Standing for the Siren

After not writing a blog for a month, I'm now writing two in two days but I felt I had to write one specially for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut, especially since last year, even though I was in the army, I hardly felt the true meaningfullness (is that even a word?!?!?) of these two incredibly important days. Talking of incorrect grammar by the way, I have to apologise for my terrible spelling mistakes on teh (that one was on purpose!) last blog, which I just saw now. I know how my mum and flatmate always get annoyed by it, but it just can't help it really.

Before I even talk about Yom Hazikaron/Ha'atzmaut, I did forget to mention in the last blog about a very proud and recent accomplishment of mine. Last week was the midway point of the course and that meant passing certain tests; like there are at the beginning and end of the course. There was the bar-or (the army's general fitness test) that all soldiers, kravi or non-kravi, do at some point in their service; we have to do it every couple of months as a way of keeping tabs on our fitness. I actually did the best I've ever done on the bar-or with full scores in both press-ups and sit-ups and 7:41 in the 2km, but that's not even the big deal! The big deal is also not that fact that I got 72 in my written and practical exam on all the different types of weapons in the army infantry brigades, not a bad score considering my difficulty with the language. Just to say, this blog is not a medium for me to boast about all the achievements, although I do like to do that (!), I'm simply explaining what I did last week, hehe. The real big deal is that I passed the 'bohen samal' (seargent's test), a combination of the dreaded assualt course and a shooting exam that followed an extended sprint and crawl. I can't rememeber if I ever mentioned it in any of my earlier blogs while I was still at the paratroopers' training base, but I always had a problem with the assualt course, finding it very difficult to pass it due to both the not-easy task of getting past the many obstacles (like the notorious wall or 3 metre high ropes) and the hard time in which to pass it, less than ten minutes. It took me nearly eight months to pass the assualt course on the training base and, thus, it was the thing I was most anxious about doing in the whole of makim. However, somehow and I still don't truly know how, I passed it first time and got, if I may say so myself, a truly unbelievable time of 8:13. I don't know why the sudden change of fortune, maybe it's that my fitness has improved during the course or my susceptiblity to quitting has decreased!

So, even before I mention the whole Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut thing, I also think it's important talk about another symbolic day that happenend last week, Yom Hasho'ah (Rememberance Day for the Holocaust). This was another thing that I didn't feel at all last year, mainly because twelve months ago I was in the middle of a week in the shetach. This year however, I was on base and, although I still feel they should have made an even more of an effort with the whole day, I still experienced the solemness of the day. Especially, when the siren rang out and I looked out at the rest of my pluga in makim (company in commanders' course); combat soldiers from the whole army joined together to stand in attention for all those who were murdered in the Holocaust. It was highly symbolic. A group of young Israelis, proudly serving in the Israeli army and soon-to-be commanders of the next generation of young Israelis. If only the Nazis were to see that sight, something they so inhumanely tried to prevent, the continuation of the Jewish people, was a terrible failure and in Israel, as we celebrate on Yom Ha'aztmaut, we can see the unfathomable success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8D1DuVmtVQ

Yom Hazikaron is another day where Israel stops to remember those who have died in the struggle of our people and for the fight for Israel. 'Yom Hazikaron' (Day of Rememberance) is dedicated to all those who gave their lives; both soldiers who have fallen in action and civilians who have been murdered through acts of terror or casualties of war. It is the saddest day in the year for Israelis. This is beacuse every single person in this country knows at least one person who has died in those circumstances, and even those have perished through something unrelated, like a car accident (which unfortunately there are far too many here in Israel), are specifically remembered on this day. On Yom Hazikaron, people go to the graves of lost loved ones, the military grave at Mount Herzl in particular is always packed with people, it was said yesterday there were over 101,000 people there. On Erev Yom Hazikaron, Sunday evening, I went to the special ceremony at Rabin square, a ten minute walk from my new apartment. It was definitely a very emotional evening and the first time I have properly experienced this day here in Israel, as last year in the army I was doing guarding in Jerusalem. The ceremony at Rabin sqaure was basically a collection of live performances of sad songs and very moving videos of stories from families who have lost loved ones. Most of those from the videos who had passed away were combat soldiers and standing there in my uniform and gun at Rabin square, I felt proud to have made aliyah and be in the army, a representative of the body that does everything it can to protect its citizens by putting soldiers on the front line, like myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC1MQTBKd7c

Yom Hazikaron is the most heartbreaking day of the year, to think how many mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and sons and daughters, are going to graves of those who have died for a great cause, the best cause I can think of, but have died none the less. On the videos that were shown at the ceremony it was the same thing that kept coming up and kept haunting me; all the mothers telling how there was a "knock on the door" and two army officers were standing there and from that point they knew they had lost their son or daughter. It's obviously extrememly sad, but it also makes me angry that so many lives have been cut short and wasted because our neighbours refuse to make peace. Another notable thing about Yom Hazikaron is the siren, which sounds the night before and then again in the morning. Throughout Israel, it is maintained immaculately and is a very remarkable sight to see if you're new to this, as people stop everything they're doing and stand to respect the siren. On the roads, drivers stop their car, and get out to stand, while those in a middle of a conversation in a coffee shop do the same. For the siren, I walked down to the bottom of my street, Rothschild Boulevard, to where the Independace Hall is, as I don't really have any specific graves to visit.

I understand why Yom Hazikaron is the day immediately before Yom Ha'aztmaut. The day before we celebrated Israel's birthday and independance day, we have to acknowledge and remember the huge price we paid and continue to pay to have our country and our freedom. On one day, we mourn the young boys and girls who gave their lives in the face of terrorism and then on the next, we celebrate the miracle that we have, for 63 years now, something that Jews prayed in vain for for nearly 2000 years, a land of our own, even in the face of that same terrorism. It's a strange transition to go through; from devastation and mourning, to elation and joy, within the space of twenty four hours. For the families who have lost relatives it must be very difficult indeed, as you can't simply forget about what happened and then the next day to go out and party. The mood in Israel on Yom Ha'atzmaut is very party mode and the celebrations go long into the night. Maybe for some it is just an excuse for a night out, but most of those living here understand the meaning behind all these celebratons; the success story that is Israel and the miracle that it has finally become what it was promised to be: a safe home for Jews all over the world. I celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut with a fun night out and a barbecue the next day, as did most of the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGUxzISr9Us

I definitely feel, as opposed to last year, that I experienced the lows and highs that is Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut respectively, like a true Israeli. These past two days, especially the ceremony at Kikar Rabin made me feel incredibly passionate and zionist. Back to the army tomorrow, quite optimistic to be going back to routine of being in the army for more of an extended time. Thanks for reading.

King Oketz

It's been almost a month since my last blog, so you'd expect me to have lots of stories from being in the army for such a long time. The truth is, that I've hardly been in the army recently, spending nearly two weeks with my parents here in Tel Aviv., who came over for the Pesach period. After my parents went back to London last Sunday, I also went back "home", returning to base and to the reality of commanders' course, after being absent for a fortnight!

Before my parents arrived here, when I was living the life of a soldier (as opposed to a full-on tourist in a hotel on the Tel Aviv beachfront!), I did actually do some army work. The week before Pesach was filled with a lot of Pesach cleaning, as well as the last group of navigations. This included learning and performing urban navigating, which is a very interesting experience and something that was completely new to me. Learning to navigate in a city seems easy enough; we do it as tourists and even at home when we look through A to Z maps or GPS to plan our route. Urban navigating in the army is practically the same, in the sense that we are given a map of a city (like that of Google Earth) and simply plan a route using the streets. The difference is, however, that in army inner-city navigation, you are running around like a lunatic (due to time restraints), while carrying your vest, gun and the radio! This is, of course, following the four-hour, 12km navigation in the mountain-ranged desert on the outskirts of the city. In my urban navigation, I did find it enjoyable to run around Dimona at 3am, trying to find the codes around the city that are the get-to points for the navigation, it's sort of like a treasure hunt, but without a prize at the end! Anyway, who's on the streets of Dimona in the early hours of the morning? Naturally, it is the youngsters, back from their night out, many of whom were still reeeling from the effects of alcohol. This made the whole experience even more hilarious, especially when it meant interacting with them in order to ask where we were on the map or how to get to the next point! In the end, we finally finished two long weeks of navigating and I was selected as a 'mitstayen' (top performer) within my platoon and I'll be rewarded with a 'hamshush' at some point. Obviously there had to be a catch that somehow involved me getting more time off the army!!

The class medic opening up one of my friend's veins as a part of a standard exercise.

Also, before we broke off for Pesach (or rather before I broke off for Pesach), I celebrated my one and a half year 'pazamoledet' (birthday in the army). This was quite a momentous event as it meant that I had exactly one year to go of my service. A year can pass very quickly, especially since my next 12 months of service is bound to include a month back home in London and a month's holiday before my release that all 'lohemim' are entitled to receive. This all means that a year to go is not such a long time, considering, and I already need to start looking towards life beyond the army. Finishing a year and a half of the army also made me realise that in all that time, I still haven't had a day of 'betim' (being sick while on base) or 'gimmelim' (being sick while at home), or needed to go to an 'aphnaya' (appointment with a doctor). This is an incredible statistic, not only becuase I am a 'kravi' soldier and am involved in physical exercises all the time, but also because that it is such a long time. In basic training there are guys who were always on 'betim', meaning that they didn't join in with everyone else and just did nothing, while there were also those who were at home all the time after getting sick days from the army. It just makes me feel good to know that I have never not joined in on any sort of activity because I was unwell or injured and, let's hope in continues. This doesn't mean to say that I have a exemplary attendance record in the army, as I will explain...

Practicing on the ropes.

It is said that while in 'makim' (commanders' course), it is almost impossible to get time off. Sure you're can have the odd day here and there for a close relative's wedding or barmitzvah, but in general, it is known that any more than four days away from the course could result in being chucked out of makim completely, due to missing too much of the course. However, once again (much like I did in my excessive number of hamshushim during basic training or getting out for my garin's seminar while in jump school) I have somehow got my way around these "rules" and was with my parents for 13 of the 14 nights that they were here. Yes, we were given some time off for Pesach, but I missed at least seven days of 'makim' and am still definitely in the course. The army slang word for getting out of stuff is to "oketz" (literally means to sting) and this can range from missing out on kitchen duty to go to do something else far less horrible, to getting out on a weekend when everyone is closing. Since the start of my service I have built up a reputation as a master 'oketz', because of my endless 'hamshushim' (Thursday weekends), always seeming to get maiximum time off when my parents are here and other countless things too. This art of 'oketzing' is not something I do, in order to screw over my friends (which has never happened) or to get out of doing something hard (I can't remember not being present for a particularly hard activity during my service), instead I have just gained a skill of knowing how to organise myself things I feel I deserve, as a lone soldier, like getting out a day earlier than everyone else if it's possible. This has followed me wherever I've been in the army from basic training to the battalion and now to 'makim'; the other soldiers always seem to notice after a month or two of knowing me that I am very good at dealing with the army and getting things done for myself. This 'oketzing' ability of mine is the best example of how I have successfully integrated into the army and the Israeli mentality. I often joke with my friends how I'll write a book on how to 'oketz' the army for lone soldiers, but don't start to think of me as sly or conniving as I simply understand when 'oketzing' is appropriate, within boundaries and deserved.

Taking a break, after finally finishing two exhausting weeks of navigations.

Talking of which, getting two weeks off to be with my parents was no easy task. All this 'oketzing' I have tried to explain to you is not some way of me trying to be as less in the army as I can, far from it, it is simply my way of dealing with the hardships of being a lone soldier by getting out potentially when I can see that it is possible without affecting anyone else and won't affect me i.e. not missing out on anything important. I also feel that sometimes the army doesn't give lone soldiers enough time off that they deserve and need, and time with one's parents is by far the most important thing for any 'hayal boded; (lone soldier). That's why when I knew my parents' trip to Israel for Pesach coincided with me being in 'makim', I did everything I could to try and be with them as much as I could. My relationship with my parents is incredbily special and not seeing them for a day when they are in the same country as me is devastating and as much as the army can understand that for a lone soldier seeing his mum and dad is important, the commanders themselves don't know what it is like to see one's parents only a couple of times a year. I explained to the commanders of my course that I couldn't see why they wouldn't allow me to be with my parents as much as I could if there was the possibility of making up for lost time on the course by completing things at a later date. That's how I managed to get such a long time off from the army to be with my parents and I honestly believe that I deserved to be with them as much as I was, and I have seen, since coming back to the army, that not letting me off for more than four days initially was simply unccessary as I was able to do everything I missed out on and, in truth, I didn't even miss out on that much!!!

Although he may not look it here, my dad is very proud of my new stripes!!!

Being with my parents was as wonderful as ever. Every time I see them here in Israel is always a special time for us and each time is just as hard as the last to say goodbye. I know that it is a lot harder for them without me than the other way round, so it's important that we make the most of our time together and that is why being with them for practically the whole time that they were here was truly amazing. We all had a great Pesach, as I hope you did too, and it got even better when I managed to get a beard permit for the counting of the Omer, meaning I don't need to shave or cut my hair for anohter month! Also while I was with my parents, was the royal wedding and while my mum and dad weren't bothered and had gone to the beach, for some reason I was glued to the television and watched it for four hours! When I lived in england, I always felt no allegiance to being British whatsoever and would even want the football team to lose in teh World Cup so everyone would be disappointed. Since I made aliyah though, I realised that I've held onto my British identity a lot more that I thought I owuld and I think this is because it is one of the main things that defines me here in Israel and, espcially, in the army where I am known as being from London. Maybe it was the just the excitement of the royal wedding, but I have finally found my British patriotism; it's only taken 20 years and a combination of aliyah to Israel and drafting to the IDF to bring it out of me!!!

So that was my summary of the last month for me here in Israel, apologies for the delay. I am currently off for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut and will write another blog about all that in a couple of days...

Destination: Tel Aviv

This is potentially the last time that I will be writing the blog from my room here in Kibbutz Ortal. Tomorrow, I am completing my move to Tel Aviv, meaning that I will officially be leaving the kibbutz and, consequently, the garin.

Leaving the kibbutz and the garin was a very hard decision for me. When I made aliyah, I joined a program called Garin Tzabar, which helps lone soldiers in Israel by placing them in a kibbutz with other lone soldiers. My garin was predominately from Europe and we were sent to kibbutz Ortal in the northern Golan Heights. For three months we were together, 19 soon-to-be lone soldiers; learning Hebrew, taking trips round Israel and going through the pre-army processes. Even after we went our separate ways within the army, we still came back every weekend to Ortal, in order to see each other. However, over the past six months, many members of the garin have left the kibbutz in order to move closer to the centre of Israel. Although there are many things keeping me in Ortal, like my wonderful host family and my rakaz, Ran, the time has come, for me as well, to move away from the kibbutz. It's so sad to leave Ortal after living here for over a year and a half, but it's time to move on and start a new chapter of my life here in Israel. I thank and appreciate everything that the kibbutz has done for me in helping me to settle in Israel and act as my first home here, and to all the people who made me feel so welcome.

Posing in our colouful berets.


Leaving the kibbutz means that I have, on paper, officially left the Garin Tzabar program and my garin itself. But in reality, my friends from the garin are those who I'm closest to in Israel and I will continue to see them all the time, albeit during weekends in Tel Aviv. As I said, I am moving to Tel Aviv, where I'll be living with a friend from London who has an apartment right in the city centre. For me, it's a nice change to be a lot closer to civilisation and to be living in the middle of a thriving and busy city, as opposed to a kibbutz in the north. I will be as close to living on my own as I have ever done in my life and the challenge of being more independant is quite exciting. While my friends in England are already well into their second year of living away from home, for me it's been a lot different. Although making aliyah and moving to Israel is the biggest move altogether, on the kibbutz, despite living together in a separate building, we were still very dependant on the kibbutz dining room for food, on our host families for washing and on the kibbutznikim for driving us around. Even in the army everything is done for me; from food and accommodation, to clothes and travel!!! So, as you can see, I am very excited to be moving to Tel Aviv, even though it means I need to start using a waching machine all by myself now!!

Now that I am in 'makim', I need to wear the green 'chongiyot', which is a sign of respect that I am in commanders' course...


This past fortnight in 'makim' (commanders' course), I spent the first week in Jenin and the second doing shetach. Guarding in Jenin was definitely an experience and I was able to witness, first hand, the actions of the 'magav' (border police), those guys you see in Jerusalem with riot helmets and batons. Well I can report back (you left-wingers won't like this...) that the commands from up top were very clear in avoiding unnecessary conflict; instead only to deal with threats directly concerning our security. It showed me how (not that I didn't already know) all that stuff you see on t.v. or in the newspaper about army brutality towards innocent Palestinians is simply the anti-Israel media spin on things that we have come to expect in the world. Once again I'm not trying to be too political (albeit unavoidable on this particular topic) but since I have experienced with my own eyes what really happens in the West Bank, it is frustrating to see how the media, so often, seems to blur the truth and give Israel a bad name. I will also remember my week in Jenin for the unusual Friday night dinner that took place with the soldiers and officers of the 'magav', many of whom are Druzi or Israeli-Arab. Doing kiddush with a group of soldiers where the majority were not Jewish was quite extraordinary and it was nice to see them all cover their heads with 'kumtot' (berets) and respectfully answer with "amen". It just shows how weird and wonderful and exceptionally vast the face of the Israeli army actually is.

Me with my class in 'makim'.


This week we were in the 'shetach'
(combat exercises in the open field), which I hadn't done in ages and was, subsequently, unhappily reunited with combat rations for every meal. In the shetach we each took turns in leading a class assault in open warfare, something we would need to do if we became commanders ourselves, either in training or in real combat. Despite being extremely nervous beforehand, I performed quite well in my exercise and was given the compliment from my samal that "even though the language was hard for me, my instructions were very clear". I think he was just being kind as there were a couple of occasions where I needed to repeat myself over the chuckles of the rest of the class, after an initial mistake! All in all though, I actually did do rather well, especially considering that it was the first time that I have ever led something of any nature within the framework of the army. Leading is something that I have had a small experience of doing, but this is limited to the football field or within social circles, this type of leadership, however, is entirely different and, undoubtedly, real leadership. To have gone through this style of leadership training is something that I can truly take with me for the rest of my life; whether I become a commander in the end or not. Learning how to take control and command of a class of 10+ combat soldiers on the battlefield is something very unique indeed and is, without a doubt, the hardest but most rewarding type of leadership there is. It's hard to believe that a mere two years ago I was worrying over my personal statement for a university application, while last week, I was leading a group of twelve combat soldiers from the front; whilst running up a hill and shooting our guns as part of an open warfare assault. It is amazing to think that at the age of 18, boys in Israel learnt this leadership and take with it the massive responsibility of others' lives. In my opinion this is one of the reasons why we are so strong and why we have defied the odds throughout the years with our incredible survival.

Just before going out to the 'shetach' last week.


Earlier today I took a bus from Be'er Sheva to Tel Aviv, a journey which annoyed me so much that I felt the need to blog about it now. After a hard week in the shetach; physically challenging for five straight days, very little sleep and not eating properly, we finally came home today after two weeks on base. We almost didn't leave the army (because of the trouble going on in the south) and found out we have to come back 'mekutseret' (returning to the army on a Saturday night instead of a Sunday morning) because we have a tight schedule of navigations next week. All this just added to my, let's just say, less than positive mood (not to mention a disastrous football result that happened this week) and I was relieved just to be on that bus. I get on the bus to learn that there are no seats left, meaning I needed to stand for the whole of the one and a half hour bus ride. The majority of the seats were being used by soldiers from 'modiin' (intelligence), not undercover secret agents but more like secretaries and desk jobs, in other words; 'jobniks' (an army position that isn't kravi). They were complaining about their 8 hour sleeps every night (!) and how their commander didn't let them out during the middle of the week. I was just standing there, watching them sitting and moaning, and felt dusgusted by the whole system. That being that it seems how we (combat soldiers) do all the hard and dangerous work, but still get treated the worst; through being away from home for long periods, living in bad conditions and going through months and months of a sleepless, exhausting physical and mental routine. Although the army is like a machine that would collapse if one screw came loose, i.e. every role in the army is important; from cleaner and cook, to fighter and intelligence, this incident on the bus did however, remind me how proud I am to be a 'lohem' (fighter) and how it is the only way, in my opinion, to do the army. I hate jobniks!!!

Next week is navigations, again, and then it is Pesach! Pesach means that my parents will be coming to Israel and hopefully I will be given enough time off to see them, as normally taking holiday during 'makim' is very difficult. This will be the last blog then before Pesach, so Hag Sameach and try not to get too sick of all the matzah...

Makim!

Who would've believed it? After everything I may have said in the previous blog, last Wednesday I was officially accepted into commanders' course and successfully started 'makim', which is what we soldiers call the course. So, for the next three and a bit months, I will be based on this army base in the south, where I will learn how to be a class commander of a combat brigade in the IDF.

It's still quite unbelievable for me to think that I have actually gone to makim. Doing commanders' course has always been something that I was interested in doing but it never seemed like a realistic outcome for a number of reasons; including the fact that I am only doing a two and a half year service and also because I am generally a lazy soldier and not particularly suited for makim. However, I packed my bags and arrived to the new base last week, and am absolutely thrilled to be starting this new and exciting part of my army service. Before leaving the preparation for makim at the tzanchanim training base, a number of high ranking officers came to speak to us about the journey we are about to start. For some of those going to mkaim now, it could be the start of a long army career (for me, two and a half years is more than enough!) and going to makim is the first line of 'tafkid' (having a position in the army). That's why makim is quite a big deal as it is the initial stepping stone in qualifying the next generation of those who will lead our army in the coming years. This is what those who spoke to us tried to drill into our minds; that someone needs to take over the reigns of the army when this generation of officers retire. Personally, I haven't and won't ever consider making a career out of the army, despite that an army career gives you a degree, good pay and, most importantly, a meaningful line of work, but there are those who are with me now in makim, who may be the next head of Tzanchanim or Golani. For me however, I just want something different with my life but it is still an absolute honour that I have been chosen to go to commanders' course as part of the service I am giving to the army.

Being in commanders; course means I need to wear a new shoulder tag... It's definitely much uglier than the tzanchanim one!


So the day I had been waiting for arrived and we were sent to the base for makim, in order to see if we would be going to the course. To my absolute shock, my name was called out, as opposed to a couple of others who were not accepted. The reason why I got in was probably down to my fairly good performance during the whole of the preparation course and that being a lone soldier always has a good effect on everything! So I got to my new base and like it normally is when you arrive to somewhere new and strange, the first day is kind of depressing, since you don't know where anything is and don't know anyone either. In the first couple of days of the course I was like a walking frown, missing my friends in Gaza and the life of kav in general. The biggest thing was probably the shock in the change of conditions; from being in a nice, heated room with six of my friends, where I had my own personal space and wardrobe, to being in a wet tent with 16(!) strangers, with no personal space whatsoever. Like all things though, I got used to it quickly and being in tents for the next three months will definitely be an experience. The 16 "strangers" are now good friends and I will get to that in a bit...

The course itself is ok, the biggest annoyance is that it is very much like a "rosh shel tironut" (basic training thinking) i.e. lots of standing on time and inspections, something that I haven't done in nearly a year. Whereas most of the guys have just come out of adavanced training (Aug '10) and are babies in the army without any experience in the gdud, I am a year and a half in the army already with six months of kav Gaza under belt. This is another reason why it was surprising that I got into makim, as they usually don't send guys as old as me (army old as opposed to age) into commanders' course. I have got used to the basic training feel of the course already and understand that the reason it is like that is because a lot of these guys will end up being commanders of basic training themselves. I won't go into too much detail of what we learn during the duration of the course as some of it is beyond public knowledge, but I will try and let you know what the course entails on a basic level. This week was mainly an introduction to the course and the entrance exam consisted of a written, shooting and fitness test, where I managed to secure a personal best of 7:40 seconds in the 2km run. We also had a lot of lessons this week, some of which I can't talk about and other stuff; where we learnt about how to be a commander on a day-to-day basis, dealing with you're soldiers' problems, teaching them lessons and passsing health & saftey procedures. This week was also Purim, which was one hell of an experience, as you'll see in the video at the end...

Being in a tent is horrible...


The best part of makim, without a shadow of a doubt, is that it combines soldiers from all over the army. The commanders' course is for all infantry soldiers, so in my 'tsevet' (team) there are guys from the five regular infantry brigades (Tzanchanim, Golani, Givati, Nachal and Kfir), as well as one from the Druzi unit and one from the Bedouin unit. This means that each tsevet is a real melting pot of soldiers from all the different units in the army and results in, what can only be described as constant banter, jokes and friendly rivalry between the units. Each one is totally loyal to their own brigade and this results in 24/7 arguments about who is better, who had a harder 'shavua milhama' (war week) or whose 'kumta' (beret) has the nicest colour, to name but just a few. As an extremely loyal tzanchan, I know that for most of these things tzanchanim is far superior, but then again the Nachal guy thinks the same about his brigade. The difference however, is that we are actually the best and everyone secretly knows it but is too proud of his own brigade to admit it!! All in all, it leads to hilarious conversations normally ending up in everyone ganging up on tzanchanim. They're all just so jealous of us paratroopers!!! As stereotypes go, each brigade is known for something else, but we all know stereotypes can be very misleading. In saying this, however, I have to admit that in some cases and more often than the average, the stereotypes can be true! Anyone who has a specific affiliation to one of the different units should not get offended here, merely this is all just part of the friendly banter that I have been subjected to for the last couple of weeks. Golani, are either non-disciplined, loud and sefardi, or they are religious. Givati, are hard-working and in shape, but their brigade has no resources so their army stuff is kind of rubbish. Nachal, are good, honest guys but there are also those who are laid back and too relaxed. Kfir's quality of soldiers are defintely lower than the other brigades (!) with a lot of the soldiers' profiles being extreme (too tall, short or fat) but it has to be said that they are hilarious guys!!! And what about tzanchanim. Stuck-up, don't break the rules, ashkenazi, think and know that we are the best. This whole stereotype rant is all done in a very harmless way and it shouldn't influence anyone on where they want to go in the army.

From left to right the range of different kumtot in makim: Tzanchanim (red), Nachal (green), Druzi unit (black), Golani (brown), Kfir (camoflauge) and Givati (purple).


As I said, none of this truly represents the different brigades and they are all good soldiers in their own special way. It's just fun to joke about all the other brigades and despite how much we all love our own unit, it is very interesting to see what goes on over at the other side, so to speak. I think that explains why we wear each others berets at every opportunity possible. The differences just help to define each brigade in their own special way and this is continued to the level of the differnet 'gdudim' (batallions), 'plugot' (companies) and even 'mahlakot' (platoons). The guys in my mahlaka are absolute kings and I have already got close to a good number of them. I've never had problems with making friends while in the army (something I was actually very afraid of when first drafting, as you'll see in the earlier blogs). but this time it's even more special to make friends, as these guys have had a slightly different army experience to me. They are all interested to hear my story; first of all to hear about my time in Gaza but generally to hear about my aliyah journeyand my life back in London. I can already say that some of the guys in my tsevet are good mates and am looking forward to reunite with them tomorrow.

This year for Purim I dressed up as... a Givati soldier!!!


I think it's suitable to mention something about what's going on here in Israel. If you've read the news (although some networks like to ignore the problems of the Israelis and concentrate on other things), then you'll know that there have been a barrage of rockets from Gaza, an explosion in Jerusalem and a massacre in a settlement called Itamar, all in the last fortnight. I don't know what's going to happen here but the awareness of the country and the urgency and emergency levels of the army have defnitely increased. I hope a war will not happen but it is fitting that at this point in Israel's current situation that I should be going to makim. Essentially, the point of going to makim is not to be a commander of basic training, punishing your soldiers with press-ups, instead it is to lead a class of soldiers into battle, As vicious as it sounds that is something that is instilled into the course, in order for us to be prepared for the fact that if a war were to break out at any time in the future, then class commanders are the first line of leadership in combat. Since starting makim, I have come to realise that this style of thinking is not exclusive to commanders' course alone. The whole army is set up and routined in the way it is because in the event of an attack on Israel, the army needs to be 100% ready to deal with our enemies. We are surrounded by countries and terrorist organisations who want to kill every Jew living in Israel and destroy everything we have spent building in the last 63 years. As much as the army can be a fun experience where you gain friends and do stuff that has no connection to war whatsoever, the reason why we have an army is solely because we have to be on constant alert from the threat of terror and war. You can be a cook in the army for three years and never even touch a gun, but it is still important to remember that each aspect of the army is there because of the role it plays in the bigger picture: the defence of our homeland. I never like the blog to have a political edge to it but due to the current atmosphere here in Israel, I felt it was important to mention.

Back to the army tomorrow for another two weeks of makim, I will be sure to post again when I am next out and will carry on telling my story. I want to dedicate this blog to the families of those who were injured in the Jerusalem bomb and to the Fogal family, who were inhumanely massacred in their home in Itamar. Until next time...

Dancing at Purim...

Feeling the competition

This weekend marked the fourth seminar of my garin; a reunion that I have with all the lone soldiers with whom I lived with (and continue to live with) on Kibbutz Ortal. This seminar has been more significant for me than the previous ones, mainly because I have been doing kav Gaza for the last five months, closing nearly a month at a time and, therefore, not seeing some of my friends since the last seminar...

For the last two weeks, I have been based at the Tzanchanim training base, taking part in the preparation for commanders' course. All in all, it has been a fun, but exhausting fortnight, and one where the outcome is still to be decided, as tomorrow I will know whether or not I will be going to commanders' course. In all honesty, it is unlikely that I will be going to 'makim' (commanders' course). As my mum said, I have said this sort of stuff before, for example after the tzanchanim gibush, but this time it is definitely different. I have been sent to the preparation for makim, on a conditional basis, i.e. if anyone else screws up, I would be taking their place. On top of this, I'm fairly 'vatik' (veteran) compared to the rest of the people there, and it is the norm to send people to makim as early as possible in their service. The only way for me to have any chance of going, is if my grades from the last two weeks (a combination of scores from the fitness test, navigations, shooting and, most importantly, a written test on just about everything connected to the army) are exceptional, which I can tell you now, are not that great. Whatever happens, it has been a great experience in this preparation and has given me an idea of the competition and professionalism that is vital in becoming qualified to be a 'mefaked' (commander).

Mucking around on the radio with my lone soldier friend from Canada, just before a navigation starts.

As I said, I actually had a fun couple of weeks in the army, mainly due to (as it always is) the people I was with. I was in a class with 12 other guys, all from tzanchanim, who had all been sent to the preparation course with the intention of them becoming commanders once they have finished the course. It was a real mix of guys; there were soldiers from all the batallions of tzanchanim (101, 202 and 890) and from a range of different draft dates, from November '09 (yours truly) to the very 'fresh' August '10, who received their red berets a mere fortnight ago. I made quick friendsips with a lot of them and, as it always seems to happen since I'm that lone soldier from London who is always speaking English, I became known by everyone in the course. Being one of the oldest ones there, meant that I was able to strutt my 'pazam' (time done in the army) around and use it to my advantage, sort of like how schoolkids do to those in younger years! This was definitely a new experience for me, especially since in the gdud, we are youngest draft and are constantly made to realise it through things like kitchen duty. Apart from the fun of being amongst the older soldiers there (by the way, 'older' doesn't necessarily mean age in the army, as not everyone drafts when they are 18, due to various different reasons, for example I am actually older than my officer in the gdud!!!), it was also cool to tell these guys stories from gaza and what it is like be in the gdud and do something real, as opposed to training. The guys I'm with are all real stars and it just shows the level of quality that those who go to makim, normally have.

Quickly going over the route of the next navigation.


It was not all fun and games though. For the first week we did navigation, which I had done only about month ago. In that sense it was good, since I was one step ahead everyone else (the whole course is rather competetive) and my navigations were all successful. However, I am now a bit sick of navigation in general, despite it being one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things in the army, and especially sick of carrying that f***ing 15kg radio on my back over hills upon hills, for 12km every night! The second week consisted of lessons from morning 'till night, on all the material we learn about as a soldier and as a commander. For me of course, this is twice as hard, not only to concentrate in Hebrew in a classroom for 13 hours a day, but also because the language itself is not your usual street-slang, which I can half-handle, instead it's technical words that even the Israelis were struggling with! Being back at the Tzanchanim training base and having long, full days, felt like I was back in basic training, which made me realise how much I miss the 'old days' and that even when I was being forced to stand on time and was being discplined in every aspect possible, I was and always have had a cracking time in the army. I am, without a doubt, a big 'mor'al' (someone who loves the army), which is normally used in an insulting way, but I don't care!!!

That's what a week of navigation does to you...


Everything was made so much sweeter by the fact that football results have gone my way in the last couple of weeks. I saw Arsenal drop out of three competitions, while my team, Tottenham, have made it through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time ever. The whole course definitely knew about this information as I have not stopped talking about it for the last week and that when everyone was in the classrooms during personal revision time, I was in the tuck shop watching the Spurs game on television! To top everything off, it has also been an amazing weekend here with my garin. It's so fantastic to spend some time with the guys who I still consider my first real family here in Israel and we had a good laugh this weekend in the North.

Garin Bazelet - a year and a half since we made aliyah!


So tomorrow is D-Day for me. Either I get accepted into commanders' course or I return to my company on the kav. I think I have made myself clear as to how much I want to go to 'makim' but I know that there is a high possibility that it won't happen and I need to be prepared for that. I am probably closing next weekend whatever happens, so happy Purim to you all, try not to get too drunk!!!

Sgt. Sank

What a crazy couple days I have had; all leading to me sitting back here in my room in my kibbutz, Ortal, at the start of ANOTHER regila! Yes, that's right, despite only going back to the army on Thursday, following a week's long 'regila' (holiday from the army for kravi soldiers), I was in the army approximately 48 hours before I was sent on another week's holiday!!! I will explain, as we go along...

First of all, let's start with the 'regila' that I just had, it really was a great one. I managed to see all my friends; both from my garin and guys from the platoon, as well as spending some time on the kibbutz. The highlight of the regila was probably the incredible football match where Spurs beat Milan away in the Champions League, but in general, it was a nice break from the army and I relaxed in the days and partied pretty hard in the nights. Right in the middle of my regila, I was called by the army to go to this special event in Jerusalem. The tzanchanim brigade sent a small group of soldiers (mainly officers), supposedly the "best of the brigade", to a boarding school near Jerusalem where we talked to students about their upcoming draft and how important it is to do a meaningful army service. I was obviously picked to go because of my story and when I introduced myself to all the students as a "lone soldier from London", the spotlight was immediately upon me and they were all asking the usual questions. As much as I was annoyed to give up a day of my holiday, it was definitely a worthy cause and a highly enjoyable experience to be with all these high ranking officers; including the commander of the whole brigade and the commmander of the training base, the latter of whom I am now on first name terms with!!!

Watching the Spurs game on the kibbutz - pure pride.

Another thing that happened recently was my change of ranks. I went from being a 'rabat' (corporal) to a 'samal' (sergeant). My rank changed because of the amount of time I have been in the army; all boys become sergeants after completing a year and four months of their service. So although I haven't actually done something to achieve this increase of rank, it does mean that I get to put the three stripes (which represents being a 'samal') on my aleph uniform, the uniform I wear when travelling to/from the army and for formal events. I found out, after reading about it on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant#Israel, that becoming a 'samal' also activates a 1.8 shekel increase in my army wage!! Putting the three stripes on my uniform is a very clear sign of being relatively veteran in the army and since I started my service before the rest of my army friends from November '09 draft (due to the fact that Garin Tzabar participants draft together in October), I am the only one in my platoon, apart from the commanders naturally, who has the priveledge of being a 'samal'!

Showing off my stripes!!!

As I do for every blog, I write down on my iPhone a brief outline of what I will write about in the upcoming post, as it is quite hard to rememeber exactly what happes over a period of seventeen days. Well, I had written a specific topic that I wanted to talk about in this blog but, as things turn out, ironically, it has become even more topical. I was going to talk about one particular thing that has been slowly annoying me in my army service. That thing is how it seems that every time I make a good friend in the army, he ends up leaving me and going to commanders' course. This happened a number of times already; with guys from both my original class on the training base and those who are with my now in the battalion, going off to commanders' course. I was never bothered about not going to 'makim' (commanders' course) as I was never much of a model soldier; staying behind to clean up or volunteering to do stuff was never really my style. I was kind of lazy and was happy to be a 'hapash' (simple soldier i.e. not a commander) for the whole of my service, as I have been very comfortable in the battalion and on the 'kav'. However (I think you can see what's coming here), the night before I went back to the army following my regila, my officer called me to tell me that I was going to 'makim'...

A couple of the guys from the 'erev mahlaka' (platoon evening) that we had on the regila. I had to say goodbye to them, as I left to 'makim' :(

For me this is a massive deal. As I said, I was never keen on going to 'makim'; content on staying a 'hapash' until the end as I have enjoyed being with my platoon and company so much. Another reason why 'makim' didn't suit me was that going to the course would mean giving up on a lot of the lone soldier rights that I take excellent advantage of, for example, taking two weeks off at Pesach when my parents come, is going to be highly unlikely if I am on the course, since every day is supposedly vital in becoming qualified. However, since being told that I would be going to 'makim', I have realised that it is an amazing opportunity and now I am desperate to go for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's another of the many experiences that I have thrived on doing throughout my whole army service; doing a three month course with guys from all the other infantry brigades (golani, givati etc) and learning how to be a commander is a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is also great for your C.V. once you leave the army; to say that you were a 'kravi' (combat) soldier in tzanchanim and completed commanders' course is surely a good way to sell oneself. The more that I have convinced myself that I would never go to 'makim', makes it even sweeter that I have actually been chosen and recommended by my own commanders and it gives more determination to go to the course and really try and do well. I can't tell you enough how happy I am to have been asked and, despite being slightly skeptical at first, am now 100% focused on doing this. However, nothing is definite yet, I am first doing three weeks of prepartion for 'makim' (hence, the reason for the regila) and only after the preparation, will I be evaluated if I am suitable to go to the course. Over the next couple of weeks, I will explain in more depth the procedure of this preparation, as well as what going to 'makim' means, in terms, of the rest of my service.

I am literally over the moon about the whole 'makim' thing and now just hope that everything goes well and I end up going to the course in around a months' time. So, I'm now on another regila (!) and plan to do pretty much the same as what I did in the last one. I will be sure to write another blog after the end of the first week of the preparation for 'makim' and will let you know about what happens...

Mr Navigator

Today is the first day of my week long 'regila', a not-often-enough holiday given to combat soldiers. It's a well-earned break from the four continous months of 'kav' Gaza that tzanchanim have completed so far, although for me personally, it is like a second holiday, following the two weeks off I had with my parents recently.

The 'sho'alim' (wolves) that is my platoon.


The '17' just gone was another really good one, mainly because I managed to go home for a weekend in the middle, as part of an extended day off to sort things out on the kibbutz. It all started with this special navigation course that I was sent to, which was done with the elite paratrooper unit. At first, despite being very interesting, I just couldn't understand the whole navigation thing. Learning about topography and reading maps is not really strength of mine, but by the middle of the week I had slowly started to get it and was succeeding in the navigations. For the final exercise, we had a 12km night navigation without maps (!) and without instructors. My partner managed to get us lost for three hours in his part of the route, but I succeeded in finding all the checkpoints in my half of the navigation (albeit by luckily stumbily onto one of them) and I was able to memorize my 6km half of the route; including distances, directions and a detailed description of the surroundings. By the end of the week I had been converted to actually enjoying it all and the thrill of being in the 'shetach' (open land) alone at night with just a compass and your memory to find your way, was rather exciting. Did I forget to mention the 12kg radio that I carried on my back the whole week because my partner is more of a veteran in the army than me by a mere four months? O ye, that bit was kind of hellish. Anyway, I can now say that I am able to navigate, a skill only taught to the upper echelons of the army; like officers and elite units.

Carrying food as part of company duties in the pouring rain - but still smiling!!!



For the navigation course, we were mainly based at the paratroopers' training base, where I was situated for the first eight months of my service; completing both basic and advanced training there. Going back there was such a fun experience; watching all the 'tironim' (soldiers in basic training) running around, standing for attention and getting punished is always fun once you know that you have "been there and done that". Walking around with the red beret is also a great feeling and made me feel very veteran, as the 'kumta' (beret) is like the Holy Grail for soldiers still on that base, a right that only those who have finished the dreaded masa have. So walking around the base made us feel pretty good about ourselves and reminded me what a long time has passed since it was me standing in line outside the dining room before entering for every meal. Being back on the base also meant meeting up with friends who are now commanders themselves, which is surreal to think how they were once doing press ups with me as punishment but are now the ones punishing their own soldiers with press ups!!!


One of the funniest moments of the 'kav' so far - the patrol car getting stuck in the mud!!!



Despite all the trouble going on in Egypt at the moment, the border with Gaza has, thankfully, been pretty quiet. Nonetheless, I did manage to fire my gun over the border for the first time, albeit warning shots, which was really cool. Also, I met the regiment commander, an extremely high ranking officer, who came to visit us on base. He actually took my place on the patrol, in order to check it all out, so me and him swapped places, in a kind of football-style substitution. It was a ridiculous situation; an officer with 40 more years of army experience and 9 ranks above me (he's a general - two ranks away from chief of staff - compared to my lowly rank of corporal) coming to switch me! I decided against giving him a slap on the back and wishing him "good luck"!! These two events from the latest '17' gave me a realization of the journey I have taken. Looking at where I am now and what I've done (in this last fortnight alone) just shows how unbelievable it all is. To think about what I would worry about two years ago; whether it be to finish an essay on time or stressing about a weekend arrangement and comparing it to what I have to deal with now, not just the whole Gaza thing, but living out here on my own as a lone soldier. Looking at what I'm doing now in comparison to my old life or to my friends in university is a point that I continue to bring up on the blog, thus showing its importasnce to me and something I am extremely proud of.

My new 'kat' (butt) for my gun, which adds to the bling that everyone desires...


As much as I was looking forward to my regila this week, I could definitely tell that my Israeli friends were much more excited than me, which made me realize something. As much as I love my kibbutz, I still don't have that true "home" feeling in Israel i.e. a place I can relate to, like my home in London. This doesn't mean I am unhappy in Israel, as you know that isn't true, it's just that spending my weekends living out of a bag is sometimes very frustrating. I have come to realize that I will only have that "homey" feeling once I have a place of my own out here, which will probably be once I have been released from the army. This living out of a bag and travelling long distances at weekends is simply part of the army experience and something I have got used to. So while my Israeli mates were looking forward to a week of waking up every morning at home, like being on half term from school, for me, it's more like an extended weekend. Saying this, I do love my weekends and am obviously happy to spend a week seeing friends, spending time with my girlfriend and being out of uniform!!!

The company's goldfishes!!!


Got to go now and enjoy my week of freedom! Will be sure to post another blog at the end of the next seventeen...