Israeli Army Volunteering

While researching places in Israel to volunteer at, I came across Sar-El.  It is a branch of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) where volunteers from around the world, from all backgrounds (after a security check), can volunteer to help the IDF.

I arrived at the Yiftach base near Elifelet in Northern Israel.  Some of the units represented on this base:

This base is mainly for "armor," which means tanks.  We could take pictures of tanks and artillery but were supposed to avoid photos of license plates, serial numbers, and identifying markers.

Israel has been reorganizing its bases and closing some of the smaller ones that were redundant or in disrepair.  This was one of them.  Soldiers on base told us that this was one of the crappier bases.  Also, it was an open base, meaning that many of the soldiers left the base at night to go home.  Though still very secure and guarded, it had a weird, abandoned feel.  Also, since it wasn’t home to that many soldiers, it wasn’t in great shape, the food was pretty spartan, and there was no commissary to buy snacks or necessities.   

This is the barracks where we slept:

Our daily schedule:

We had to wear IDF uniforms during most all activities.  Not everyone received uniforms that fit and Lev was pretty skinny so some improvisation was needed:

 

The work was fairly cool though.  Every 2 years the tanks, APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers), and other vehicles went in for a major maintenance service.  One of our tasks was to strip everything loose off the tanks and put it into a warehouse for storage so that the tank was clean and ready for its tune-up.    Working on the roof of an APC:

This is an armored personnel carrier.  Armor and treads like a tank but with no main gun:

We removed fire extinguishers, periscopes, boxes and boxes of machine gun rounds, explosives, giant tank-sized wrenches, anti-mine equipment, the large mounts for exterior machine guns…  Did I mention explosives!?!

 

We got to crawl in and out of the tanks, from commander’s seat, to driver’s seat, to gunner’s seat…

Standing near running vehicles, in the 90+ degree heat, I almost passed out one day.  I pushed past army officers(!) into an air-conditioned office and dove onto the floor.  I learned long ago that if one passes out while standing, it’s a lot further to fall than if you pass out while you’re already near the floor.  Regardless, cold water and some rest and I was back on my feet at work.  I thought it was weird it hit me that day since I had been in Israel’s heat for over 3 months and some of that was hiking in temps over 110 degrees.  Note to self – it’s hot in the desert.

We had other less exciting tasks like reorganizing and counting stuff in the warehouses.  Some of the warehouses are set-up and organized so that in case of emergency, reserve troops can arrive at the base, go into a warehouse, and 10 minutes later leave with every supply they need for war.  And some stuff is even separated depending on what kind of war the enemy is waging on Israel – standard weaponry or chemical…

After a couple days at that base, our Madrichot/counselors decided that the conditions at that base weren’t acceptable for volunteers (few soldiers on base, bad conditions…) and they moved us to Shimshon, a large communications base.  Here communications equipment was cleaned, tested, and retrofitted.  This included everything from large base/HQ size radios, to tank mounted radios, to helmet radios…  Here’s me cleaning radio headsets:

I cleaned hundreds that day.  Whenever I finished my stack they’d pour out another bag of them:

 

The radio kits fit into the interior helmet padding shown below:

Then the radio kit and interior padding fit into the helmets like the finished one I'm wearing:

I did some of those tasks, cleaning radio equipment, testing wires and connections, sorting hundreds of (realistically possibly > 1000) helmets, prepping helmets for repainting…  I sorted all these helmets by type, quality, missing straps…

The good ones then went to a different crew of volunteers for painting.  They looked like new after a fresh coat of paint.

It was very cool to know that we were helping the Israeli army.  The soldiers were very thankful for our help and regularly thanked us.  While testing radio equipment, I knew that in times of war, an Israeli soldier would have working radio equipment because I tested it.  Here's me testing connections on the radio headsets:

The food was pretty good at the second base.  A day’s food might be something like:

Breakfast – hard boiled eggs or plain omelets, sliced cucumber and tomato, cottage cheese, bread, and chocolate milk.

Lunch – chicken or beef and rice or pasta.

Dinner – pizza or chicken or beef, couscous, potatoes, and a brownie or treat.

Some things were missing – milk, hummus, maybe a salad or veggies.  All in all, it was better food than I expected.  FYI – they obeyed kosher rules.

In the morning we talked about the daily news.  I watched TV for the first time in probably 2 months.  Then we worked for 7 hours a day with a lunch break.  And at night we had nighttime activities – learning about the history of the IDF, learning about the Druze in Israel, discussions about Jewish topics like observing Shabbat or the Haredi not serving in the military…

My fellow volunteers were aged 22 to approx. 80, had occupations in teaching, law, military, music… and hailed from Germany, Russia, Australia, Scotland, France, Italy, Canada, NY, Alabama…  I think all of them were Jewish, though like I said, any faith is allowed to volunteer.  The several page application, apart from needing a physician to sign off on your physical and mental health, also asks your religious background, and if not Jewish, asks if you intend to proselytize while on base.  That’s a no-no.

Us volunteers thought all of the gear we were working on was so cool.  We'd walk around with helmets and gear on.  The soldiers looked at us like we were idiots, all dressed up in their military gear.  But that’s an everyday thing for them and it was still pretty novel for us.  I'm all decked out:

A memorial to fallen soldiers from this base:

It was an interesting week.  I learned about the history of the IDF and how the brigades were organized, I saw 2 different bases, met some new friends, and I helped out Israeli soldiers and the state of Israel.