Command and Staff College (Israel)

The Command and Staff College (המכללה הבין-זרועית לפיקוד ולמטה), abbreviated פּוּ"ם, פום, PUM, also translated as Inter-Service Command and Staff College, Israel, is intended for the training of senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officers. It was established on May 31, 1954.

In the mid-1980s the collected statistics showed that a significant number of senior officers paid little attention to this kind of study. This, together with the drawbacks in military training revealed during the 1982 Lebanon War, had led to a series of reorganizations, continued well into 2010s.

In 1991, all military colleges, including PUM, were merged into the IDF Military Colleges unit under the General Staff. In 2004, it was decided to add a course for Air Force.

Eventually the two courses were merged into a single "Afek course" (named after Sharon Afek) intended for commanders and staff officers ranked Lieutenant Colonel and above from all military arms.

In 2018, the University of Haifa had won the first-ever educational tender from the IDF for all military colleges, including PUM.

Commanders

 * 1954–1956: Aharon Yariv, member of the founding team and the first commander
 * 1969–1972: Moshe Peled
 * 2001–2004: Jacob Zigdon, tat-aluf (Brigadier general)
 * 2004–2006: Amos Ben-Abraham
 * 2006–2009: Avi Ashkenazi
 * 2009–2011: Noam Tivon
 * 2011–2014: Harel Knafo
 * 2014: Herzi Halevi
 * 2014–2015: Roni Numa
 * 2015–2016: Ofek Buharis, tat-aluf
 * 2016–2019: Udi Ben-Mocha, rav-aluf (Lieutenant general)
 * 2019–2022: Rafi Milo, tat-aluf
 * 2022–2023: Yaniv Alalof, tat-aluf
 * 2023–present: Avi Bluth, tat-aluf