Does Israels IDF finance/treat/support their service members better cradle to grave then Americas?

PO3 Aaron Hassay — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 17:39:31 -0500

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 1 at 2016 5:45 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 17:45:20 -0500

It wil now...

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jan 1 at 2016 5:51 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 17:51:43 -0500

Considering we are picking up the Tab for a good deal of their Defense Budget they can afford too.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Jan 1 at 2016 7:16 PM

LTC Bink Romanick — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 19:16:48 -0500

PO3 Aaron Hassay Theyhave a much smaller professional military, relying primarily relying on reservists. It's easier for them to take care of fewer. Besides we subsidize a major portion of their defense expenditures.

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Jan 1 at 2016 7:36 PM

LTC Yinon Weiss — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 19:36:27 -0500

No, I don't think. Since basically everybody serves in Israel, it doesn't make sense for the Israeli government to take better care of their service members after service, since that's basically the entire population. Being of "veteran" status doesn't make one that much more special in Israel, since basically everyone is a veteran.

I don't think there is any country in the world that puts so many resources into its veterans as the United States does. The VA budget for 2016 is $167B, whereas the entire budget for the entire Government of Israel in 2016 is only $109B. While Israel is a lot smaller, the VA's budget is simply enormous. If the VA was its own country, it would be the world's 26th largest nation.

The main disfunction is in leadership and bureaucracy, not necessarily in lack of resources.