Easy Living

Hello everyone

These two weeks were probably the most relaxing ones I’ll have in the army. We did almost nothing. But I’ll try to expand on a few topics, bare with me.

The first week we had two days of lessons about basic first aid. The highlight was learning how to treat a patient who had his leg/arm blown off. We learned all sorts of knots using different types of bandages to cut off all circulation, so that the patient would not bleed out. Short story, it really hurts, but it saves lives. We basically spent two days torturing each other and laughing at each other’s pain. We also had a bunch of classes about Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. We learned all about the countries economic, political, and cultural situations, as well as almost everything about each countries military, and terror organizations. It was very important to learn how to recognize our enemies, and understand what drives them. 

The most exciting moment of the week was throwing a grenade for the first time. We put on a ceramic vest, ran up to the bunker, did a few run throughs with the fake grenade, and then it was time for the real deal. I pulled the pin, stretched my arm back, launched the grenade as far as I could, saw it hit the ground, and ducked. Unfortunately, it was more of a boom than BOOOOOM like I expected. We were wearing ear plugs, and couldn’t see the explosion, but it was still the biggest rush of the week. 

For some reason once you throw a grenade, you are allowed to begin guarding the base for real. So logically, this past week was dedicated to guarding the base. Yippee. Each shift is 3 hours, and you usually got 6 hours between each shift. I spent most of each shift singing to myself, trying to pass the time. To be honest I was a little worried that my fantastic singing voice would attract Bedouins and they would come steal stuff, but I guess they were tired that night. 

One night of guarding a few of us were sent to a construction site outside of base, where they are building something for the base. Basically our job was to make sure that the Bedouins didn’t steal the heavy machinery used on the site. We built a bond fire to keep us warm and so that any potential thieves would see that we were there from far away. Every now and again we would hear a rustle, and would walk around the site and flash our flash lights to ward off the thieves. It was a fun yet slightly stressful night. Each one of us slept about four hours. Unfortunately the half-tent I brought did not match my partner’s half-tent, so we ended up sleeping in a shipping container. Another one of those – only in the army – moments. But hey, it certainly kept the wind/sand storm out. 

On Tuesday morning I woke up ready to put my work uniform on, when suddenly my commander told me to put on my nice uniform. The commanders have visited every soldiers’ house to meet with their parents and see the conditions they live in. Since my commander can’t meet my parents here, I came with him to my kibbutz. We spent all day riding busses, and he got a taste of how long it really takes me to get to base every week. It was cool to see a different side of my commander in a more relaxed setting. After seeing my room and meeting with my Rakezet, we started our way back to base. Soon after we got on the bus, my commander received a call from my officer, telling him that I could sleep at home that night! I quickly said goodbye to my commander, and got on a bus the opposite way. 

That’s about all that happened, not too much. Now on a different note. I have added a new page to my blog, called Donate. My unit is in need of all sorts of gear (that the army does not provide) that will help us train to our highest capabilities. This gear ranges from warm winter fleeces, to head lamps, to hiking boots, etc. If you would like to donate even a small amount, I would really really appreciate it. Please follow this link to the Donate page. https://shaularmony.wordpress.com/donate/

Thanks so much in advanced. If you cannot donate, sending good vibes also helps :). 

Shaul.