A lot has happened since my last post. About two weeks ago we handed over responsibility of Shechem to our rivals Golani. From there we drove to our new base near the Syrian border in the Golan. It's a very new base, only 1-2 years old so the conditions are great: rooms for 6, new heaters, and clean. The heaters are very necessary as the temperature dips to around freezing, occasionally even bringing snow (The Israelis went crazy when they saw snow, some seeing it for the first time). Being Canadian, I thought the cold wouldn't bother me but it does. In addition to the cold there is the rain. Sometimes it rains for days. We are very close to Mount Hermon, but I've only seen it twice because of the heavy and constant fog.
So we arrived at our new base on a Wednesday night, settled in, and by Friday morning we were already heading home despite the snow. Instead of returning to the north on Sunday, we instead headed to jump school for a refresher on jump techniques. Why? Because for the first time in 15 years, the entire Tzanchanim Brigade would be jumping together. That's about 1200 paratroopers!! Not only was the size of the event remarkable, the whole exercise would be operational. I'll explain soon what that means. After a few hours of rolling in the sand, we slept through a four hour bus ride back to the north. The jump wasn't until Tuesday night, so on Monday all we did was prepare bags, which for jumping, aren't so simple. Well before sunrise on Tuesday morning we drove down to Nevatim Air Force Base where the Hercules planes were waiting for us. The general feeling amongst the troops was probably a mix of fear and annoyance of having to go through yet another jump. Most didn't even want to jump. I enjoy it though so I was looking forward. Because the exercise was operational, the jump would be at night with all of our equipment on us. Our vests we wore under our parachutes, but our guns and backpacks were tied up in a bag that hangs from the harness and straps to our leg (so that it doesn't fly up during the jump). Some people were carrying up to 60kg in their bags! The jumping order was such that we were in the 19/20 plane so we waited a while before getting our equipment on and being checked. Instead of being with my regular guys, I had been volunteered to jump with the medical team attached to the plugah in order to help them carry some of the equipment. I don't remember exactly what time the plane rolled up but it must have been close to 21:00. Shortly thereafter we were led into the plane where we were stuffed in like sardines. I was the second person to walk onto the plane on my side of the plane, so I would be the second last person to leave. The crew does a few procedures, and the plane takes off a few minutes later. As soon as we we had reached the jumping height of 400m or 1200 feet we all stood up and got ready for the checks. The whole process was extremely rushed as it was an operational jump and we would all be jumping at the same go. In fact, I don't think they even had us do our own checks (but they did theirs). After a couple minutes of standing the weight of the bag was starting to get burdensome and I was dying to just jump. As the plane neared the drop zone, the doors were opened and the red light went on. Then green. Kfotz! Kfotz! 24 people after that it was me. I quickly hopped to the door after the guy in front of me and jumped. 21! 22! Ouch! 23! And it was open. The descent went well and so did the landing. But my eye hurt a little bit once I landed. I put my hand to it and felt a little blood. What I think happened was that I didn't put my head down on the exit, and during a little accidental spin, the parachute opened in my face and the strap caught some of my eyebrow. In the end it wasn't anything more than a cut and a bruise, but because it was nighttime and I didn't have a mirror, I had no idea what it looked like. So if you ever find yourself jumping out of a plane, keep your head down! Again, because it was operational, the gathering point was not lit up. Well it was, but only to people who have night vision. I do not have so I had to find people on the ground who did have and walk back with them to that point. I found someone from my medical team and together we walked for hours back to the point through sand dunes. The two parachutes together weigh 20kg, the backpack 30kg, and all the other stuff like vest and gun add up to a total of probably close to my weight. That trip from the landing to the meeting point... I just wanted to die. But eventually we made it. Just in time for the next hike, which lasted through the night! (Again on sand dunes). The next day we rested nearby ready to set up a sort of field hospital while the rest of the brigade did exercises. A few hours later we were back on our feet and except for a stop for dinner, walked through the night towards our final destination. We arrived at an Arab town about an hour before dawn. This is not a real Arab village though. It is only a replica. But it feels eerily real. Even the mosques project prayers. When we got there, we were some of the last to come, so there was major gunfire coming from inside the village. Once the sun came up we headed in and set up a hospital in a captured building and started accepting wounded. This went on for 4-5 hours as the village is quite large. Eventually though it did end and the whole brigade gathered for a little ceremony and a well-deserved proper meal. Then came the real reward: a 5 hour bus ride. It may seem odd, but if you're not a combat soldier you won't understand. Rarely do we just get to sit and sleep. We did stop on the way though and while my friend and I were buying food, the most unusual thing happened. As we were in line to buy our food, still dirty and sweaty from the Tarchat, the man in front of us suddenly grabs the food, swipes it with his purchases and buys it. We had no idea what to say. He did it so quickly that we couldn't even protest. Thank you whoever you are!
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