I know it has been a really long time since I have written last, but after finishing basic and advanced training and moving to the gedudim, things have been quite hectic. I have had barely any free time. I stayed in many of the shabbatot that have passed either because I volunteered or just because. Things are definitely physically harder than before, but much better mentally. No longer do the mifakdim yell at us for no reason (they do yell when they need to but that’s expected). I have become friends with many of the mifakdim in a way that it’s no longer weird to talk to them about sports or anything really. I would say things are much more fun and exciting.

Over the past couple of weeks my pluga has been involved in several exercises that are essentially “war games.” The idea behind them is to train us to walk long distances with a lot of weight on our backs and holding all the supplies (including food, water, etc.) for thirty-six hours at a time. These exercises are nothing of the ordinary. One of the “games” that we participated in was called a “Tarchat” (i.e. targil chativati – that is, it is an excersise involving everyone in my chativa, including artillery, tanks, and other units.) The commander of the excersise is the machat (mifaked chativati). He is in charge of sending in the different gedudim to their respective positions. He is the one who must go from lace to place making sure that everything is running smoothly. Basically, he has a lot of work on his hands. Being the radio man for the mifaked of my pluga (i.e. the commander in charge of roughly 150 soldiers), it is my job to carry this heavy radio that keeps us in contact with the magad (mifaked of the gedud). He is in charge of our gedud and, like the machat, but on a smaller level, makes sure everything runs smoothly. Having to be in contact with him, I must stay close to the mp for at any second he could receive a call that he must answer. Most of the time it is fun to run with him. He is always moving and always has somewhere to be and something to do. Unlike many of my friends who have to wait for a command to be given and can rest at certain points, I don’t have that luxury – but I love it. We must go to meetings and receive commands, run to different areas to oversee/ run different groups. The only bad part is that sometimes it’s hard to keep up because I have around 70lbs on my back. There was this one time where he went running off and I began to dash. It was difficult to keep up. Then, suddenly, we received a call on the radio. I answered the call and made a run for the mp. I felt like I was running through an obstacle course. I rolled over, sprinted through a field, jumped over a rock, and then slid feet first to hand the mp the radio. Another time, we were in an area where we were practicing urban combat. Instead of going around walls, the mp decided to jump right over them. The first wall, roughly six feet high, was seemed difficult to maneuver. I tried to simply climb over the wall. Because of the weight on my back, I wasn’t so successful. I then decided to use the next best method – jump off a stair case, bring my feet over, and have someone push me right over. It worked! Then there was a second wall, same height, but no one to push me over. With no other choice, I climbed over the wall then fell onto the other side. It hurt, but I did make it over. I did this numerous times, including diving through windows and jumping off of stairs. It was a like a giant maze – lot’s of fun.

The millions of shekels used on these exercises were very successful. From my standpoint at least, I learned how large groups of soldiers can fight together. It’s truly amazing how one person can take charge of thousands of people and everything goes as planned, something you don’t normally see in the real world.

This past week, we had our second yom sport (sports day). Of the several sports that were to be played, I played basketball and volleyball. Both games were a lot of fun, and it was a nice break from the regular activity. Yes, they were compatetative and basketball was more like a grudge match (probably the roughest game I have ever played), but it was a lot of fun.

Being that next week is Pesach, we were fortunate to be given a long weekend for people to be with their families for the seder and yom tov. I hope everyone has a wonderful pesach.

Shabbat Bshetach #2 and brit

A few weeks ago we were planning on spending Shabbat somewhere in the shetach, guarding some place that was in the middle of nowhere. Everyone was upset because we were supposed to be guarding for two hours every two hours, which is a very difficult thing to do. Trying to get out of going, we packed our bags and headed for the 4 hour journey to our destination.

Overall the Shabbat was one that I will always remember. We arrived only ten minutes before Shabbat and had to do the necessary preparations like building an eruv and setting up camp. It definitely was one of the most difficult shabbatot as it was the first time we had to “break” Shabbat for obvious reasons. I am very fortunate to be with a group of guys that know what they are doing, especially when it comes to halacha. I know now not to judge things before they happen because they could become one of the most enjoyable things.

This past week I was fortunate enough to travel to New York to attend my nephews bris, born to my sister and brother-in-law, who live in Englewood, New Jersey. It was very weird going back to the States, as it was the first time I returned in over seven months! Although it was not home, it was nice spending time with the family. Being in the army and having the dual life of living as a normal citizen as well as an active member of the military is always interesting, especially when faced with situations that seem normal.

End of tironut, masa kumta, and imun mitkadem

It has been a really long time since I last wrote and I apologize for that. A lot has gone on so there was no way I could go another week without writing.

Since I have last written lots of changes have gone on. To start, no longer am I in basic training. I also can proudly say that I am part of the Givati brigade with my purple barrett.

The last two weeks of basic training were very meaningful.. One of the weeks was spent on a base in the north used for chinuch (i.e. learning). There we were in classes from morning until night learning about the land of Israel. I sat through many interesting lessons, including those that made you appreciate your service for the army. Being that it was not our base, or anyone particular units for that matter, there were many different groups at the base. One of the main things the base is used for is for preparation for new olim that want to join the army. Being that the Israeli society and culture is different from anywhere else in the entire world (I can definitely attest to that) it gives the chance for the group of people that are about to join the army to get adjusted to the differences. Being that there were many people like me on the base, that is people not from Israel joining the army, it was very exciting to see group sof people with the same motives that I have.

What was also interesting was that many of the lessons were focused on the different soldiers in the group giving their own opinions on the matter at hand. It was the first time I was able to see why many of the people in my machlaka were in a combat unit, especially a foot soldier. We had long discussions that usually ended up in argument. These debates really allowed me to see the different perspectives different kinds of Israelis had on the army and the reasons for serving.

The week ended with a ride back to the base where we spent our last shabbos as tironim. We then began the week by becoming lochamim (fighters); that is, we received our vests. Up until now we were using these old, used ephodim to hold all of our gear. You really felt like you were in Vietnam when you wore that old equipment. Now, with our new vests you really felt in place, in 2009. We spent the rest of the week making sure our gear was ready for advance training. We finally received tape that wouldn’t come off every five minutes (because before hand we would use tape that did just that to make us learn how to tie up all of our gear).

I would have to say that it’s the most annoying time in the army. We are given short increments of time to accomplish tasks that take much longer than given. The point of it all makes sense, they want us to make sure that all of our gear is tied and ready so that nothing will be lost and will always be ready. When all is said and done the work that we do is always work it, but the time spent doing it all is very annoying.

The week ended with our masa kumta, a 60 kilometer hike that took 17 hours to finish. Being the ratz mp (the runner for the head of the pluga) I was at the head of the pluga The hike was one of the most memorable experiences of my service in the army. We walked through various druze towns, up mountains around the chevron area, through various farms, and eventually up the road and up the steps to Masada. The hike was a long one, very long if that. However, surprisingly, it did not fell that long. It went by quite quickly, as I was made to run back and forth through the pluga. Before the half way marker of the masa, it started to rain. Water was everywhere, causing the sandy floor to become muddy. It got so bad that we had to put on our rain coats, something onl done when absolutely needed. As we walked through the rain, I was walking in mud that went up to my knees. Occasionally I was made to run back and forth to organize the line of the pluga.

The rain stopped and the masa continued as planned. By daybreak, we began the treck with the stretcher. We walked four kilometers with the stretcher, making our way to our final destination in Masada. Walking down the road, winding through the various turns, we were able to see the magnificent sight of the dead see and Masada at sunrise. When we finally made it to the top we had a tekes kravi where the mifakdim and the pluga won awards. Our pluga ended up winning the best pluga of basic training. The day resumed and we had our masa kumta where I was fortunate to receive my purple barett and be apart of my units group as cheyl raglim.

I spent the next week with my parents as they came in for the tekes and to visit me. They’re time in Israel was short and cam to a sad end the Wednesday after. I had a really good time and it was nice to have off.

I went back to the army that Thursday afternoon and nothing seemed to change. Then, one hour before shabbos I was told that I was going to be in the shetach guarding a special kind of shooting range. I guarded for two hours every six. I was with a group of my friends from my kitah so it wasn’t that bad. I went into shabbos upset that I was not with everyone else, but overall it was very interesting being in the desert for shabbos.

The first week of basic training was very intense. We did both tests required buy the army that involved running and doing pushups and situps and running the obstacle course. The week was very difficult but very exciting. It was the first time my entire kitah worked together. We learned how to walk in different formations and how to cross valleys and take over a hill. We were also allowed to call our mifaked, but it came with a price, waking up at four in the morning to walk four kilometers with a guy on a stretcher.

Overall the week was hard, but now being in advance training I am very close to serving the country as a lochem. As the time passes I am learning a lot, not only about the army but about Israel itself. I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Purim in November?

One of the hardest things about basic training is the fact that you feel like your doing nothing. Everyday you wake up and you know that although you are getting closer to the day that you will be helping the land of Israel by guarding the borders or keeping the people safe, you are still in basic training. You wake up and know that you are going to be doing something you do not want to do, something that builds “nishmat” (i.e. discipline). It’s true, it sucks, because you think you have the discipline and the will it takes to serve, but in reality you don’t. And the hardest part is accepting that fact. As long as you have a good attitude and a smile on your face everything goes well.

This past week we finally “did” something. I don’t mean to complain because that is not what I’m doing at all. It is just that I had one of the most enjoyable weeks thus far. We “played” enemy in the north. Now, that sounds strange, but it was really fun

The week began with an awesome Shabbat. Daniel and I took the three and a half our trek to hertzaliya petuach where we spent the weekend with Jonathan who is spending the semester in Israel on an abroad program from the university of Pennsylvania. We woke up early Sunday morning and made our way to Tel Aviv where we met our group. From there we set off to the north for a week in a new shetach with different terrain, the terrain of the galil in the north of Israel.

We finally arrived to a base in the north, which is usually served as a loading base for different artillery units in the reserves. For this exercise, it happened to be the “home base” where everyone started. When we arrived, all of our gear was there, including our vests and bags. We were given different uniforms to play the role of enemy. The funny thing was that we were wearing old US Army uniforms, which I was obviously made fun of for wearing. We laughed off the irony of it all and put on these silly “costumes.” We got ready to board the buses to head for our locations.

Every kitah was stationed in a different place in the north. My kitah was stationed on a hillside next to a small yeshuv. The first night we got there was one of the coolest nights. We got to the place we were supposed to be and set up camp. Because we were stationed next to a row of houses we had to be very quiet and made sure no one could hear us. It made me feel like I was in a danger zone, hiding out from the enemy (which was what I was doing “pretend”).

The week went on and we built a camp on the hillside of the mountain. We hid different “rockets” (pieces of metal that looked like rockets). We also built different amdot (bunkers) that we learned how to build in one of our weeks in the shetach. One of the really interesting things that happened was the fact that we were meant to sue all of our skills that we have acquired over the past months and use them. Our goal was to hide out on this hill side and protect our selves from the soldiers coming to take over the mountain side that we took over. We made notes of all of the military cars that passed. Early one morning we were told that a squadron of tanks was out to find us. Half of the group stayed behind to watch over our camp while the other half, including me, went out to the yeshuv and tried to find them. With all of our gear on and a fake anti tank weapon, we made our way around the yeshuv. It was early in the morning when everyone was going to school or leaving to work, so we were all being looked at. It got me thinking that Israel is the only place in the world that something like this could go on. We found the squadron and successfully completed our mission. I thought it was really cool because it was the first exercise that I took part in and got first hand knowledge of what it really means to be in the army.

The week went on and we learned about the different terrain that we were stationed in. We spent part of the days hiding in bushes as we had to wait for people to find us. I never thought I would be sitting inside of a thorn bush for two hours hiding out from a unit of soldiers, but I honestly have to say that it was really fun.

Overall I had an awesome week. I learned a lot of what the army is all about and how everything is operating. I really enjoyed the fact that I was in a new terrain and was finally given the opportunity to actually do something for the army.

As the time goes by, my basic training will be almost complete and I will begin advance training. We have two more weeks until that time comes, so hopefully until then I will be able to gain all that I can and be able to learn what I need to help the state of Israel the best I can.