The Deputy Chief of General Staff is the second to the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. The Deputy chief of Staff is an officer with the rank of Major General (Aluf). The current Deputy Chief of Staff is Major General (Aluf) Amir Baram.[1]
The position of Deputy Chief of Staff was not continuously filled. Until 1999, Deputy Chiefs of Staff served as the Commanders of the General Staff Directorate simultaneously, With the exception of Haim Bar-Lev who held office on the eve of and during the Six Day War and Israel Tal who held office after the Yom Kippur War. In 1999, the Operations Directorate was established and the positions were officially separated, Since then, it is common to see the Deputy Chief of Staff as the person in charge of the IDF force building, Procurement, development, equipping and maintenance of weapons, Planning, recruitment and training of personnel and maintaining their fitness and more. Despite legislative proposals on the matter, the Deputy Chief of Staff is not defined by law as acting in place of the Chief of Staff.
Since 2005 The Control and Surveillance Department in the IDF is subordinate to the Deputy Chief of Staff. In 2016-2017, the Computer Service Directorate was also subordinate to the Deputy Chief of Staff.
The acting Deputy Chief of Staff is usually one of the natural candidates to replace the outgoing Chief of Staff. And it is accepted to see the fulfillment of the position as an "apprenticeship" before taking command of the IDF. 19 of the 22 Chiefs of Staff who have headed the IDF to date, previously served in the position of Deputy Chief of Staff, usually close to their appointment as Chief of the General Staff.