After a lengthy five day break from the army, I can't say that I was dying to get back to the base. I love serving in the army but there is nothing like the freedom of being at home. But it came time to go back, nonetheless a day later than everyone else because I was told to keep eight days of Pesach.
The week that I came back to was called Abach, or a shortform for atomic, biological, and chemical warfare. It was mostly classes about what happens when wars get unconventional. But the main event of the week was actually putting our gasmasks to use. I had heard about this and seen pictures of it before, so I was half nervous and half excited. Just outside the gate of the base there was a large tent set up. Pumping into this tent was a certain type of gas and each of us were supposed to put on the mask and walk in. So I walked in and was kind of disoriented for a second because it was dark and murky. Then the mefaked inside told me to remove the mask and say my ID number. Its hard to describe the exact feeling but from about your second breath you feel like a vice has tightened about your neck and acid has been poured in your eyes. I managed to quickly say my number but after that I just had to run out because I couldn't breathe. And then after a few long minutes, the burn dies down and things are more or less back to normal.
That Shabbat, my Plugah was on base and my machlacka had kitchen duty. It wasn't so much fun washing dishes but we were allowed to take as much food as we wanted.
And then hell week. Some thought it would start on Saturday night, but preparations took until Sunday evening when we set out. The first difficult thing was what we had to take with us. Each soldier had a partner with whom he would share the load. Except all of our stuff was in one gigantic bag. All in all, with my vest and my gun, it weighed about 40kg (88lb). I weigh about 65kg (143lb). That's about 61% body weight. So you can start to see why this week has its name. People almost fell backwards when putting it on. I remember that after a few minutes my arm started to lose blood flow.
The first leg of our trip was our walk of a few kilometers outside the base to a camp with tents. By the time we got there, my back felt moments away from snapping and I couldn't wait to put it down. We slept in tents of four that night, but we felt as if this was a bit too comfortable to be our first week in the wilderness even though we were sleeping in full gear. I'd be surprised if I didn't wake up 20 times that night. The next morning after davening and doing some other stuff, we got our first taste of combat meals. Except you can't really taste the food. Basically, we were given a box of food and two loaves of bread to eat for every meal. Okay. Not so bad. First problem: we are 15 people plus our mefaked and this food is meant for 12 people. Second problem: our mefaked gave us 12 minutes to eat. Okay. I can eat fast. But third problem: there always had to be 5 people in a circle lying down guarding us while we ate. So you can see why eating wasn't so simple.
Basically, this week was about showing us what the wilderness, or the shetach, is like. But they made it really hard. For all three days, we walked the hills in the area (not so small), with our vests and these bags. While we were walking as a kitah, we were walking in certain formations based on what we learned in classes. Usually during the noon hours there was a heat wave and we stopped walking and had classes. Not a lot happened during the 3 days. Just a lot of walking, some crawling on thorns, carrying stretchers and people, and a few war-type games. The crawling on thorns was probably my least favorite part of the week, but its only meant to make us stronger. As Major Eliraz Peretz, a soldier killed in action in Gaza once said, "With the complex of thorns and plants that have entered my body, you can make a pile a meter by a meter. But these are not just thorns, these are the thorns of Eretz Yisrael."
By the last evening, I had given up hope. I had no energy left in me and if I was given the opportunity to quit, the thought might have risen up. It is impossible to describe to someone who hasn't been through it what it was like. But that night was the contest. Based on everything we had learned and practiced that week, each kitah in the plugah would be tested in a series of "missions" to find the best kitah, who would then go home on Thursday night instead of Friday. This contest only lasted a couple of hours, but boy was it hard with those bags. I thought we did very well even though we did not win.
We got back to the plugah just after 3am on Thursday morning. Arriving back to base was like checking into a five-star hotel. It didn't feel real at all. And then it became all too real. Just as people were starting to start showering, our commanders burst into our rooms and starting yelling at us that we had a minute to get downstairs in a vest with a gasmask on, and a stretcher ready. I couldn't believe it. I've never been more surprised in my life. So we ran a bit with the stretcher but other than that didn't do much. Ultimately, this was just done to show us that "It ain't over till it's over."
And that was what I call Hell Week. We made it through. Barely.
I apologize that I am so behind in my posts. Lately the army has gotten more and more difficult which therefore makes me more and more tired and less likely to sit down and write. Hopefully it will get easier soon because frankly I am having a very difficult time making it through. More on that to come.
The week that I came back to was called Abach, or a shortform for atomic, biological, and chemical warfare. It was mostly classes about what happens when wars get unconventional. But the main event of the week was actually putting our gasmasks to use. I had heard about this and seen pictures of it before, so I was half nervous and half excited. Just outside the gate of the base there was a large tent set up. Pumping into this tent was a certain type of gas and each of us were supposed to put on the mask and walk in. So I walked in and was kind of disoriented for a second because it was dark and murky. Then the mefaked inside told me to remove the mask and say my ID number. Its hard to describe the exact feeling but from about your second breath you feel like a vice has tightened about your neck and acid has been poured in your eyes. I managed to quickly say my number but after that I just had to run out because I couldn't breathe. And then after a few long minutes, the burn dies down and things are more or less back to normal.
That Shabbat, my Plugah was on base and my machlacka had kitchen duty. It wasn't so much fun washing dishes but we were allowed to take as much food as we wanted.
And then hell week. Some thought it would start on Saturday night, but preparations took until Sunday evening when we set out. The first difficult thing was what we had to take with us. Each soldier had a partner with whom he would share the load. Except all of our stuff was in one gigantic bag. All in all, with my vest and my gun, it weighed about 40kg (88lb). I weigh about 65kg (143lb). That's about 61% body weight. So you can start to see why this week has its name. People almost fell backwards when putting it on. I remember that after a few minutes my arm started to lose blood flow.
The first leg of our trip was our walk of a few kilometers outside the base to a camp with tents. By the time we got there, my back felt moments away from snapping and I couldn't wait to put it down. We slept in tents of four that night, but we felt as if this was a bit too comfortable to be our first week in the wilderness even though we were sleeping in full gear. I'd be surprised if I didn't wake up 20 times that night. The next morning after davening and doing some other stuff, we got our first taste of combat meals. Except you can't really taste the food. Basically, we were given a box of food and two loaves of bread to eat for every meal. Okay. Not so bad. First problem: we are 15 people plus our mefaked and this food is meant for 12 people. Second problem: our mefaked gave us 12 minutes to eat. Okay. I can eat fast. But third problem: there always had to be 5 people in a circle lying down guarding us while we ate. So you can see why eating wasn't so simple.
Basically, this week was about showing us what the wilderness, or the shetach, is like. But they made it really hard. For all three days, we walked the hills in the area (not so small), with our vests and these bags. While we were walking as a kitah, we were walking in certain formations based on what we learned in classes. Usually during the noon hours there was a heat wave and we stopped walking and had classes. Not a lot happened during the 3 days. Just a lot of walking, some crawling on thorns, carrying stretchers and people, and a few war-type games. The crawling on thorns was probably my least favorite part of the week, but its only meant to make us stronger. As Major Eliraz Peretz, a soldier killed in action in Gaza once said, "With the complex of thorns and plants that have entered my body, you can make a pile a meter by a meter. But these are not just thorns, these are the thorns of Eretz Yisrael."
By the last evening, I had given up hope. I had no energy left in me and if I was given the opportunity to quit, the thought might have risen up. It is impossible to describe to someone who hasn't been through it what it was like. But that night was the contest. Based on everything we had learned and practiced that week, each kitah in the plugah would be tested in a series of "missions" to find the best kitah, who would then go home on Thursday night instead of Friday. This contest only lasted a couple of hours, but boy was it hard with those bags. I thought we did very well even though we did not win.
We got back to the plugah just after 3am on Thursday morning. Arriving back to base was like checking into a five-star hotel. It didn't feel real at all. And then it became all too real. Just as people were starting to start showering, our commanders burst into our rooms and starting yelling at us that we had a minute to get downstairs in a vest with a gasmask on, and a stretcher ready. I couldn't believe it. I've never been more surprised in my life. So we ran a bit with the stretcher but other than that didn't do much. Ultimately, this was just done to show us that "It ain't over till it's over."
And that was what I call Hell Week. We made it through. Barely.
I apologize that I am so behind in my posts. Lately the army has gotten more and more difficult which therefore makes me more and more tired and less likely to sit down and write. Hopefully it will get easier soon because frankly I am having a very difficult time making it through. More on that to come.
Wow, your latest anecdotes are really exhilarating to read. I don't think I could have survived such an intense training. But, I admire those who are capable of going through with it. Hopefully, the longer you're there, the more natural it will become for you. Once again, I want to let you know that you are welcome anytime to eat by my house for a shabbos seudah is you ever get an opening.
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