I must admit that coming back to the army after a month of vacation was most definitely not easy. Everyone serving in the army would kill to get a month off. (By the way, I've heard that if you do kill, you get a week off to recover.) I don't regret going home at all, but imagine going from total freedom back to a very controlled environment of the army. It takes some getting used to.
That being said, what I was used to before I left was training, where every second is controlled by your commanders. No free time. Kav is different though. Very different. It literally means "line", probably referring to the borders. We are situated in the west bank, right next to a big bustling Arab city, Shechem or Nablus in english. It's population is about 125 000 people. We are on a base with some other units, but mostly we, 202, are responsible for protecting the Jewish citizens who live in the surrounding towns. For example, the town of Itamar where the Fogel family was murdered is in our jurisdiction. There are a lot of rock throwing incidents on the roads in the area as well. We also have a few checkpoints to manage. So far I haven't had much experience with any of the patrols or checkpoints because I've only been here for a week. Although I must say, because of the nature of some of the missions, I won't be able to disclose details.
As opposed to the training base where we had literally no free time, here we have plenty. If you're not guarding or cleaning, you're resting until the commander tells you that something is going on. Whereas on my old base I would not have dreamed of reading books, now I have had time to read Steve Jobs' biography. We don't get that much more sleep, usually about 6-7 hours, but you rest during the day, so you don't need that much sleep. Instead of following the commanders to meals and waiting forever in line, here we just go on our own. Basically we are treated a lot more like adults now, and it makes such a big difference to the morale of the soldiers. Our schedule for days in and out is most of the time 11 in, 3 out, and one time doing 17/4. When I flew back I came back right at the beginning of my kitah's 17, so next week we will get out on Thursday and come back on Monday morning. I remember when we did 19 days of training and 2 out. It was hell. Here it's fun. (But I'm still looking forward to the weekend, of course).
The conditions on this base are quite bad compared to my training base. Currently, there are only two rooms for three kitot, because there is usually one away at any one time. So at times it gets very cramped. It is absolutely freezing here at night so there is a heater. The bathrooms and showers are trailers but there is always hot water available. Whereas on our old base we were only allowed to eat at certain times, here we are free to eat as we wish. The same goes for cellphones. They are now always on us.
Most of the guarding I have been doing has been on base, which takes place usually in a tower by the fence or at the front gate. Lately though I have guarded on the main highway that runs north-south through the west bank. Usually guarding means staring at some hills and Arab villages. You'd be lucky if you were entertained by an animal walking through a field. On the highway though, you're watching over citizens at a hitchhiking spot or stopping Arab vehicles from driving near the Jewish towns. It's a lot more personal. The first time I guarded there I didn't take my eyes off the hitchhikers for the whole two hours in total fear that something would happen. I still don't fully understand how people are able to live around here or wait by the side of the road while mostly Arab cars pass them. Aren't they scared? So far nothing has happened. Occasionally an Arab will walk around and we will tell them to get in a taxi as it is forbidden for them to walk around in that area. At first I was nervous to deal with them, thinking they would be used to dealing with soldiers. But after some time I realized that they know very well who is in charge and obey our commands. Only about two or three times did I get yelled at by passerby. In all cases, they were school buses full of kids. It goes to show you what they're teaching in their schools. I like to try to get a feel for who they are, so I often stare into the cars as they drive by. Almost all of the people stare back with pure hatred in their eyes, which is sometimes all you can see.
It's not always boring though. In the last month we have caught a bunch of people. In the more serious cases they were caught trying to transport pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails from Shechem into our territory. Luckily the IDF's intelligence branch is second to none and knows everything.
After 19 days on base, we got a much needed 4 day rest. Most of it I spent with a guy from my kitah who lives in Jerusalem. But the best part was when we got together as a kitah and made ourselves a BBQ and relaxed in a hot tub. We have obviously become extremely close friends but our bond is deeper than that. It's not something that happens often outside the army. It's about knowing that the soldiers with you have responsibility for your life and you for theirs. And if we don't work or just get along well in easy times, we have no chance of working well when we really need to. We are like a family now, especially for me, being a chayal boded.
While I was away in Toronto our commanders were changed. My personal mefaked stayed with us but the two other ones are new. And they are amazing guys. Now commanders are much closer to us and these two are more chilled because they weren't with us during training. My mem mem is also new. He was in Maglan, a hard core special forces unit that nobody knows anything about. But he is also fairly chilled. Though he raised the fitness level quite a bit. Last week we ran 10km.
Occasionally we go on walking patrols in the surrounding Arab villages. More or less, we are just reminding them who runs the show. Usually nothing happens but sometimes flash-bang grenades are thrown.
On Shabbat Chanukah I volunteered to go to Itamar to guard there. But when we arrived, it was definitely not Itamar. They dropped us off in the middle of a group of houses on some hill in the middle of nowhere. We were led to a couple of trailers where we would be living and told when and what to guard. It looked like it was going to be extremely relaxed. A few hours later we got the bad news. We were being split up and half would be sent to another settlement, including me. We ended up doing 4on/8off except for Shabbat where they sent us another guy. The weather there is very windy and cold during the day.At night, the cold is almost unbearable because of the wind. Plus, it rained a lot of the time. Needless to say, at times it was very uncomfortable. Luckily there was a Chabad there so we ate with them for the meals. As much as the guarding hours were annoying, the time in between was a pleasure. We cooked up a storm and did as we pleased (there wasn't a commander with us). After a few days there we were switched by other people and came back to the base.
That's more or less what goes on on kav. Guarding and more guarding. In a week and a half we will be moving up north to the Golan for 3 months of training. It is known to be extremely difficult. On the bright side though, I only have about 4 months left in the army!
That being said, what I was used to before I left was training, where every second is controlled by your commanders. No free time. Kav is different though. Very different. It literally means "line", probably referring to the borders. We are situated in the west bank, right next to a big bustling Arab city, Shechem or Nablus in english. It's population is about 125 000 people. We are on a base with some other units, but mostly we, 202, are responsible for protecting the Jewish citizens who live in the surrounding towns. For example, the town of Itamar where the Fogel family was murdered is in our jurisdiction. There are a lot of rock throwing incidents on the roads in the area as well. We also have a few checkpoints to manage. So far I haven't had much experience with any of the patrols or checkpoints because I've only been here for a week. Although I must say, because of the nature of some of the missions, I won't be able to disclose details.
As opposed to the training base where we had literally no free time, here we have plenty. If you're not guarding or cleaning, you're resting until the commander tells you that something is going on. Whereas on my old base I would not have dreamed of reading books, now I have had time to read Steve Jobs' biography. We don't get that much more sleep, usually about 6-7 hours, but you rest during the day, so you don't need that much sleep. Instead of following the commanders to meals and waiting forever in line, here we just go on our own. Basically we are treated a lot more like adults now, and it makes such a big difference to the morale of the soldiers. Our schedule for days in and out is most of the time 11 in, 3 out, and one time doing 17/4. When I flew back I came back right at the beginning of my kitah's 17, so next week we will get out on Thursday and come back on Monday morning. I remember when we did 19 days of training and 2 out. It was hell. Here it's fun. (But I'm still looking forward to the weekend, of course).
The conditions on this base are quite bad compared to my training base. Currently, there are only two rooms for three kitot, because there is usually one away at any one time. So at times it gets very cramped. It is absolutely freezing here at night so there is a heater. The bathrooms and showers are trailers but there is always hot water available. Whereas on our old base we were only allowed to eat at certain times, here we are free to eat as we wish. The same goes for cellphones. They are now always on us.
Most of the guarding I have been doing has been on base, which takes place usually in a tower by the fence or at the front gate. Lately though I have guarded on the main highway that runs north-south through the west bank. Usually guarding means staring at some hills and Arab villages. You'd be lucky if you were entertained by an animal walking through a field. On the highway though, you're watching over citizens at a hitchhiking spot or stopping Arab vehicles from driving near the Jewish towns. It's a lot more personal. The first time I guarded there I didn't take my eyes off the hitchhikers for the whole two hours in total fear that something would happen. I still don't fully understand how people are able to live around here or wait by the side of the road while mostly Arab cars pass them. Aren't they scared? So far nothing has happened. Occasionally an Arab will walk around and we will tell them to get in a taxi as it is forbidden for them to walk around in that area. At first I was nervous to deal with them, thinking they would be used to dealing with soldiers. But after some time I realized that they know very well who is in charge and obey our commands. Only about two or three times did I get yelled at by passerby. In all cases, they were school buses full of kids. It goes to show you what they're teaching in their schools. I like to try to get a feel for who they are, so I often stare into the cars as they drive by. Almost all of the people stare back with pure hatred in their eyes, which is sometimes all you can see.
It's not always boring though. In the last month we have caught a bunch of people. In the more serious cases they were caught trying to transport pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails from Shechem into our territory. Luckily the IDF's intelligence branch is second to none and knows everything.
After 19 days on base, we got a much needed 4 day rest. Most of it I spent with a guy from my kitah who lives in Jerusalem. But the best part was when we got together as a kitah and made ourselves a BBQ and relaxed in a hot tub. We have obviously become extremely close friends but our bond is deeper than that. It's not something that happens often outside the army. It's about knowing that the soldiers with you have responsibility for your life and you for theirs. And if we don't work or just get along well in easy times, we have no chance of working well when we really need to. We are like a family now, especially for me, being a chayal boded.
While I was away in Toronto our commanders were changed. My personal mefaked stayed with us but the two other ones are new. And they are amazing guys. Now commanders are much closer to us and these two are more chilled because they weren't with us during training. My mem mem is also new. He was in Maglan, a hard core special forces unit that nobody knows anything about. But he is also fairly chilled. Though he raised the fitness level quite a bit. Last week we ran 10km.
Occasionally we go on walking patrols in the surrounding Arab villages. More or less, we are just reminding them who runs the show. Usually nothing happens but sometimes flash-bang grenades are thrown.
On Shabbat Chanukah I volunteered to go to Itamar to guard there. But when we arrived, it was definitely not Itamar. They dropped us off in the middle of a group of houses on some hill in the middle of nowhere. We were led to a couple of trailers where we would be living and told when and what to guard. It looked like it was going to be extremely relaxed. A few hours later we got the bad news. We were being split up and half would be sent to another settlement, including me. We ended up doing 4on/8off except for Shabbat where they sent us another guy. The weather there is very windy and cold during the day.At night, the cold is almost unbearable because of the wind. Plus, it rained a lot of the time. Needless to say, at times it was very uncomfortable. Luckily there was a Chabad there so we ate with them for the meals. As much as the guarding hours were annoying, the time in between was a pleasure. We cooked up a storm and did as we pleased (there wasn't a commander with us). After a few days there we were switched by other people and came back to the base.
That's more or less what goes on on kav. Guarding and more guarding. In a week and a half we will be moving up north to the Golan for 3 months of training. It is known to be extremely difficult. On the bright side though, I only have about 4 months left in the army!
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