In brush, sand or snow, IDF soldiers definitely know how to dress up. As people throughout Israel find costumes for Purim, IDF soldiers put even the most elaborate ensembles to shame.
For our soldiers, dressing up is more than just fun and play. After theSecond Lebanon War, the IDF reached the conclusion that that all soldiers, not just those from theelite units, should incorporate camouflage into their training. “The Second Lebanon War was 33 days long. That’s a long time,” explained Lieutenant Sagiv Kehila, Deputy Commander of the Guerrilla Warfare Center. “We don’t want our forces to be exposed, so as to reduce the threat of the enemy striking. The best way to ensure this is for them to learn camouflage.”
Read more about the IDF’s camouflage training and watch videos by following the link above!
The Mission: Defending the skies
The man tasked with the smooth operation of the battery and the organization of its soldiers is Major Shay Kobninsky. The air-defense officer knows full well the weight of his task.
“Being located just a few kilometers from the cities that we protect, we see with our eyes why we’re here,” Maj. Kobninsky says. “When we work, we do it to save lives.” He isn’t just speculating. When rockets are fired into Israeli territory, Maj. Kobninsky sits in the battery’s command center, tracking the Iron Dome’s interceptor missile to ensure that it strikes the target in time.
“My soldiers work hard and are ready to go at any moment,” Maj. Kobninsky says. DuringOperation Pillar of Defensein 2012, tensions in southern Israel reached a fever pitch. More than 800 rockets were fired by terrorists in Gaza at southern and central Israel during the 8-day conflict. Of those rockets, many fell in open territory, but many also threatened to strike populated areas. Soldiers of the Iron Dome intercepted more than 400 of them.
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“Sometimes we feel like sprinters, running the demanding race of life. From high school to the army, from army to university, from university to work. In our free time, our culture offers to fill up our free time with internet and social networks, and doesn’t allow us to have a single real moment with ourselves.
Being in the army is also demanding and thrilling. Drills, training, shooting practice, guard duty, lessons – day after day, mission after mission. In such a situation, a person doesn’t have a single moment available to sit by himself and think: What are the values that I’m living for? What is my purpose in life? What is my role as part of a people that survived in exile for so many generations and returned to its ancestors’ land to fulfill its mission?”
To continue reading these inspiring words follow the link above!