Tal Russo

Aluf Tal Russo (born 1959) is a general in the Israel Defense Forces and currently the head of the Operations Directorate. Russo was born in Kibbutz Hulata in northern Israel and drafted into the IDF in 1978. [http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/staff/Tal_Russo.htm IDF Profile] ] He served in an elite unit until 1981 when he left as a unit commander, but Russo quickly returned in 1982 and commanded a company of special forces during the 1982 Lebanon War. That same year he received his officer's ranks, and then continued to advance up the chain of command, spending much of his early career in special forces.

During the 2006 Lebanon War Russo served as the Assistant of the Head of the Operations Directorate in special missions. In October 2006 Chief of Staff Dan Halutz recommended Russo to replace Operations head Gadi Eizenkot, who had been promoted to head of Northern Command. [Harel, Amos. " [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/770493.html Tal Russo promoted to major general, made IDF's chief of operations] ", "Haaretz", October 4, 2006.] Russo's promotion was subsequently approved by Defense Minister Amir Peretz. During his career Russo earned a BA in political science from the University of Haifa and an MBA from the University of Tel Aviv.

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