Search and Rescue

Today instead of class our Ulpan took a trip to one of the neighboring Army bases where they paired us with a Search and Rescue Unit for the day. The age of the soldiers always seems to take me by surprise, though I see them everyday. Eighteen and nineteen years old, these young kids walk around with guns slung over their soldiers in their matching olive green uniforms, hats tied to their right shoulders, ready to defend their nation. Mandatory, service in the Israeli Army applies to all Israeli citizens. After high school kids are forced to grow up quickly here when faced with the reality of defending their livelihood and their country, the possibility of killing someone, and the reality of answering to someone other than their parents.
Entering through four separate gates, when we finally got to our destination, we were asked to file into an assembly hall and take a seat. The point of our seminar today was to acquaint us with the soldiers which we were paired with and to introduce us to their basic duties. They were clearly shy about speaking English, so spoke in mixed Hebrew and English. Two minutes after sitting down we were ushered outside a told to sit in a circle. Apparently icebreakers are an international phenomenon. You’d think that as an English Tutor in Italy and as a Cicerone I would love every icebreaker known to mankind. False. We sat in a circle, the language barrier almost literally tangible hung over the circle like a cloud. We had to introduce ourselves, share where we came from and name our hobbies. I felt like I was in high school. I tried to take in as much of the army base as possible, to see how they really lived. When we had breaks, all the soldiers would stack their guns in a square figure, on top of each other. I asked them why they did it in a square: “because they are less likely to go off, and someone can watch over them more easily than if they were in a big pile.” After talking to the soldiers, they expressed a less than enthusiastic view of their base. Most loved their unit, but hated the food and all the restrictions. But, all assured me that it was something that was important to them and they would serve even if it weren’t mandatory. (This is not true for all Israeli’s, by the way).
After eating in their cafeteria, I can say I understand the term ‘army food.’ Poor kids, it was awful. I got scrambled eggs and could only take one bite. How do you mess up scrambled eggs?!? We ended the day with a demonstration of their training sessions. Dressed from head to toe in their army uniforms; hard hats on, gloves strapped on their helmets, eye goggles set, they all reminded me of gophers ready to dig. All wore watches, clearly a product of living by military time (though they somehow still manage to be late.) For the demonstration, two teams competed against each other for the fastest time. They used a lot of heavy machinery to break through metal doors, concrete blocks, scale walls and then carried someone out on a stretcher through all of that. My team won! On a related note, this unit was the one sent to Haiti. Israel was the first country to send a search and rescue crew after the disaster.