Imagine a vast organization operated by thousands of people, every hour of every day, without interruption. It performs thousands of actions, many at very high risk, and the success of each depends on the personal performance of its corps of system operators. For more than two years, it has been functioning at high intensity, pushing the limits of its capabilities in unprecedented ways, and, contrary to all known statistical expectations in its field, it has never failed – not even once.

Allow me to introduce the Israeli Air Force. This branch of the IDF did, of course, fail to defend the Gaza envelope on October 7, and that must not be glossed over or minimized. But that failure was not operational. Rather, it was in its non-deployment, and that is a matter for a different discussion.

The Israeli Air Force carries out thousands of sorties over enemy territory – in nearby arenas (Gaza and Lebanon) and in very distant ones (Yemen, Iraq, and Iran). And always, without exception, “our planes returned safely.” This is an astonishing achievement. It is not “just” a matter of flawless performance under enemy fire. It reflects – and this is the central point – the continuous perfect ongoing operation of systems of unparalleled complexity – an F-35 “Adir” costs roughly $120 million.

These aircraft are exposed to risks whose realization depends on precision execution, down to the last bolt, and yet nothing went wrong. Alongside the pilots, thousands of maintenance personnel are responsible for this achievement, and each deserves a share of the commendation for the victories expressed in the phrase: our planes returned safely.

Not only is the execution impressive, but so is the planning that preceded it. We are reaping the fruits of a long-term planning process within the Air Force that began some 30 years ago, aimed at protecting against Iran’s dangerous buildup. Those plans were continually updated, revised, and honed in response to changing conditions. This planning process cuts no corners. Plans are passed down from one generation of commanders to the next under conditions of secrecy, which testifies to a unique professional environment worthy of the highest praise.

Long-term planning combined with this level of execution is rare anywhere, and certainly in Israeli society, where – to borrow Yitzhak Rabin’s phrase from three decades ago – the slapdash culture of “yihiyeh beseder – it’ll be OK” still prevails.

What is the secret of the Air Force’s success?

The seemingly simple answer is that the Air Force selects the very best and brightest from Israel’s pool of human capital, and the state invests the best of its resources. That is, of course, a relevant factor, but it misses the essence.

More than 40 years ago, I first read Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This philosophical book deals with the meaning of “excellence” and seeks to grasp the elusive concept of “quality.” According to Pirsig, exceptional performance is not necessarily the result of talent; it stems from particular mental and moral attitudes toward the thing one is doing.

The mental attitude that produces quality is one of caring; when a person is fully present in the action he or she is performing. The moral attitude that produces quality is respect for that action, born of a commitment to its execution. Quality is the result of a combination of passion and perseverance. It is important to understand excellence not as a trait but as an event.

Air Force personnel, on the ground and in the air, live within an organizational culture characterized by precisely the mental and moral attitudes that generate excellence and ensure quality. Can this distinctive phenomenon be exported to other systems in Israeli society?

For example, Israel’s education system is no less important to our future than the Air Force. Regrettably, international indicators – as well as the personal experience of many of us – attest to the great distance between it and excellence. This is not for a lack of resources: Israel invests 6.1% of its GDP in education, compared with an average of 4.9% among developed countries. And yet the standard of education here is mediocre to low compared with those same countries.

What the education system, and other systems in Israel as well, require is the adoption of the Air Force’s organizational culture. Veterans of the Air Force, of every rank, retire from career service at a relatively young age. What a blessing they could bring to Israel if they were to mobilize for a mission whose purpose is to export the culture of quality they have lived by into civilian society. Is there hope for the creation of a “civilian air force”?

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)