Draft day in five days. We will go from kibbutz Erez to Be’er sheva and from there to the בקויים. Dog tags, kit bag, uniforms, medical tests and lots of hugs and pictures with friends and family. Finally, when it is all over, a long bus ride up north to Michve Alon, my home for the next three months.
APPARENTLY, we receive every weekend off during Michve Alon… But I have learned to wait and see things for myself before considering them true. Often, when things sound too good to be true, it is because they are.
The clock starts Sunday. I anticipate digesting this experience in bite sized pieces; for the entire meal is gigantic and I don’t want to become overwhelmed. First order of business is Michve Alon. I need to become an obedient team member, capable of organizing into a ח or a straight line within any given moment. I need to learn to operate in an exclusively Hebrew environment and focus on improving my Hebrew comprehension and linguistic skills. I need to thoroughly understand the lanes in the army. Who I report to, who I do not report to and my relationship with these individuals. I want to learn everyone’s names and titles and understand what I can do for them and what they can do for me.
At this moment, my prerogative is to get into and out of the army unscathed, which is more than what many veterans can say. I want to have a meaningful service, one where I am untilized to my full potential and operate in a position which allows me to utilize the army to its full potential. My service being only two years, an average of eight months shorter than the typical conscripted soldier, I want to make sure I develop relationships with my fellow soldiers who are likely to be on different timelines and ultimately different journeys than myself.
My 23rd birthday is in 12 days, by the time I get out of the army I will be 25. The soldiers I will be serving with will be eighteen. Unlike me, they didn’t attend university and earn a degree. Unlike me, they did not sign up to be here. They were not raised in the west, and have pretty much led opposite lives as me up until this moment. My fellow soldiers are therefore different than myself, and this is something that one can get caught up on. I will work on contributing to team-building and holding up my fellow soldiers while also being mindful that while we are having the same experience, are realities are not the same. Our lives are bonded for the amount of time we share, but how this experience resonates with us and goes on to shape the rest of our existence is not related and likely to be very different.
In September, my Garin participated in a program called Gadna. This is an army simulation where participants where uniforms, sleep on cots, stand in חs, crawl in the mud and shoot m16s. It was not fun and it was not supposed to be fun. It is supposed to show the participant the honest and hard truth of the Israeli Defense Force. Gadna is not a tourist attraction. Most Israeli teenagers must go to Sde Boker basis and participate in Gadna while they are in high school, so they can start thinking about and preparing for their military service.
As the Judaean sun began to set on the Negev, my tzevet sat in a circle on the ground on the edge of the Rimon crater. Our mefakedet had us reflect on the long week. We all talked about becoming closer and how conflict and hardship played some role in this. As the sun turned red and slipped below the horizon, our mefakedet commended us on a job well done. At this point, after a week of bossing us around, yelling at us and forcing us to do sprints and push up- she was allowed to ease out of her role as our mefakedet and level with us eye to eye, person to person. The veil came off. After being with this woman for a week, more or less 24/7, we finally learned her name. Her age too, she was 19 years old. My tzevet were men, the majority of which were 22 and with degrees. My one friend Dmitri was 24 at the time and even had a masters degree. But in the army, who you were before and what you had accomplished is irrelevant. We all start at the bottom, and through hard work, earn a spot at the table. Being ordered around by a teenager in the hot dessert for a week could have gotten on my nerves, it definitely did for some of the guys I serve with, but not for me. I get to be here. I signed up for this. This unique experience of humbling moment after humbling moment.
One of the first thoughts rattling around in my head after being on Sde boker basis for an hour was: where are all the adults? Who is in charge? The answer: there are no adults and the teenager running frantically around with an old clipboard is in charge. So, when the leadership is young and sometimes uneducated or perhaps narcissistic of course things are going to go wrong or not according to the schedule. For that is logical!
With a few days left before army life, I spend my time with friends and talk to my family as much as possible. I work on my mobility, flexibility and strength. I practice my Hebrew, eat tasty foods and read interesting books. It is impossible to fully prepare for what I have waiting for me Sunday. But I have overcome many challenges in my six months since making Aliyah, and these victories fuel my fire and keep me moving forward. I expect the unexpected, try to stay humble and approach every situation with the hopes or learning something new.
Thank you for reading and thank you for your support,
David
David's Blog 