Taking
place over the course of twenty-four hours, the tryout is said to be
one of the most difficult a draftee will participate in before
drafting officially. A participant who completes the tryout is
eligible to receive an invitation to a later tryout in one of three
units: HaYechida ("The
Unit"-also known as Sayeret Matkal),
Shayetet 13 (the
Israeli equivalent of the Navy SEALs), and Chovlim (ship
captains). From there, the participant can succeed in the later
tryout and proceed onto the training for the aforementioned units, or
can be dropped into a number of other special forces units.
For
my purposes, I've always maintained a desire to draft into Tzanchanim
(paratroopers), so Yom
Sayerot was never really in my
plans. After some persuasion from the Mashakiot,
I decided to attend for the experience with a desire to complete it.
As I
arrived at the Wingate Institute, a premier sports facility located
near the beaches of Netanya, I proceeded on a long walk with a few
others from the Garin to the Gibbush
site. We checked in, received our numbers and marked them boldly on
the front and back of our t-shirts, before having a final check with
the medical staff.
Being
in the first sixty people to arrive, I was sent to do the Bar-Or
(fitness assessment) first. Generally consisting of a 2000 meter run
and as many push-ups and sit-ups as one can do, our Bar-Or
only included the run. I lined up along fifty-nine other eager
draftees awaiting the word to move, and once it came, we were off.
The nerves and excitement to begin quickly fade as the sand from
below is kicked in the air and the elbows find their ways to your
ribs by those jostling to be first. My time was slightly
below-average for me, unfortunately, but was still acceptable enough
to move on to the rest of the tryout (a portion of people were cut
for their run times).
We were put to
bed, 300 kids in one tent laying shoulder to shoulder on the floor,
at 8:00 P.M., as the army is required to give us seven hours of sleep
in the tryouts. Yes, we were woken up at 3:00 A.M.! After some light
group stretches, we were divided into teams of about eighteen and
headed out to the sand dunes. For those of you who aren't familiar
with the Wingate Institute, the tryout takes place on large, steep
sand dunes, overlooking the gorgeous blues of the Mediterranean.
After carrying our
entire load of equipment (backpacks, stretchers, jerrycans, shovels)
to the top of a dune under the watch of three commanders from the
elite units, we began the test. The bald, stone-faced commander with
the aviator sunglasses casually pointed to the bottom of the sand
dune. He looked us all over, followed by a quiet order, “Twenty seconds to
the bottom of the dune and back. Line up in threes when you return.
Tzeh (go)!” And off we went.
Naturally, no one
can finish the sprint in twenty seconds. “Tzeh.” Off we
went again...and again. The exercise lasted for about forty minutes,
each sprint more tiring than the last. My goal for the day was to
finish the tryout, something that become increasingly more difficult
with each passing minute and the sight of many giving in to the
desire to leave.
After the first
exercise finally came to end, we were instructed to drink.
Apparently, our jerrycan had been previously used to transport oil,
so our water was tainted in the beginning. While many became
instantly sick from the taste and texture, it proved to be a blessing
as we were given permission to tap into the exercise jerrycans,
meaning we wouldn't carry them on our later runs!
The next exercise
was much like the first; sprinting to the bottom and back. This time,
the first four back would hoist the stretcher onto their shoulders,
lugging it down beneath the weight of many sandbags to the bottom and
back. Those who weren't in the first four continued sprinting until
the stretcher returned.
“Just finish,”
I thought at the end of each sprint, wearily glancing at the commander, “Please don't say it
again.”
“Tzeh.” …
“Tzeh.” … “Tzeh.”
“....just
finish.”
After another
forty minutes of the stretcher sprints, we were given somewhat of a
break from the grueling portion, as our next assignment was to simply
each dig a whole with a meter in length, width, and height. I quite
enjoyed the activity and when the commanders came around to ask my
strategy when digging the whole, I think they were pleased with my
makeshift Hebrew response!
Our final exercise
was walking up and down the dune with a sandbag on our shoulders, an
exercise more in honesty than physical capacity. The commanders
claimed not to be watching us, as it was our responsibility to let
them know how many turns we completed.
As we finished and threw the
sandbags to the ground, lumbering down the mountain, our commander
looked at us with his first smile of the day, “You've completed the physical portion of
the tryout. Kol Hakavod (all the respect).” A smile formed
on my face, my goal completed.
The remaining 150
or so participants who completed the tryout were all gathered
eventually as the numbers of those who would be receiving a tryout were read. The first group, HaYechida, was read, then
Shayetet, and finally Chovlim. I was in the fourth
group, the group who completed the tryout but wouldn't be receiving
an invitation to one of the special forces tryouts. While I was
slightly disappointed, I refused to let it take away from the feeling
of completing the tryout, a lofty goal I never thought I'd achieve.
All in all, Yom
Sayerot proved to be a worthwhile experience, one I'm glad I took
part in. Since the tryout, I've also participated in Gibbush
Tzanchanim (the Paratroopers tryout) and received information
about when I will be drafting with regards to my Hebrew level. I will
describe both in length in the coming posts!
Exciting days
ahead!
-Brett
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