This work studies the combat actions in two operations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. The writing team focused on the transformation of the IDF before and after the Second Lebanon War of 2006 and in preparation for Operation CAST LEAD in the winter of 2008-09. In Lebanon, the IDF pitted ill-trained soldiers and ill-educated officers, who attempted to carry out vague orders and unfamiliar tasks, against men with good weapons and a simple mission. This was the first open conflict in Israel's "cold war" with Iran and its proxy force of Hezbollah in what became known as the Second Lebanon War. The IDF Operation CAST LEAD against Hamas in 2008-09 was a small-scale affair in comparison to the multi-division attack into Lebanon in 2006. The former operation, however, restored confidence in both the government and armed forces in the eyes of the Israeli populace. The reforms of the year and a half between conflicts paid great dividends. (Originally published by the Combat Studies Institute Press, U.S. Army)