Mobilizing the Airborne Division - pt. 2

The first night we got to our lookout post as a storm was starting. As everyone was pulling out their rain gear I heard one of my friends start mumbling to himself. He started pulling out things from his bag as he was saying, "No...no...I don't believe it!" It turns out my friend had forgotten to bring his rain gear and most of his cold weather gear. Fortunately for him he had brought a jacket with him.

Being in the North during the winter made it cold enough, but being on a mountain top in the rain really compounded the cold. I was wearing a thermal underarmour shirt and pants, my uniform, a fleece, a rain jacket and pants, a thermal ski mask, and a neck warmer (I had heard stories of how cold the previous week had been and decided I'd rather be safe than sorry). I remember saying to myself, "Wow, its pretty warm. I think I should be good for the night.".... I was wrong.

Right when I laid down to go to sleep the rain started, then it continued and continued for the next 7 hours. This was no drizzle, marble sized rain drops fell from 11 PM until 6 AM. I don't know why but whenever it rains like that I think of the scene from Forrest Gump when Tom Hanks is wading through the water talking about how it just kept raining. I quickly learned that our rain gear was not made for these conditions. I would estimate that it took about 2 or 3 hours before the rain managed to make its way to my clothes. I found myself shivering from the cold and simultaneously cursing myself for thinking I was gonna be warm and wondering whether my friend was catching hypothermia. I distinctly remember having a dream, either having dozed off or out of pure delirium, of a nearby house with nothing inside except for a hot shower. Everyone waited in line to get in, the room filled with steam, and just as I was about to enter I was brought back to the real world by my own shivering. I quickly realized there was not going to be a shower anywhere in my near future.

The worst part was waking up the next day to a completely grey cloud covered sky. During a normal week in the field I lived from sun-up to sun-down. What I mean by that is that the nights nights were a nice escape from the grueling sun and by the morning the heat was a welcome refrain from the cold nights (with the added benefit of drying rain or sweat soaked clothing, since most of the walking takes place at night). When I woke up that morning I new that my soaking wet clothes would not be dry any time soon, and my only hope was that I would warm up when we started walking again.

I packed up all of my cold weather gear and started walking to our next reconnaissance post (You may be asking yourself why I took off all my warm clothing, but I can assure you that no matter how cold it is, once you start walking you will get warm - quickly). After we arrived we set up our gear and prepared ourselves for another night of rain. I was pretty tired of being cold and wet, but on the bright side at least the rain wasn't going to bother me that much.

We had a rotation in which we would man the thermal night vision for 30 minutes and then try and sleep for an hour, lookout for 30 minutes, struggle to doze off for an hour, so on and so on all night. As expected it rained again, but not until early in the morning, and not nearly as hard as the night before. Then in a miraculous turn of events...the sun came out.

Mobilizing the Airborne Division - pt. 1

This past week I took part in the largest military exercise in the last 3 or 4 years. As a conclusion to the three month long training period there was an exercise in which the entire Paratroopers division, in collaboration with several other units, was tested in its wartime readiness.

The exercise was massive and I only saw the little bit in which I participated. There are four Airborne battalions (the 101st, the 202nd, 890th, and the Special Forces battalion) that participated in coordination throughout the week, each with somewhere around 500 people.

As an example of just how immense this drill was, the first day 90 helicopters flew 1,500 soldiers to their respective drop zones to begin the exercise, while simultaneously the 202nd battalion was brought in from the sea with the help of Shayetet 13 (the Israeli Navy Seal equivalent). I'm fairly certain that the budget for fuel alone must have been in the millions. To give a small example of how much money was put into this exercise, the enemy we were fighting was a third-party company that had been hired to simulate the enemy. We had been told that there had been an emphasis on orders to try and kidnap soldiers. It was actually kind of humorous because before we set out for the week our commander told us that if someone tries to kidnap us that we should physically fight back, his words were "I don't care if you have to knock their teeth out!" It was at that point that I decided to myself that apparently the commanders had been told if they lose any soldiers that they should probably expect some heavy handed punishments.

As a favor to me, and my still healing ankle, my commander told me that I would not be participating in my usual role as the light machine gunner this week. Seeing as it would mean carrying about 20 pounds less than I am accustomed to, I was thankful for commander's concern. Unfortunately, I still ended up carrying the stretcher for the team in addition to all of my regular food and gear, I guess sometimes being the only American in a group of scrawny Israelis has its disadvantages. The truth is the stretcher wasn't too heavy, but it took up a lot of space in my bag (we carry 90 liter bags that look something like this except green and not camo: http://uk.shopping.com/xPO-Alpine-Lowe-Alpine-Saracen-90-40-Liter-Military-Backpack) and because we had been told that it was going to rain all week we already had a lot of extra gear to take with us.

My team was in charge of leading our unit because we are trained in reconnaissance, whereas the rest of the teams are trained in anti-tank missiles. To aid us in the beginning of the exercise my team was joined by two dogs and their handlers. One was an attack dog and the other was a bomb/mine smelling dog. I had seen these dogs work in urban settings, but I was interested to see how they were utilized in open field combat like we would be simulating during the week. It actually turned into quite a fiasco. My team of 11, the two dogs and their handlers, along with everyones bag was helicoptered 30 minutes in a black hawk. We were dropped off behind the "enemy" and were hiking to a mountain in order to take the higher ground and clear the way for the other battalions to come in. When we came upon a wide clearing we were told to crouch down and wait for the attack dog to go out and do a quick search. A few minutes later the dog came running up to our sergeant and was jumping all over him. Fortunately for him, the dog was wearing a muzzle for the entire exercise. The handler came over and straightened it out after a minute or two, but this should have been a sign that this wasn't going to work.

After crossing the clearing we met up with the rest of our battalion (their helicopters had landed in a different zone) and began to lead the way to our destination. A few miles later our commanders again decided to send the attack dog out. This time, however, the dog apparently heard rustling coming from someone farther back in the group and ran after him. This is where the problem came about. Apparently, the people who weren't on our team did not realize that the dog had a muzzle on. They saw the dog attacking someone and assumed he was getting mauled. Someone fired a few shots in the air and others tried kicking or hitting the dog off. I don't really know why they thought the bullets would do anything because the dogs are trained for combat, but impressively (at least I was impressed) the dog was unfazed by the blows he was receiving. He only let up when his handler blew his dog whistle. Things calmed down a bit and a medic checked the dog out. He was fine, except for a small cut he got from running to his handler and nicking himself on some barbed wire. Needless to say, the dog experiment was done for this exercise. The dogs walked with us for the next few days, but only the bomb sniffing dog was sent out.

Sidelined

After not being able to participate in my first actual week, I was forced to sit out of the next week as well while my ankle continued to heal. This time however I was actually a little pleased that I didn't have to participate.

The past two months all of the paratroopers have been in a three month training period. This particular week was what is known as a "battalion exercise." The name is pretty self explanatory. The entire Airborne Special Forces Battalion spends the entire week simulating war time conditions. This particular drill we have been preparing for a war with Lebanon or Syria, meaning that the drills take place in the North.

For those unfamiliar with the country's layout, Israel is not a complete desert which I know is what a few people have in mind, especially when thinking about a Middle Eastern country. The Northern portion of the country, the Golan Heights and the Galilee, is actually rather mountainous and actually quite woodland. Therefore, during the winter it tends to get both cold and wet.

My commander and I decided that because of the weight that everyone would need to carry during the week if it would probably be best if I stayed behind for the week. At all times there has to be at least three people at our base making sure that no other soldiers come in who do not have permission. So that is where I spent my week. Mostly relaxing and watching television (we have a TV room with the equivalent of Israeli HBO, one of the few perks of the Special Forces).

When the week was over and I talked to the rest of my team I was pretty glad I didn't try and tough it out. They told me that it was probably one of the hardest weeks that they have had since enlisting. Everyone carried a bag that weighed at least 100 pounds (even two guys who probably weigh about 120 or 130 themselves) and walked about 15 or 20 kilometers each day. However, what they said was the worst part was that it was so cold they couldn't really sleep. Not sure my ankle would have held up for the long hikes, but I'm definitely glad I didn't have to find out.

Sitting out

In the first week that I couldn't really participate in the army (because of my ankle), I'm missing some stuff I was looking forward to. This past Sunday our battalion had a jump with the American Green Berets. Although everyone who participated told me that they never want to jump again and that I didn't miss anything. Apparently, the jump was with a lot of gear. Everyone jumped with vests, guns, ammo, and a giant bag that probably weighed between 40 and 60 pounds.

The day after the jump I went to see the doctor about my ankle (it is already starting to feel a lot better so I'm not too worried) and I ran into one of my buddies. He was there because he hurt his ankle in the jump. He began to explain to me that the winds were pretty intense and that he was getting pulled back and forth as soon as he got out of the plane. He ended up directly on top of another chute. He said that by the time that they got separated he barely had time to release his gear, which is connected by a rope, before he hit the ground. On a normal jump there is about a minute before you hit the ground, on this jump there was about 30 seconds because of all of the gear. His was not the only story I heard, one of the guys on my team told me he landed next to an American who landed on his back and immediately began cursing. In the end it may have been good I didn't jump.

The rest of the week is going to be more urban warfare, with paintball and more intricate buildings than we worked on last week. I'm kind of bummed that I won't get to work with them, but at the same time I think that being able to take a little time off will really help my ankle.

Friday the 13th!!!

As a general rule I tend to believe the Friday the 13th is an unlucky day (at least for me). This goes back to a particular Friday the 13th when I was about 8 years old and was at a beach with all of my Dad's family in Destin. I was building a sand castle and on a trip to collect water from the ocean I didn't notice a broken glass in the sand. You can fill in the rest of the story but without going into the details of the crying and the trip to the hospital I will say that the story concludes with me getting stitches on the toe of my right foot.

So that being said, I didn't even realize that this past Friday was Friday the 13th until my sister pointed it out to me (I don't think Israeli's know about it). So this particular Friday I got out of the army and went straight to my first football game of the season. It poured rain the whole game, literally poured. Blayke tried to come and watch my game, but she got turned around with some of the bus routes and didn't end up showing up until the end of the third quarter (about 4 and half hours after she set out from her apartment on what should have been an hour and half trip). But I'm getting ahead of myself. The game was actually going pretty well. I played running back and outside linebacker. We went up 3 touchdowns, but then after a few fumbled snaps somehow the other team got back into the game. On the first drive of the second half, someone tackled me from behind and my ankle got caught underneath us. I had to be helped off the field didn't get to play the rest of the game (a little while after Blayke finally got to the game). Fortunately, we held onto the lead and won 30 - 22. I guess winning should count for something, but I still think Friday the 13th is an unlucky day.

There was a small write up about the game in which they mentioned me, so I thought I'd put the link up:

http://www.ifl.co.il/52/section.aspx/153 (if that doesn't work you can just go to "ifl.co.il")

Anyway, we have a game this Thursday, but I'll probably be sitting this one out.

War Time Urban Warfare

Last week we practiced urban warfare in a war time setting. In the past all of our urban warfare training had been focused on missions in the West Bank, which is a different style of urban warfare.

In the West Bank we are usually going into someone's house in the middle of the night to arrest them. They don't know you are coming and they usually aren't ready for it. During war time that is not the case. You are going into a home that you have made it clear that there should not be anyone inside. If there is someone inside they probably mean you harm.

For that reason every room that you enter, you enter shooting. Any room that you come to that you are fired at you throw a grenade in. So this is what we practiced this week. It was pretty interesting, except that once again the army finds a way to take the fun out of the things that sound like they might be fun.

I heard throwing grenades into a room...sounds kinda fun. The truth...not so much. For safety reasons the rooms that we throw the grenades into are covered with sand on the floor (so that someone doesn't throw a grenade and have it bounce back out, which apparently happened during a previous training drill pre-sand). What I didn't consider was that entering a room with a dirt floor after a grenade has gone off makes it kinda hard to see, and even harder to breath.

I have a video of it, but I am having trouble loading it. I might try later to see if I can get it to work.

Ok, it took a little while but I got it to upload. You don't get a real feeling for what it is like when the grenade goes off (I stood in the corner and rocks from the roof flew off on to me), but it is still kinda fun to see).

Open Field Warfare Practice

The past two weeks we have been working on our open field warfare. Last week our company practiced its war time assignment. Which for the most part consists of anti-tank missiles, with the exception of my team, which is a sniper reconnaissance team.

What that means is the two other teams were given "targets" that they had to eliminate, and we had to direct them to their targets with our reconnaissance capabilities. Therefore, in each drill (there was one each night of the week) my team would go out a few hours before the other two teams and set up on top of a mountain. From there we communicated via radio to the other teams and told them where they needed to fire.

I simplified it a little bit, but that is more or less what we did for the entire week. We would navigate a few kilometers, set up a reconnaissance stand, pack up and walk until we met up with the other teams, and then usually carry two stretchers for about 5 kilometers until we got back to a bus. From there we went back to a nearby base and started the process all over again the next day.

The week after, we practiced storming hills. The first few days we practiced as a team, and the next two days we practiced as an entire company. The content of the week was pretty regular, other than navigating, I think we spent the most time training on how to storm hills. However the week itself was pretty tough.

Winter is only just started here, but that means rain. And the first few days it sure did rain. I don't know if anyone reading this has slept outside in the rain, but I can tell you that there are few things more depressing than waking up early in the morning, sticking your head out of your sleeping bag and being rained on. I don't exactly know why we didn't have tents, I'll chalk it up to logistical problems, but needless to say I was happy when the rain stopped after Tuesday (keeping in mind our weeks start on Sunday).

We had a few drills that were extremely long, for example storming 4 or 5 mountains in succession. Additionally, we had quite a few drills each day. For a frame of reference, each drill tends to take about 45 minutes to an hour and we have to do each one twice (once without live rounds and then with real ammunition) for safety reasons. In one 24 hour period we did 8 such drills. As a result, the week seemed to inch along.

Nothing to special happened, although there was one time when I kinda felt like Tiger Woods. I remember when I worked at IMG someone had talked about how Tiger Woods time was divided. One of the things that you might not know is that Tiger often has to go play a few rounds of golf with his sponsors. For example, he is sponsored by Cadillac, so he might have to go one weekend to play with the CEO and some of his friends, or put on a show at the range for some their clients (I don't know if you have seen the commercial where he juggles a ball around and then hits it out of the air, but that kinda stuff). So what's the connection? I'm getting to that.

One morning before one of our drills the commander of out entire brigade showed up and told us that there is a company here in Israel, I think a construction company, that sponsors the Airborne Special Forces. Every year the donate tens of thousands of dollars to our company. On this morning there was a group of from this company who had come to watch our drill. Before we started the drill I asked my commander how much ammo to bring (normally I shoot about 200 or 300 bullets in a drill) and he told me to bring as much as I could shoot. So I brought 600. Then before we started our company commander came up to me and said he wanted me to be "deadly" with the machine gun. I wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but I assume he meant shoot a lot, and I did.

Haifa Underdogs

So about two or three months ago I joined an Israeli football team here. I think I mentioned it in a previous post. I don't really understand how it works but for some reason they have a ridiculously long season. I joined, not in the beginning, sometime in June and our first real game is November 13th. Football season usually starts in September and ends in December. Here it starts in November and ends in March. Who knew?

Anyway, I had a scrimmage a few weeks ago in Tel Aviv and a preseason game a week ago in Jerusalem. The scrimmage was pretty fun, we had fifteen plays of offense and fifteen plays of defense against the team from Tel Aviv and the team from Modi'in. The picture above is from the scrimmage. In the scrimmage I played running back, linebacker, and safety. I had some good runs, but didn't score any touchdowns (I'm saving that for the real games). On defense I think I played about 11 plays altogether and probably had 8 tackles (why I didn't play defense in high school I'll never know). It was pretty fun and Blayke was able to come out and see me, so that was nice.

Last Thursday was a preseason game against Be'er Sheva. I didn't think I was going to be able to play because it was on Thursday, but somehow we ended up getting out of the army on Thursday evening and one of the guys was able to swing by and pick me up on the way to the game.

I wasn't sure what to expect in the game because the scrimmage was tough to tell because we tried to let everybody play. Plus we run the wishbone and don't exactly have a quarterback who can throw. To give you an idea of how little we throw the ball at one point the announcer said over the microphone, "Here comes Haifa, and what are they gonna do this time...run the ball!". This works well for me since I play running back, but it doesn't take a defensive genius to realize how to slow us down (or at least I thought). Turns out we are a little better than I thought. By the third quarter when they took me out (I played pretty much every play except for special teams as either running back or safety) we were winning 40 to 0. I ran for probably 150 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 two point conversions.

Our first game is on the 13th of November, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it or not.

Navigating...again

This week was our first week of the upcoming three month training session. Each week has a different "theme," this past week everyone trained on their specific profession within the team. Some people went to learn about various reconnaissance equipment, some camouflage, others rockets, and I went to practice my navigation skills.

As it turns out this was almost a punishment of sorts. Why do I say that, while everyone else had lessons during the day and the rest of the night off to do whatever they want (poker has really picked up in popularity here lately), the navigators, there was about 2 from each of the three units, had lessons during the day and then navigated all night.

I had navigated several times before, I would estimate that at least a third of our training was navigation, but this time was a little different. First of all, these navigations were alone instead of in pairs. Second, they added a few twists. The first and second night in addition to the normal navigations in which they ask you to find a specific location and describe what is written there (something they spray painted) we were also asked to point out specific houses. What does this mean? We would navigate to a point on the border of an Arab village and then someone would be waiting with night vision goggles and we would be asked to take a laser pointer (that can only be seen with thermal night vision) and point out our house to them.

The third night we were given 4 houses that were inside of an Arab village and asked to make drawings of them, which they would later check against pictures they had.

The truth is that it did make the navigations a little more interesting to have a new element thrown in, but I still couldn't help myself from thinking how everyone else was watching movies and basically doing whatever they want while I was walking from 9 PM until 3 or 4 in the morning.

On a side note, on my last navigation I wasted an hour looking for a code that apparently wasn't even in the right place. I new I was in the right place based on the aerial photographs I had seen, but the code wasn't there. I called my friend who was in charge of the navigations (as a general rule phones are not allowed, but since this was a week for self improvement I don't think they minded) and described to him the place where I was located only to have him tell me that someone had had the same point two weeks ago and told him that it was 20 meters south of the place it was supposed to be. Needless to say that after wasting close to an hour looking for that spot I was pretty frustrated.

Leaving the West Bank

The last few months I have been stationed in the West Bank.  There really hasn't been too much to report, I spent most of my time guarding the Jewish settlers and occasionally entered a few of the Arab villages to arrest terrorists (which at the time I deemed a little too confidential to reveal in such a public forum).

However, seeing as how we just finished our post in the West Bank and are going to be starting a three month drill in which we refresh everything we have learned, I think it is probably alright to go into a few details.  Over the last two months our battalion has been asked to arrest several terrorists, but the majority of the arrests were canceled at the last minute.  For instance, we obtained information that there was a Hamas member in a nearby village with several weapons at home, but before we moved out the mission was canceled because it was unknown which of three potential house he would be in.  

The largest mission we went on took place in Nablus.  Before two or three years Nablus was considered the most dangerous city in the West Bank.  Soldiers who entered could expect to be met with heavy resistance in the form of road side bombs or gunfire.  These days the resistance is minimal to non-existent but the Hams and Fatah members continue to use Nablus as a hub for terrorist activity.  Unlike most missions which entail one or two teams, 4 of the 5 teams in our battalion took place in this mission.  My team was asked to help surround the bomb makers home in case he attempts to escape as one of the other teams entered his home and arrested him.  The mission was a success and we met with no resistance.  

Other than a few other canceled missions we didn't see much action.  We are now going to the north for a refresher in all of our training in order to remain war-time ready.  

Getting Back in the Swing

I took a small hiatus from the army during the month of July.  I was given a month leave to go home and visit family and friends.  The best part was that the army actually payed for my entire flight.

I got back to Israel a week ago and spent most of the first week getting all of my gear back.  This week I met up with my team at our outpost in the West Bank.  We  spend most of our time guarding and patrolling the villages in our immediate area.  Even though I'm half way around the world from the US I still find the culture permeates here in various forms.  Yesterday I was in the mess hall listening to the radio.  Because we are in the West Bank we actually pick up the radio from Jordan.  The funny thing is this is what I hear, "Kiss 102.5 Jordan's Hit Radio Station" followed by Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow."  When I was in Austin, Texas a month ago the song came on every 5 seconds, and now a month later I can't escape it.  Even in the Arab country of Jordan!

Last weekend I went to my third IFL practice.  It was my second practice with pads and the first practice in which we were hitting.  It was actually kind of humorous.  They have some large guys (I'm talking 6'4'' 260), but these guys grew up playing soccer.  They try and tackle or block and they just stand straight up or will come up to make a hit and stop on contact.  For those of you who haven't played football this pretty much neutralizes all of their size.  The team has some potential but its gonna take a lot of work.  Oh...and I forgot to mention that we don't exactly have a quarterback so the coach is planning to run pretty much every down.  Which I guess is a good thing if I am going to be a running back.  Although it does make me a little suspicious as to how he plans on keeping opposing defenses honest.

Not too much going on right now.  We finish up our posting in the West Bank in another month and then we'll be starting a brigade wide exercise for two or three months.

Return to the Gridiron

Just when I had almost given up all hope on sports in Israel, I received an intriguing phone call.  I was in the middle of Shabbat dinner when I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize.  The voice on the other end of the line introduced himself as the coach of the Haifa Underdogs.  I had no idea what the Haifa Underdogs was, so there is no chance you would have heard of it.  As it happens, the Haifa Underdogs are one of 5 football teams in the Israel Football League, a league created by Patriots owner Robert Kraft.  It is an 8-on-8 league in its third year of full-contact.  The coach said asked if I was interested in coming to their practice the following day, and that he would be willing to be pick me up and take me there (I didn't know at the time, but one of the members of the team knows a friend of mine).

I didn't have anything better to do, and I was pretty curious about seeing what it would be like, so I told him I'd be there.   The next day I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but I was somewhat surprised with the turn out.  There were maybe two Americans and the rest were Israelis.  There definitely was a little "Bad News Bears" about them, but at the same time there were a few guys with some potential.  Perhaps the funniest thing was that when everyone was split up into different positions I was sent to the running backs group.  Actually, I don't know what is funnier, that I practiced with the running backs or that I was actually pretty good.  Who knows maybe my real talents were wasted through out high school.  Not to mention, I don't know if I would stand much of a chance against there line men, who were all at least two of me put together.

It wasn't particularly serious, they only practice about 2 times a week, but that actually works out well for me since I only get out of the army every now and then.  The whole way home I couldn't help but think how it reminded me of a book I read recently by John Grisham, Playing for Pizza.  About American Football in Italy, and how the players aren't payed but receive free pizza and beer after each game from one of the players who owns a restaurant.  

Just when I thought the training was over

The past two weeks I have been participating in some supplementary training.  As a result of the Second Lebanon War the training regiment has been rearranged with an emphasis on open field warfare.  Apparently, the army felt that its soldiers were not under prepared for the last war and thought it necessary to devote almost the entirety of our training to wartime efforts.  Thus, leaving a rather important gap in our training - the  "peace"time training.  

The primary task of the IDF Special Forces during "peace" time, as of 2002, has been defined by "Operation Defensive Shield" (http:en/.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Defensive_Shield).  From that point on, Israeli forces started crossing the border into the West Bank and arresting terrorist in their home.  So this would be the work that we would be doing (although it is relatively quite these days and there actually isn't much work to be done).

In order to prepare for this work an additional two weeks was added to our training.  The first week was devoted entirely to a special style of Urban Warfare shooting.  Unlike open field warfare, Urban Warfare takes place at a much closer range.  Therefore, the techniques used for shooting differ greatly.  The concept of what we were learning is that close range combat requires  multiple bullets shot in rapid succession.  Over the course of the week we fired over 30,000 bullets in an effort to acclimate to the kickback of shooting 5 or 6 bullets in under 2 seconds.  I put a video on so you can see what it is like, in this video they are practicing how to fix your gun when it jams.

The second week was a little more diverse.  We spent one day practicing how to sneak around in a city without being seen.  We actually did this in Tel-Aviv and it was pretty funny.  We were a group of soldiers with full out face paint, M-16s, and night vision lurking in the shadows of a the biggest city in Israel.  You would be surprised how close you can get to people without them seeing you.  There was one couple who were literally 5 feet from me having an argument about whether or not they saw soldiers.  The woman was adamant "She saw 1...no 2...no 3 soldiers!"  And while her boyfriend was convincing her that he didn't see anyone I was laughing that she didn't see the other 5.  I have a hard time imagining this drill working anywhere in America.  I just can't think American citizens would take too kindly to soldiers sneaking around, more accurately I can't imagine them not freaking out.

The rest of the week we spent learning how to work with dogs, how to sweep a house (using paintball guns), and the specifics of how to surround a house and make an arrest. 

The Last Week of Training

For some reason unbeknownst to me, our commanders decided that our last week of training would also be one of the longest weeks of training. During a normal week we start Sunday afternoon or evening and finish Wednesday evening (When I refer to the "week" I mean the time that we actually are training. Usually Thursdays are spent cleaning and checking all of our gear). This week we started Saturday night and finished Thursday morning.

The premise of the week is to simulate what a week at war would be like. This particular war was with Syria. We were given a briefing on Friday so that we would know what our specific missions would be on Saturday night. Our entire company was going to walk 10 kilometers, and then split up into different assignments. My team, as the sniper/recon group, was charged with climbing a nearby mountain and offering both intel and covering fire on two parallel mounds where the Syrians had set up. At this point it was the job of two of the other teams to storm those hills.

So we set out on our mission Saturday night at midnight. Once again everyone with a bag that weighed somewhere close to 100 pounds. I didn't think it would be possible to have a bag heavier than the one I had carried in my individual navigation two weeks prior, but I was mistaken. I had all of the same personal gear, but this week instead of carrying my M-4 I brought the machine gun and all of the ammunition, which adds another about another 40 pounds.

Around 6 AM we finished our task and "crossed the border" in the search for a location we could set up camp during the afternoon. We arrived around 9 AM and were given our first break since setting out. What I didn't know was that it would be both short-lived and the only break we got for quite some time. An announcement came over the radio about 3 hours later that we were moving out. At the time I had been catching up on a night of lost sleep and when I looked at my watch I was in disbelief. We were being asked to pick up all of our gear and start walking again during the hottest part of the day! For those unfamiliar with the Middle East there are only two seasons - Summer and Winter. So just to be clear, we are already well into the summer at this point and this entire exercise was taking place in the desert. With all of that in mind, everyone packed up and started walking to another drill. In retrospect the first day was definitely the most physically and mentally challenging. The first 29 hours from Saturday at midnight until Monday at 5 in the morning I think we walked 24 of those hours.

The week proceeded much in the same way. We walked from drill to drill, at the end of which we would have a long march carrying "injured" soldiers. Normally, this would not be too terrible. When someone is injured 4 soldiers would carry that person on a stretcher. Unfortunately, my team did not have a functioning stretcher. At first we thought this was a good thing, perhaps we would simply not be asked to carry wounded soldiers. That, however, was not the case. On these marches that usually lasted anywhere from 4 - 7 kilometers, we carried our wounded brethren on our shoulders in the standard fireman's carry. This in and of itself often proves a difficult feat when scaling mountains, but when you have to do this with a gigantic bag already on your back it makes for rather slow traveling.

One night there actually was a kind of funny story, or maybe it was just funny to us in our delirium. We were given one portion of food rations (in said rations there are four cans of tuna, one can of corn, one can of olives, a small tin of sardines, one I can only describe as a kosher version of SPAM called loof, and a candy bar sized piece of halva (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halva)) for four people every 24 hours. Meaning that at some point in the middle of marching every day we would come to a point where we could refill our water and receive our rations for the next day. One night the guy in charge of the week decided to leave the food hidden by the side of the road with a replacement stretcher for my team. When we arrived to retrieve the food, five minutes after it had been hidden, we couldn't find anything. Our commander radioed to control trying to determine the exact location of the food, but we couldn't find it. Turns out, in the five minutes that the food was there a group of Bedouins came and took all of our food, and the stretcher (I like to think they opened the stretcher up, piled all the food on, and walked off).

The only thing that stands out as out of the ordinary was the last night. The last night we were helicoptered to a location (actually farther away from our eventual end point) where we than began a 16 kilometer hike to the top of a mountain which would symbolize the end of our training. At this point we were joined by various members of our team who had been sent out to various courses (such as commanders course). We walked to the base of the mountain, where we then opened up stretchers and raced the last 4 kilometers to the top. It was a pretty great feeling when we finally finished. My team made it to the top first and we celebrated with some food and one of my commanders brought a bottle of champagne. After a small ceremony we were told the buses were waiting for us at the bottom of the mountain, another 4 kilometers back down.

Before the week started I vividly remember telling the people I was sharing the food with that there was no need to bring the loof or the sardines because I would not be eating them and it was just extra weight. I also remember that by Tuesday night I was eating both my words and the sardines. We had been through a few other weeks in which we ate almost nothing, but I don't remember a week in which I felt as hungry as I did in that week. I was going to write some absurd analogy in which I explained that I was so hungry I would have probably eaten sand, but then I remembered that on the last day I reached the point that we had nothing to eat and I literally started to eat a packet of ketchup.

It was after this week that I really began to understand what people mean when they say that there are things that you will do that others won't be able to understand unless they have done it. When the week was finally over I had plenty of people ask me how it was and what we did, but there really isn't much to explain. I can say we walked...a lot (probably something like 120 kilometers over the course of the week), but it really doesn't begin to explain how difficult that trek was. Walking up and down mountains in the heat, with a bag that weighs half of your body weight, every few seconds trying to arrange something so it will sit better because if your bag is just a little off-center all the weight will be on one shoulder and what was difficult before reaches the brink preposterous.

End of Training Individual Test - Close Combat (Krav Maga)

Just as a warning in case this post seems out of context it is actually a continuation of the previous post.

So, that being said, I'll pick up where I left off.  As the final part of our "Individual Test" we had a Krav Maga session that lasted from 11 PM until 6 AM the next morning.  As a reference, a normal session is usually somewhere between an hour and a half and two hours because it is two hours (or in this particular instance 7) of all-out physical exertion.  

Normally, we begin a lesson with a warm-up of about 30 minutes.  This includes wind sprints, push-ups, and various aggression drills.  On this night our "warm-up" lasted the better part of two hours, the majority of which I spent crab-walking.  This was my first Krav Maga session with the entire company, it is usually one team at a time, so there were several instructors who divided up the teams.  Each team did something a little bit different.  One team mostly sprinted, one hung from the pull-up bar the majority of the time (I'm not quite sure the purpose of this drill), and after a few sprints my team and one other team crab-walked for about an hour and a half (for those who are unfamiliar, the crab-walk is basically sitting down, lifting yourself off the ground with your arms and legs, and then walking on all fours).  It actually isn't to terrible, and probably preferable to sprints, except that after about ten minutes your joints start to ache, especially your elbows.  Needless to say, after an hour and a half I was pretty certain I would be struggling to keep my arms up to defend myself, let alone manage to throw a punch of my own.  What I hadn't bargained for was the amount of kicking that would go on in the next 5 hours.  By the time the session was over there were at least 10 people sitting on the side, and I don't think there was one person who wasn't limping.

After the warm-up everyone put on the appropriate gear and broke up into four circles for the combat portion of the test.  The general principle behind the test was simple - one person enters the circle and fights several combatants in a row, and often simultaneously, beyond the point of exhaustion and until the instructor is satisfied that he has squeezed every last drop of energy and aggression out of said individual (I tried to post a video, but it said it was loading for about two hours and in the end I don't think it worked, if I get a chance I may try again).  In my specific circle the instructor is someone I had never worked with before (he normally works exclusively with the reconnaissance team), and for some reason, I assume my size (the average Israeli is built more like a "David Beckham" than a "Brian Urlacher," to say the least) he seemed to take a liking to me.  Which in this setting is not a good thing.  Time and time again I was called on to enter the circle to face various opponents.  

Towards the end the instructor decided on a tournament style of combat.  Fights were held one-on-one and the winner advanced.  After two rounds I had made it to a three way finals.  Going into my first fight I decided I would try to mix things up a little.  With the thick vests everyone was wearing (there is a thinner version, but apparently for a 7 hour Krav Maga session the thinner version would lead to too many injuries) punches were extremely inefficient, and low kicks had to be well timed and well placed.  I figured I would try going with the knees.  Twenty seconds into the fight I realized my opponent had the same idea, and my left knee met bone-to-bone with his.  I had to take a few minutes to recuperate on the side, during which time I apparently forfeited my fight.  Meaning the third guy, one my buddies, was the crowned the champion of our circle, which turns out was a blessing in disguise.  He was then sent to all of the other circles as our representative.  Therefore, I was given a welcome break.

The third and final phase of the test was what is known as an "absorption exercise."  The idea being that absorbing punishment is a good way to teach you to take a hit, or more appropriately - a beating, and to teach you how to throw a punch (for the person doing the hitting).  So, my team stood up against a wall alternating between being the absorber and the one dishing out the punishment.  At this point everyone was both tired and nursing various injuries, when combined with the fact that at the end of the day the person you are beating is your friend made for a rather dangerous situation.  On the one hand, you have the option of not hitting your partner very hard.  However, on the other hand, if one of the 5 instructors or 8 commanders sees you not giving 100% they would take it upon themselves to show you what 100% is (and the person who is up against the wall really doesn't want that).  Mercifully, the session came to an end after about an hour and a half of the absorption exercise.  I actually have some video from this, but I think it is probably better if I save that for a different forum.

The End of Training Individual Test - Navigations

We have reached the final stretch. As I write this post I only have one more week of training left, which is actually hard to believe after being in training for the past year and 5 months, but after our last week I know that this upcoming week is going to be a doozy.

DISCLAIMER: This post is long, to quite long.

The last few weeks of training are meant to be a test of everything we have learned until this point. The tests are set up essentially in the same manner as the training itself. We start on the individual soldier level, then team, and finally work our way up to the entire company. This past week we had our individual test (I am sure there is a better translation, but it literally translates as "The Individual Summarization"). The week consisted of three navigations, krav maga, and a shooting test. I'll try my best to explain what transpired over the course of the week, but no matter what I say it won't really be able to do it justice - it was just that hard!

We were all given our routes and maps to study the weekend before the first navigation, which should probably have triggered some warning that this was not going to be just another navigation. After plotting out our route I soon learned why. Along the path to collecting our various points everyone was going to have to scale not one, but two extremely steep mountains (Mount Kamoon and Mount Chazon, for those who may be familiar). In addition to the challenge of navigating alone we were also going to be walking with all of the gear we would need for the week, plus a little extra. Normally, I would try to guesstimate for you how much I had to carry in my bag over the course of the week, but as it turns out I don't have to guess. After we had packed all of our food, water, clothes, radio, rain gear, shovel, more water, and various other gear we were all weighed. According to the scale my bag weighed 40 kilos (or 90 pounds for those of you, who like myself two years ago, have no idea how the metric system works.  You can see a good picture of the bag above).

Sunday night we waited for the sun to go down, and set out on our navigations around 8:30 PM. It was on this first navigation of the week that I learned two important lessons that I would use when planning routes for the rest of the week. First, whenever possible find paths. Second, if it means you have to walk an extra 4 or 5 miles - find paths! Our first navigation was between 25 and 30 kilometers (15 - 18 miles). Most of the time this would mean we would finish after about 7 hours, a pace of about 4 kilometers per hour. I think that even with the added weight it would have been possible to finish the navigation in a 3 or 4 kilometer per hour pace. The true problem, however, proved to be the extremely dense undergrowth (and over- and midgrowth for that matter). Making my way up and down mountains proved grueling. I actually had an internal debate (there is a lot of time for internal dialogue when navigating for hours alone) as to whether it was harder going up the mountain or down. At first glance it would seem obvious that going up a mountain would be more difficult, however, when there is no clear path between trees and boulders going down the mountain with an additional 90 pounds on your back can also prove to be rather challenging. The truth is, even the slightest miss-footing with a giant bag on your back usually means you are gonna take a tumble. Fortunately for me, most of the time I was able to lean back and fall on my bag. There were one or two occasions, however, in which my foot found a hole and I fell forward. All I can say is that in these particular occasions I was thankful there wasn't someone with a camera around. I would find myself in the awkward "turtle-like" position in which all of your weight is on your back and you simply can't move. I would spend a good 5 minutes rocking back and forth trying to right myself (although in retrospect I guess I could have just taken the bag off, but in my defense that was also a 5 to 10 minute ordeal).

Throughout the course of the navigation there are various points which everyone must cross, so that the commanders have an idea of where everyone was and at what time. One of these points just so happened to be at the top of a mountain. After climbing this mountain for about two hours, I finally reached the top. The disappointing part of getting to the top was that I had to say hello to my commander and then go right back down. After collecting all of my points, I started to make the hike to the ending point around 8 AM. Another 3 and half hours later, 15 hours after I started and in the sweltering heat I staggered to the end point. There I was greeted by my commander who handed me an envelope with the points for my next days navigation. When I arrived at 11:30 I assumed I was one of the last people to arrive (my radio actually didn't work, so I couldn't hear everyone who had been getting lost all night begging for help). As it turns out, there was someone on my team who didn't finish the first navigation until 5:30 PM, 21 hours after starting!!! After finishing I was told to divide my time between food, sleep, and study. I actually wasn't that hungry but I tried to eat a little so that I could cut down on the weight I was carrying, even if it was only a can of corn (I figured better not to carry it around all week).

At 10 PM we set out on our second navigation of the week. After the first night I had planned the majority of my second navigation on paths or next to roads. Don't ask me why, but for some reason I let one of my friends talk me into cutting through the woods down the mountain (I forgot to mention, but the end point of each navigation was the starting point for the next days navigation) for my first kilometer. I had originally planned on walking an extra 3 kilometers on a path (rule #2), but he gave me an "Aaah, its just a little foliage" and like an idiot I listened to him. Needless to say this was not a good idea. I spent the better part of an hour pushing my way through thorn bushes, until I came to what I can only describe as a 10-15 foot cliff. Of course I tried to go around, but as it turns there was no way around. I found one place where I could jump down, but I literally had to take my bag off and throw it over the cliff. I had to do this one or two more times, but I finally made it to the road. The rest of the first half of the navigation went pretty well, I just wish I could say the same about the second half.

Right when I was about to leave for my navigation the commander of our whole company came over and looked out my route. He was then kind enough to inform me that there was an army base that does not show up on the map but that I had planned to walk right through it, which of course would not be possible. As a result, I had to change my route at the last minute, which I am sure I don't have to tell you is never a good idea when you are navigating with only a compass and your memory. As I am sure you can imagine, the part of my navigation that I changed at the last minute just so happened to be the part where I got lost. I spent three hours at the top of a mountain stumbling over rocks and wishing I had a machete, while looking for one of my points. I eventually assumed I was not in the right place and started to make my way down the mountain. I eventually was able to figure out where I was (4 kilometers from my next point, 4 kilometers in the wrong direction. Meaning I would have to walk there and back, making it 8 kilometers). I was fully prepared to accept my fate and begin the march that would add an extra 2 hours to my navigation, but my commander informed me (I called him because my radio didn't work) he preferred I get to the end on time. It was about 6 kilometers away and I had a little more than an hour. It was definitely doable, but to steal a term from American army slang, I would have to "double-time" it. I finished this navigation at 8:30 AM and about 3 minutes before my time expired, once again in the heat of the day but the third person from the company to finish.

My third navigation was less eventful. I stuck to the roads and it paid off. It may have lengthened my navigation a bit, but in the end it definitely proved faster. There was one point that I didn't find (what I discovered later was that in my exhaustion I had misread the coordinates and placed the point on the wrong place on the map). I started this navigation at 7:30 PM and finished at 3:00 AM. What the navigation was lacking in adversities, it certainly made up for it at the end.

At 5 AM everyone who had reached the last point was woken up and we were told to put our gear back on. We were told that we would be climbing the mountain that we were sleeping next to. At first glance this may have come as a surprise because the mountain next to us looked more like a cliff face then a mountain that we could possibly climb. However, I new before we started the night that it would end like this. After the week we had just had there was no way our final point would be at the base of a mountain and not at the peak.

It just so happens that the mountain is somewhat famous in Israel. It is called Mount Arbel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Arbel). I found a particularly interesting quote on Wikipedia:

 "On the south side, there is a gradual prolonged climb through agricultural and pasture land while on the other, there is a very steep 400 meters drop. At the top of the steeper Northern side, there are metal handholds driven into the rock because the climb is so steep."

 I think it goes without saying that we went up the North side. I don't know if it was the lack of thorn bushes and other thickets, but it actually wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, the path was so steep that people had to take breaks every few minutes to sit down and catch their breath, but after about an hour and a half I had reached the top. I wish I could say that I had also finished the week, but it was just the end of the navigations - there was still krav maga.

(For those who made it this far, other than my mom, I'll spare you some reading and save the krav maga for the next post).

The Advance Team

Two weeks ago everyone broke into different groups to learn different specialties. There was a group that was sent to learn more in depth about building camouflage stands, a group that went to learn more about navigating, a group that was chosen to be the advanced team, and everyone who was leftover stayed to guard the base.

I guess I might have ruined the surprise with the title of this post, but I was sent to be a part of the advanced team. I had actually thought, and others also assumed, I would be a part of the navigating group after my results from the last week of navigation. It was later explained to me that it is extremely rare for someone to be both a navigator and in the advanced team (and the advanced team takes priority). It is actually somewhat logical, if I am going to be carrying the light machine gun and all of the ammunition it would make it rather difficult to concentrate on navigating.

In each advanced team there is a commander, his radio man, a light machine gunner, and a sharpshooter. Because it is a relatively small group of people there was almost one instructor for each person. Due to the nature in which these instructors like to teach it made for a rather intense week. There was very little downtime.

The main idea of the week was to build chemistry among the advanced team, which will be crucial in future missions. The first two days we focused on open field warfare. We practiced storming hills and basic formations. The next day we spent working on urban warfare. This consisted of a review of searching buildings and a quick crash course on arresting suspected terrorists in their homes. All-in-all it was a very productive week. We also advanced significantly in our hand-to-hand combat skills. We were taught how to disarm an attacker who is using a handgun or melee weapon. Granted it was explained to us that disarming someone with a handgun would only actually be helpful in the instance of a mugging because if the handgun were in the hands of a terrorist they would just shoot rather than point the gun at you and start asking you questions.

Post Navigation Fun

One of the things that our commanders try to instill in us during training is the need to be ready for the unexpected. During a mission you may receive orders that require you to adapt your plans. The preferred way to train for this (at least among our commanders) is when you are the most tired. Therefore, usually once a week we have something that is what they call an "unplanned act." Meaning that at the end of the week, after you have finished whatever your training may be for the week you are asked to do one more thing when you are at the height of exhaustion.
However, at this point in our training the "unplanned acts" are rather predictable. All you have to do is look around, pick the tallest mountain in the area and know that at the end of the week you will be climbing that mountain while carrying one or two stretchers.
After finishing our week of navigation we were asked to climb Mount Tavor. We spent the entire week navigating all night and barely sleeping. When we got on the bus Thursday morning we all new that we would be getting off rather quickly. As expected, we got off the bus 10 minutes later and were told to open up a stretcher.
We then spent the next hour and a half walking vertically up the mountain. In the pictures above you can see what we did. The first picture is of Mount Tavor taken from the end of our navigation (I had a feeling we might be getting a closer look at it).
I was pretty surprised out how well the team did. Aside from being exhausted from lack of sleep, this was our first navigation carrying added weight, so everyone's shoulders and backs were pretty sore as well. It turns out though that our team was able to scale the mountain the quickest. Our commander later explained that by the time we had reached the top and walked back down the mountain the other teams were only just arriving to the top.
I know that these "unplanned acts" are pretty annoying at the time, but they definitely give you the confidence that is crucial if you were suddenly asked to carry an injured soldier miles up and down mountains. I feel certain that if a situation ever arrived where we were asked to do that very thing we would be just fine.

Navigating in the North

We recently had another week of navigating in the North.  There are actually several differences between navigating in the North and the South.  For instance, in the North there are forests, dense foliage, and a lot more populated areas, whereas the South is mainly desert.  As a result, navigating in the North is generally considered more difficult because it is harder to distinguish between channels and rivers due to the foliage, but some prefer the North because it is more interesting (I say some because I do not include myself in this group.  Personally, I prefer the easier navigations so that I can finish earlier and sleep more).  In the end the most substantial difference between the two is the seemingly endless number of fences, mostly barbed wire, that one finds in the North.  Along with all the dense foliage and populated areas comes the fields, which tend to be fenced.  I can say with experience that there is nothing more annoying than spending ten minutes trying to climb over or under a barbed wire fence with all of your gear only to find another ten feet from the first, or as often is the case as many as 4 or 5 in succession.  

Venting aside, it actually was a pretty good week for me.  We had 4 navigations throughout the week.  During each navigation you are given 3 points that you must reach along the way.  These points are then checked by what codes you find written at there.  At the end of the week I was rewarded by getting to go home a day early because I was the only person in our entire company who found all 12 of my points.  

Although I was successful in my navigations I can't say the same for my partners.  In each pair the navigation is divided into halves and each person knows only one half.  The reason for this is safety.  It is safer to navigate in pairs in case someone gets hurt.  Therefore, each navigation is essentially individual, but you have a partner who is along for the ride and in the dark.  Depending on your partners navigating aptitude it can often turn into the blind leading the blind.  This was the case in one of my navigations.  We set out at 10:00 PM on our navigation.  I navigated the first half and we arrived at the halfway point at midnight.  My partner then proceeded to lead us aimlessly in the search for his points.  I'll spare you some of the details, but in the end we spent 6 hours walking through the woods until we came upon a road.  We let our commanders know we were lost (we were supposed to have finished our navigation 3 or four hours earlier) and that we had come to an intersection.  They checked the map and informed us somehow we were a mere 2 miles away.  They then proceeded to give us 20 minutes to run to there location with all of our gear.

While getting lost is somewhat unpleasant, it in no way compared to what happened on my last navigation.  My partner navigated first and of course - got lost.  We had no idea where we were but had a general idea of which direction to walk.  We literally lucked our way into finding the halfway point, with a little help from another pair we saw along the way.  To my dismay we somehow managed to get there relatively early.  This meant we were sent back to look for the points my partner didn't find (although he didn't really look for them when he realized he had no idea where he was).  None of this really bothered me, the problematic part came next.  My partner's point was in a ravine, and when we got a half a mile away we realized that to get there we would have to traverse what amounted to a forest of shoulder-high weeds.  Now normally this would not be a problem, but at about 5 in the morning the weeds were covered with dew.  It only took about 2 minutes for all of my pants to get soaking wet, and for those of you who haven't seen 5 AM recently it is pitch black and cold, so when you are soaking wet you are really freezing.  This made for a miserable second half to the navigation.  The only upside was that it took my partner so long to navigate that the sun started rising by the time I started my half.  

Camo

As the title implies we recently learned the basics of camouflaging ourselves in various surroundings. We were told on various occasions that the specifics, as in the gear that we use, are particularly classified information, but I'll try to do my best to explain what I can.

First of all, this week just so happened to fall on the Jewish Holiday of Purim. For those of unfamiliar with the holiday, or who want a refresher, you can follow this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim. In Israel the holiday has a very "Halloweeny" feel to it. It is customary to wear costumes and is a favorite among young kids. It is also popular among the older kids as well because it is considered a good deed to get so inebriated that you can not remember your own name (it mentions something about it in the wikipedia article under "Purim Meal"). Out in the field we didn't exactly celebrate the way most people do, although Purim falling on the week wear we were learning camouflage was rather aperpo. We still got to dress up, but we all dressed up like bushes and trees. We also got a chance to hear the story of Purim read from the scroll (pictured above).

Because this was the basic camo week it was kind of like an introductory class, meaning there was a lot information jammed into a short amount of time. We spent the week going back and forth between various types of stands and the intricacies of building them. Perhaps more important than the stands themselves is what they are used for. For the most part the stands are a means of reconnaissance, but they can also be used for attacking as well. The problem with reconnaissance is that someone has to be awake at all times. Meaning that if you have spent all day learning and building stands when it comes time to put it into practice, mainly at night, you are already dead tired. And as the week wears on the feeling only intensifies. Fortunately for us, our commanders were up to the task of making sure we stayed a wake.

In order to make sure we are awake, we need to check in via radio every hour. Lets just say that it didn't take long for people to start drifting to sleep. Even in a group of 6 people on rotating shifts we had trouble staying attentive (I actually think the rotating shift makes it even harder. Imagine being awoken from slumber and told to stay awake and stare into the dark for 30 minutes and then go back to sleep, I promise it is harder than it sounds.). My group was kind of lucky. When we got caught we had to crawl up and down a mountain and then carry people on our backs for about an hour. There were groups less fortunate than we were. One group on my team was awoken by the unnerving hisssss of a gas grenade released two feet from where they were laying, and that was before they started crawling and carrying guys up and down mountains.

I'll share a little anecdote that is somewhat humorous, but at the time really wasn't. As a precursor to the story I need to make it clear that this week was something of an advanced lesson in tear gas. With that said, our first night the instructors wanted to know what our base knowledge of camouflage was. We were told we would be given a specific amount of time to dig holes that would need to serve as protection from shrapnel and serve as some form of camouflage. As we were told to gather around for the instruction we were suddenly bombarded by gas grenades. Everyone scattered and grabbed for their gas masks. I was able to get my mask on rather quickly and I began to look around as I saw the wave of gas approaching. I saw people running in every direction and I saw someone fumbling with their mask. I took a closer look and discovered it was my roommate Harrison. As it turns out he as missing one of the straps on his mask and it was fair to say the gas was causing him a good deal of discomfort. He reached out and called for me to try and help lead him away from the gas. It was at this point, full of pity for my prostrate friend, that I realized something was terribly wrong. Normally the tear gas has a very potent smell, but this is not what was causing my nose to run or my eyes to water. Something else was wrong, and it didn't take long to realize that my mask was also malfunctioning. And just as I had stood just moments before assured of my own safety in the protection of my gas mask, I was now being blinded by tears and the fire scorching my chest. I ran as far from the gas as I could until I saw some commanders standing around laughing to themselves. I tried to signal that I was choking, but they seemed rather unconcerned. In the end, the effects of the gas passed after a few minutes. It turns out that my mask was missing a filter, and in effect became a vessel for containing the gas within.

Battalion Exercise

In an attempt to remain prepared for a battle on any front our battalion took part in an exercise in Ramat Hagolan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_Heights).  The premise is to simulate what a possible war with Lebanon, Syria, or both might be like.  While under normal circumstances this drill would not have been considered one of the more fun ways to spend the week, it was made all the more difficult by the torrential down pour that had drenched the entire country for the better part of the previous week.

Our company took a rather small role in the drill since we still have another two months of training, compared to the rest of the battalion who have already finished.  This meant that the majority of our time was spent carrying 50 and 60 pound rucksacks.  While normally this would seem a rather normal task for us by this point in our training it turned out to be anything but.  To start the drill we were flown in on Black Hawks (the drill wasn't entirely dull) to the location from which we were supposed to hike about 10 miles before setting up a perimeter around a village we would then attempt to storm.  I say "supposed to hike" because in actuality my company was flown to within about 2 - 3 miles of the village.  It took about 5 seconds after jumping out of the helicopter to realize just what we had gotten ourselves into.  As I attempted to make my way from the landing zone to meet up with my team I found myself sinking into mud that at points made its way up to my knees!

I hoped that the conditions would improve, but as we continued to march I found that the only path I could make through the mud was along the footprints left behind by those in front of me.  Over the next 6 hours we slipped and slid our way through the mud as our packs succeeded in making each step that much deeper and that much harder to remove from the Earth's muddy grasp.  I knew that the hike would be difficult but I never imagined it would take us 6 hours to advance 2.5 miles.  

Fortunately, the rain stopped and the sun helped to dry up some of the mud, but at best the conditions the rest of the week could be described as "swampy."  Which, if you ask one of my friends (pictured above), is an improvement from literally swimming in mud.  After the first night, the drill itself went rather well.  We were flown farther north to simulate the Syrian mountainous terrain.  This culminated in a 2 hour hike straight up a mountain (which actually had a pretty amazing view when we got a second to rest at the top).  At one point in the scaling of this mountain, one of the kids behind me jokingly asked whether or not we were climbing Everest.  While it wasn't quite Everest, after the week we had, and the snow covered peaks in the distance - it kinda felt like it.

Urban Warfare

Two weeks ago my company spent a week in an old abandoned British Military fortress learning the finer points of urban warfare.

We started out working individually, learning how to approach a room and make sure that you aren't exposed while simultaneously being able to see every angle in the room.  In the beginning it feels a little unnatural, but after spending a few hours making sure that your leg, or shoulder aren't exposed you start to get the feel for it.  In the future we are going to practice with paintball guns.  It is a safe way to learn not to expose yourself.  After a few paintballs to the leg from close range you learn quickly to make sure your body is concealed.

After that we moved on to pairs and groups of three.  We learned how to approach narrow door frames, wide door frames, open stairwells (in which someone on the second floor could see you), and closed stairwells.  As well as various techniques for entering these places.  By the end of the week we had worked our way up to various groups of six searching a house for terrorists.  In addition to the techniques we learned for entering, we also learned various tactics for entering a room when you are being attacked.  For example, how to throw a grenade in, what to do if your gun jams, and how back someone up.  

During the week we also advanced significantly in our close-combat training.  We had two lessons a day all week.  In which we learned how to defend ourselves against an attacker armed with a knife. 

Lull

I know I haven't written anything for a while, but there has been a pretty big lull in things the last three weeks.  We have been spending our time checking all of our gear.  To see what was lost in the war, and making sure that everyone has the gear they need in case we have to go back in.  

Also, we got a week off because everyone who was in Gaza had not been home in over a week.  Which was weird for me because I had just got back, and then was given another break.

I won't be back for two weeks, but the next two weeks will most likely be very eventful.  We are going to have an intense urban combat week coming up this week, and then a long navigation week in the south.

On-Call

I came back to Israel last Thursday, and reported to the army that Sunday.  It just so happened that on that very same day Israel decided to enact a unilateral cease-fire.  Therefore, everyone who had been in Gaza was called back to Israel.  Contrary to what I had previously thought, my company was in fact called upon to participate in the war.  I had been fairly certain that we would simply continue with our training, but apparently the army felt that we were ready.  Accordingly, the 4 teams that make up my company spent about two weeks in Gaza, and it was these soldiers that I was going to meet on Sunday.

Due to the nature of the cease-fire it was unclear what Hamas's intentions were/are and it was necessary for Israel's army to maintain a state of readiness should the need to return to Gaza arise.  Thus, the entire paratroopers brigade spent the week at a nearby military base...on-call.

It was an interesting week to say the least.  It was the farthest thing from a normal week in the army that I have had.  As far as my army experience goes I have been in training for the last 10 months, so I was a little taken aback when we were basically on our own for an entire week.  Because we were on-call, there was really nothing that we could do.  Our entire company slept in what was essentially I giant hangar.  

I got to hear everyone's stories about what they had been doing for the last two weeks, I honed my backgammon skills, and I think everyone gained about 5 pounds.  It was simply unbelievable the outpour of support from both Israelis and people throughout the world.  There were mountains of packages filled with candy, socks, thermal undershirts, chips, cookies, and more candy.  And these were just the packages that weren't sent into Gaza.  I later heard that one of the grocery stores in Israel put together close to 90,000 packages for soldiers, and I believe it.  In addition to all of this, there was a Nestea van that came around and handed out free drinks, there were stand-up comedians who came and put on a show, parents came and cooked out almost every night, and someone came to give everyone haircuts (From what I understand he is supposed to be the Israeli equivalent of "Paul Mitchell."  I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of a famous hairdresser, but everyone insisted that he is the most famous hairdresser in all of Israel.  His name was Shuki Zikri, in case that means something to someone.  I also put a picture of it up, he is the third haircutter from the left, although I think it you would have to be pretty bad to mess up an "army" haircut).  

From what I understand the war was considered a great success.  Israeli intelligence predicted that the IDF would incur 40 wounded soldiers a day, which in reality was far from the truth.  Throughout the entirety of the war only five soldiers were wounded in my entire batallion, and as it turns out they were all from my company.  I have spoken with all of them and they seem to be doing fine. 

Apparently, there is a slight disconnect between what I had been reading in the news and what the soldiers were hearing.  According to the news, Israel's goal was to end Hamas's rocket fire into Israel.  According to what my friends were told, they were going in to show to Hamas that there are consequences for their actions, and to significantly limit their capability to launch future rockets.  While the understood goals of Hamas, to the best of my understanding, was to open its borders and be allowed to police themselves.  Everything that I have heard since returning was that Hamas's main goal was to kidnap Israeli soldiers in order to use them as bargaining pieces. 

  

Strange Timing

I wanted to start off by thanking everyone for their concern.  Since I have been home this last week my parents have received numerous calls inquiring about my well-being.

In a strange turn of events, I was able to come home last week and entirely missed the start of the airstrikes in Gaza.  Since several people have asked me what I thought I figured I would share a few words here (both on the situation and my potential involvement).

Like most people my knowledge of the current events in Gaza is mostly limited to what I read.  Accordingly, it appears that Israel is in a rather precarious position.  All media slants and angles aside, Israel is now trying to eliminate Hamas's potential to launch Qassam rockets.  The problem they face is that they do not actually want to uproot the Hamas organization.  This means that rather than actually going into Gaza and trying to extricate Hamas, they are gathering information and trying to locate both launch points and weapon caches.  In terms of military objectives it would seem to me that the latter is more difficult.  If they simply wanted to oust Hamas they could commit their full military strength to the effort, but as it stands the IDF will be forced to infiltrate hostile territory in order to reach their objectives.

In terms of my team, our training is supposed to last until mid-May.  Therefore, to the best of my knowledge I do not think we will be participating in the current incursion, but I assume that will depend on how long it lasts.

A complicated trip home

So I was actually granted a furlough to come home for 3 weeks, but it was one of the most complicated processes I have been a part of.  However, it is a good example of the IDF's bureaucracy for anyone interested at an insider's peek.

For about two months I had been planning to come home for a 2 or 3 week trip at the end of December.  I had made all of the arrangements, and the only thing left was to buy a plane ticket.  Before I did that I decided it best to double check the dates  I was given with my Platoon Commander.  So, two weeks before my scheduled trip my commander informed me that I would have to make a choice.  On the same dates that I had scheduled my trip half of my team would be sent to Sniper School.  I thought about it for a while, but not too long, after all I had come all this way to serve in the army.  I told myself that I could go home in the summer after I had finished my training, and it would actually give me a little more time to be at home (possibly a month, compared to the two weeks I had currently planned). 

Then out of nowhere, three days before the start of Sniper School, my commander informed me that there was a small problem.  They had learned that the Sniper School had a policy that they do not accept soldiers who have less than 20 months of service left.  I only had 15 months.  I was given the option of signing an extra 5 months, or giving up on Sniper School.  This became a very difficult decision.  I am scheduled to finish my service March of 2010.  If I sign on for an extra 5 months I would be finishing up in August of 2010.  Which would mean I would miss the start of the 2010 school year by a week or two.  This would mean waiting an entire extra year to start school (after I finish the army).  Unfortunately, I did not have a lot of time to wrestle with my decision, if I was not going to go the commanders needed to know so that they could fill my spot.  At first, I was positive I wouldn't sign the extra time.  I weighed my options and thought it wasn't worth waiting an entire extra year before starting school.  However, after about 30 minutes I started to wonder if I would regret not going to Sniper School.  I checked the dates of when school might start and as it turned out there would be a 2 day window between the date I was released from the army and the day that Law School started.  In retrospect, it seems a little absurd to think I could make it back in time and be ready for school, but at the time I was able to justify it to myself.

I went to my commander and told him that I was willing to sign the extra 5 months.  As it turns out, the army was not willing to give me the 5 months.  It is a little bit complicated, but I'll just say that in order for me to sign on the extra time the army would have had to pay me an officer's salary for those 5 months, but I would have just been a regular soldier.  In their eyes it wasn't really worth it (plus they had a number of other guys on my team with which they could fill my sport).  As a result, I discovered that I could actually receive my furlough (two days before my scheduled trip) and I came home on the 23rd of December.