Background
Russo was born in kibbutz Hulata in northern Israel and drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1978.
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Tal Russo
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He served with the Israeli Air Force special forces unit Shaldag until discharged in 1981, but returned in 1982 to command a squad during the 1982 Lebanon War. That same year he received his officer"s ranks, and then continued to advance up the chain of command, spending much of his early career in the special forces. During the 2006 Lebanon War Russo served as the Assistant of the Head of the Operations Directorate in special missions.
In October 2006 Dan Halutz recommended Russo to replace Operations Directorate head Gadi Eizenkot, who had been promoted to head of Northern Command.
Russo"s promotion was subsequently approved by Defense Minister Amir Peretz. In October 2010, Russo was appointed as commander of the Southern Command.
He oversaw Operation Pillar of Defense, before retiring in April 2013. During his career Russo earned a Bachelor in political science from the University of Haifa and an Master of Business Administration from Tel Aviv University.
