So....I guess keeping this up was harder than I expected. But after a couple months, I am finally done course makim (the commander’s course)!!
Overall, the course was definitely a learning experience. It definitely attains the goal of preparing each of us to be a squad commander in wartime. The problem with the course is that while you certainly learn a lot about being a commander professionally (lots of training exercises in the field), you are not necessarily taught how to be a commander on a day to day basis. By that I mean that in a couple weeks time, I could be put in charge of 10-15 new recruits and be responsible for each one of them every second of the day, and it definitely won’t be easy, at least at first. One thing that I have definitely learned over the course, as well as throughout my training, is what NOT to do as a commander. At the same time, I definitely feel like I have acquired the tools needed to succeed as a commander, and I know that once I start my job, wherever it will be, it will come to me naturally.
One of the best parts about the course is that now that we’ve shown we’re mature enough to be commanders, we’re given much more independence. Every morning, we're told the entire day's schedule. Don’t forget that it’s still the army, so it’s a schedule with the fine print of ‘subject to change a million times a day’. Nonetheless, it’s still a pretty good outline of the day and definitely an improvement over the previous 8 months of training where we had to report to someone every couple minutes. The general approach is very good - we're not given limited times to do everything. When there’s dead time, which happens very often everywhere in the army, we aren't given completely unnecessary tasks to do (not all the time at least), like we were previously. As a result, I've probably read more books in the last month than I have in the past year, which is a good thing.
Part of the training included weeks in the field training in different types of terrain including open field (shetach patuach), overgrown, bushy terrain, built up, urban areas, and more. During the open field week, I was the negevist. It was my first time experiencing the full brunt of this weapon and its accessories, the whole 30 kg of it, carried with you sometimes for exercises lasting up to 3 hours at a time, but it was definitely an experience. Although hard to imagine, you get used to the weight pretty quickly. The hard thing is getting used to the night vision you use, which covers only one eye. As a result, you lose your sense of depth and have to 'check how soft the ground is' so to speak, quite a few times before you can move about properly. People must have gotten a good laugh out of watching me when I first started walking. I probably looked no better than a drunk stumbling along the street late at night. But once you do adapt to it and learn how to walk properly with it on, nothing beats being able to see EVERYTHING going on around you while it is pitch black outside and your friends see nothing.
Our time exercising in wild, thick, and bushy terrain (סבך) was definitely one of the most difficult things I've done. One drill, in particular, will never be forgotten. In short, while the actual exercise only lasted about 30 minutes, getting there was a 3 hour process to cover just 3 kilometers. The reason: we were walking through unkempt, dense terrain. And when I say dense, I mean walking through bushes taller than me, shrubbery so thick that you get caught in so many branches that you can’t get out, even going back the direction you came from. Even worse, you can’t exactly pull the branches out of the way because they are covered in sharp thorns that get caught in your gear, not to mention poke you everywhere. I was leading the way for our group, ahead of our commander because I was with the negev. At some points I would simply get to areas where it was like a wall of bushes in front of you. I would turn around to my commander asking him where to go and he would look at me strangely as if the answer was clear, telling me to keep going straight through. Several times my commander, who was walking right behind me, had to take his gun and start hacking at the branches in order to get me out of the branches that were preventing me from advancing. It definitely taught me a thing or two about perseverance, army style.
Our training in urban terrain was definitely among the more useful things we learned during the course. Unfortunately, due to interruptions in our earlier training, our exposure to urban terrain was cut short so this definitely filled in the gaps. Starting from scratch, we progressed from taking a room in pairs to taking houses, to taking entire areas of a city. It really was amazing seeing so many people working side by side to conquer such relatively small areas. The highlight of the week for me was definitely participating in a complex exercise that seemed to me like a very high tech game of laser quest. It consisted of many hummers driving around, each one meant to simulate an entire division of troops for both sides of the battle. Each hummer was supplied with the equivalent of those vests you get at laser quest, and also a weapons system which you had to use to ‘shoot’ at the enemy. As soon as your hummer is hit, you are down. After the whole exercise is done, which takes a long time because it includes the whole ‘trip’ to the enemy and back to ‘friendly’ territory, the whole thing is analyzed to learn new strategies. While I did learn a lot from it, I was a simple pawn for the day, helping out with directing the hummer that I was in. I had a lot of fun being in the hummer driving up and down very large sand dunes, me being responsible for steering the driver in the right direction so that she doesn’t hit any large boulders and stuff. It also made for some cool pictures!
The course was also filled lots of running and personal fitness exercises. Seeing as how I could be responsible for whipping new recruits into shape within a month, it would be pretty pathetic if I can’t keep up with them on a simple run. We progressed from running just 2 kilometers at the beginning of the course to a final run of 10 kilometers. As I have learned very well over the past year in the army, despite how often they tell you that the exercise is gradual and you will work up to it, somehow things always get complicated along the way. Sometimes we would run 3-4 times a week, and sometimes once in 2 weeks. But somehow, everyone managed to complete the 10 kilometer run at the end of the course, and it was great! We have also continued to run the obstacle course that we used to do in basic training, just with a small catch. It is now combined with a simple shooting test at the end, after you’re breathing very, very heavily. So in order to pass it, you have to hit at least 4 out of 6 bullets on target at the 50 meter mark. Luckily for me, I really did put effort into the runs that we were doing throughout the course, so the actual running of the obstacle course didn’t pose a problem. I improved from the 9 minutes 40 seconds I was doing in basic training to as low as 8 and a half minutes for the whole obstacle course. The catch is that one of the reasons I improved so much was that I ended up doing it 6 times throughout the course. Each time I would run it well, and then get to the shooting range and simply not be able to hit the target. I kept telling my commanders that it was because my gun wasn’t calibrated (meaning where I was aiming was not actually where the bullets were hitting) but they said to keep trying. Finally after doing the entire exercise 5 times over the course of the past 2 months, we were given a chance towards the end of the course to calibrate our guns. After doing that, I got through the obstacle course and hit 6 for 6 at the shooting range. Of course, nobody listened to me that my gun wasn’t calibrated but that didn’t matter now. Looking at the bright side, at least I will never have trouble getting over the wall or climbing up the rope...
Amidst all my ‘fun in the army’, I almost didn’t realize that I have passed the 1 year mark of being in Israel (since August 3rd), and have almost completed one year in the army. Reflecting on this past year and comparing where I was before to where I was now, I have no regrets. The last year in the army and in Israel has been filled with so many challenges and new experiences that I could have never expected. When I first started the army, we would be given a task (like walking 80 km) or hear a ridiculous rumour about something you do in your army service and just think it’s not possible. Now, no matter what we’re told, the approach is just ‘okay, that’s hard, but I’ve been through worse, you just gotta do it’. You get to a point in your service when the tasks you are given, while very difficult and maybe even sometimes physically painful, just don’t seem that bad, no matter how hard it may actually be. Once during basic training when we were given a task to do and we said that it just wasn’t possible, my officer yelled at us saying that everyone just has to imagine they have a big ‘S’ on their chest, like superman, and that they can do anything. While it did sound corny at the time, I think I have gotten to that point, and whatever needs to be done will be completed. Over the past year, I have met so many amazing people who go through so much and make such large sacrifices to do what they do, that it really makes you appreciate what you have in life.
Which brings me to this week, and the most amazing thing that happened on Tuesday – Gilad Shalit returning home!!! I’m not sure what the media coverage abroad was like, but all I can say is that I am happy that I was in Israel for it. Over several consecutive hours of watching the news, nothing else was mentioned besides the events surrounding his release. Seeing the pictures of him landing in Israel, meeting Bibi Netanyahu and finally being reunited with his family were so heart-warming. While I do understand the ramifications freeing 1000 terrorists does have for Israel, both for those directly affected by them in the past and also the consequences for the future, I think Israel did make the right choice. From my standpoint, nothing can beat the feeling that an Israeli citizen, especially a combat soldier, feels, knowing that Israel will do anything to bring it’s people home and leave no one behind. For those of you who missed all the coverage, there are many videos posted on youtube of the entire thing. I also encourage you to read this opinion piece, which I think had an interesting angle. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4136659,00.html
As for me, I am happy to be finished my course and excited to start a new chapter in my army service. Early this week I will hopefully get a final answer on what tafkid (job) I will have for the next couple months – whether I will be a commander for new recruits just starting basic training, or a commander of soldiers who have already completed their ~8 months of training. Equally as important, I will hopefully be finalizing plans to fly back to Toronto for a visit and I expect to be back this week! So stay tuned to facebook for that!
No comments:
Post a Comment