RAMALLAH, Dec 17 (JMCC) - A large military training exercise on its northern border with Lebanon yesterday proves Israeli forces are technologically and prepared for future success against Hezbollah, said 401st brigade commander Enav Shalev.

The training and technology of the 401st, called the gatekeepers of Lebanon, and the Nahal brigade will be sufficient for the mountains and dense villages of Syria and Lebanon.

I don't belittle what is going on in Gaza, we have many challenges that must be dealt with there, but Lebanon is a different story, Shalev told Ynet. The (commander) who trains for Lebanon properly, and challenges his people in preparation for Lebanon, will be ready (for Gaza) as well.

I don’t think there's one person today at the level of second lieutenant level or even lower, he said, who wouldn't know what to expect in Lebanon if he is sent there tomorrow.

Thousands of troops simulated battle formations and carried out mock attacks in the snowy Golan Heights, successfully deploying the new Windbreaker active tank defense system. Installed on a Merkava Mark 4 battle tank, the system shot down a dummy missile, according to Defence Professionals. Scanning surrounding territories and able to counter rocket-propelled grenades in 360', the Israeli and American-developed Windbreaker and new command-chain relay hardware could neutralize the guerrilla tactics Hezbollah employed in 2006.

What made the exercise unique was its size. Held in a plateau just under Mount Shifon with the snow-capped Hermon in the background, thousands of soldiers practiced war alongside one another, then against one another.

Some of the scenarios were conventional, to sharpen skills for a possible confrontation with Syria, but most were a combination of guerrilla and urban warfare with terrain similar to Lebanon’s open forests and densely populated villages.

“A military is either preparing for war or is fighting a war,” [Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi] said, pointing out that since he took over in 2007, the IDF has held more than 100 brigadelevel exercises. This makes one thing sure: The next post-war commission of inquiry will not be able to say that the IDF did not train enough.

Read more at The Jerusalem Post.