Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Rabin, retiring chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, told the officers and crewmen of two Israeli naval units here yesterday that they now “have new tools which you did not have hitherto” and that their ability to use those tools “will make the Navy an important factor if another war breaks out.” He made his remarks during a farewell visit to the submarine Leviyatan, recently acquired from Britain, and the destroyer Yaffo. He will be succeeded as chief of staff on January 1 by Gen. Chaim Bar-Lev.
Referring to his retirement, Gen. Rabin told the Navy men: “Generations come and go, and every generation has its task to perform. No war is like any other war in form and character. What was, is a matter for historians. The present must be devoted to preparing forces that will be able to act when they are called upon.”
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