Beginning
early on Sunday, the activity was designed to utilize every unit
within Tzanchanim,
even the new soldiers. Finally, the equipment we laboriously stood
guard over for hours during our precious Shabbat was put to good use
as the chativah flexed
every muscle at it's disposal.
We
left as a machlakah
(three teams) into the shetach
once more, packing up and bracing ourselves for the cold. The shetach
was one we weren't yet
acquainted with, being taken up into the mountains of the north.
My
kita was split into
two groups on the first night, tasked with running traffic stops on a
major highway to allow for mass numbers of tzanchanim
to cross. We arrived to our location late at night, prepared our
things and went to bed, a few of us waking up at a time to run the
stops. More than anything, we basically did our best to past the time
and sleep as closely as possible to fend off the cold, a recurring
theme.
The
next day was mostly uneventful, a lot of waiting around to find out
what the rest of the week would hold for us. Towards the late
afternoon, we were driven up to the peak of Mount Carmel and given
our orders. We would be dressing up as the enemy, in this case
Hezbollah, and waiting
to ambush soldiers climbing up the mountain.
At
about 9:30 P.M., we were told to get into our outfits and wait at our
outposts. The soldiers “should be arriving in about thirty
minutes...” As 10:00 P.M. arrived, no soldiers arrived with it.
“Just a few more minutes.” We waited and waited and hours passed.
The
three of us at the station, commander included, stayed as close as
possible to prevent hypothermia, discussed the tactics of ambushes
and how best to stay awake. Tasked with keeping conscious and healthy
and tired of counting the minutes on my watch, I completely
overlooked the fact that there we were on the mountain, under the
night sky of New Years Eve.
As
I glanced down at my watch, I noticed the illuminated LCD screen:
2:05 A.M. Shivering, I turned to the soldiers sitting next to me, one
of whom was taking his twenty minute turn to sleep. “Happy New
Years.” The commander cracked a smile, responding, “This is what
we signed up for. Freezing next to each other, the wind of the north,
waiting for an ambush, and dreaming about being with our friends on
New Years Eve. This is kravi.”
...this is combat.
Finally,
at 4:00 A.M., we received the order to prepare and begin the
operation. While I'm not entirely sure what I'm allowed to write
about, suffice it to say the operation appeared successful on all
fronts. Frustratingly, however, it lasted about ten minutes. While an
impressive thing to witness and participate in, waiting six and a
half hours for a ten minute exercise is far from satisfying.
The
following day, after an hour of sleep, we headed back to the base in
the north to restock supplies and rest for a couple of hours. My
machlakah was ordered
back into the shetach,
however I was told I would not be joining them in order to attend
Darren's Tekes Hashba'ah
(swearing in ceremony).
I
joined another machlakah
on the trip back to Bach Tzanchanim
and on Thursday, left the base to the tekes.
I won't delve into too much detail about the tekes
itself, perhaps it would be more fitting for Darren to do so, but
suffice it to say it was an emotional experience to proudly watch my
brother swear his allegiance to defend the State of Israel.
Back
to base tomorrow for another two weeks and already looking forward to writing
again. Happy 2013!
-Brett
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