Abstract
Contemporary conflicts appear to change perceptions regarding the nature of war and the human role in military operations. Theories of post-heroic or risk-transfer warfare suggest lowered legitimacy of violence and tolerance for casualties in Western societies. Meanwhile, a key military adaptation is increasing reliance on technology, taking a prime role in “post-heroic” wars and positioning technologists as their new heroes. The chapter explores the rise of the military technologist as a new "demigod" hero in this changing landscape of conflicts. Grounded in interviews with award-winning IDF technologists, it characterizes their distinguishing traits like mission dedication, expertise, translation capacity of operational needs into technological solutions, and rapid prototyping. It also discusses their military track and promotion coupled with the role of commanders and leaders in their development. The chapter’s discussion relates these contemporary technologist-hero characteristics to traditional military heroism ideals, finding core common ground around themes of responsibility, leadership influence, and role modeling, as well as adaptations owing to the technology context. However, it points to the tension on whether post-heroic models threaten the archetypes underpinning the “traditional”, valorized, warrior ethos.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
From—a call for applications for the Technological Award on behalf of the Chief of Staff. 20.6.2019 (Hebrew).
- 3.
See the English translation of the IDF spirit at—https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5dc4d5_abcd58cf1ad94cfa895965c6845d9818~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_740,h_1024,al_c,q_85,enc_auto/1612%20-%2001.jpg.
Mission dedication is described as—“The solider shall fight and act courageously in the face of all dangers and obstacles and shall pursue his mission with determination and good judgement, even risking his life when necessary.”.
- 4.
- 5.
Recognition as “technological knowledge expert” (“Moked yeda”) is the peak of a technical, non-managerial, career path of the IDF. It entitled the several benefits, but it blocks their promotion into higher ranks as managers. See—https://www.idf.il/24904.
- 6.
Clarification—they don’t actually lose their rank—but they might lose chance promotion.
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Bar-Gil, O. (2024). Illustrating the Post-heroic Hero? Portraying the Technological Hero in Israel. In: Ben-Shalom, U., Moelker, R., Stern, N., Ben-Ari, E. (eds) Military Heroism in a Post-Heroic Era. The Military and Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51556-9_14
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