Dan Halutz
(1948 - )
Dan Halutz is an Israeli Air Force Lieutenant General and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
Halutz (born August 7, 1948) was born in Tel
Aviv only a few months after Israel's proclamation of independence. He enlisted in the IDF in November 1966 as a cadet in the Air Force flight
school. In July 1968, Halutz graduated as a
fighter pilot with the rank of second lieutenant and was assigned to the "Mister
4" fighter squadron, then to the "Vutour"
fighter squadron.
Beginning at the end of 1969, he joined the first
Phantom squadron of the IAF. Halutz
flew 40 operational flights during
the War
of Attrition.
In November 1969, Halutz converted
to an F-4 pilot and served in the same
squadron until 1982. Released
from the IDF in 1973, he began academic
studies but returned to the Phantom squadron
at the outbreak of the Yom
Kippur War.
In the course of some 43 operational flights
he shot down three enemy aircraft.
In
1978, he was again released from
the IDF but continued to serve as a pilot in the reserves
for four years. He returned to active
duty in 1982, when he started to fly
F-16 planes. In 1984, he received the
command of the Phantom squadron and in
1986 was chosen as head of the operational
unit of the Lavi aircraft project. In
1988, the General was nominated as head of
the Operational Requirements Department of
the IAF, and from 1991-1993 he was a wing commander.
In
1991, Halutz was appointed commander
of the Hazor Air Force Base. In 1993, he
was promoted to the rank of brigadier general
and appointed head of the IAF Air
Division. In 1995, the General was appointed
as the Head of Staff of the IAF. In August
1998, General Halutz was promoted to
Major General and assumed the position
of assistant of the Deputy Chief of General
Staff. In June 1999, after the reorganization
of the General Staff, Maj. General Halutz
was nominated as the Director of Operations
(J-3). He
subsequently served as commander of
the IAF from 2000 until 2004, when he was
appointed to the position of deputy chief
of General Staff.
On
June 1, 2005, Halutz was promoted to
the rank of Lieutenant-General and appointed
the 18th Chief
of General Staff of the IDF. During his time in command, Halutz oversaw a controversial "targeted killing" campaign of Palestinian terrorists. He was also in command of the IDF during the Second Lebanon War. He resigned from his post a few months following the war after he was publicly criticized for his actions during the war.
Halutz
is a graduate of Tel
Aviv University and
received a B.A. in economics. He is married
with three children.
Sources: Israeli Foreign Ministry; IDF; Wikipedia |