement?
The German officer training system of those eras (it has I believe changed a bit now) and that of the Israelis is quite similar in some ways, requiring short service in the ranks, passing junior NCO courses etc. Do you know if the Israelis consciously modeled their system on the German one (seems unlikely but you never know) or if it just developed that way?