From its humble beginnings (for a while, the fire-fighting force consisted largely of drunks and vagrants) the service gradually became more professional, developing new techniques and introducing smokejumpers (special teams that parachute into hot spots).
Then after belatedly calling up the reservists, it delayed ordering them into battle until international support for Israel had all but disintegrated and the government had already decided to sue for a cease-fire that left Hizbullah intact as a fightingforce and as a political force in Lebanon.