Culture Corner: Our Counterparts in the IDF

By Ari Fellman / Alisha Deluty

While most American college students juggle academics, extra curricular activities, jobs and a social life, Israeli teenagers endure an extremely different lifestyle. After speaking with Ari Fellman of the IDF, here’s how he described a typical day in the Israeli army:

It’s hard to say what a "typical" day in the army is. The Israeli army is a (relatively) large organization, with very different positions in it.

For example, when I was in basic training (almost seven years ago), I had a very regular schedule. It consisted of waking up at ungodly hours of the morning, cleaning my gun and tent, running around a bit, learning about different values and lingo of the IDF, and all with the occasional guard duty or kitchen patrol (not fun at all—humongous pots and an unending amount of dishes).

In later courses in the army, relating to my training as an officer, the schedule was similar, although the content was very different.

My little brother, who is a combat soldier, has a relatively boring routine. He sleeps for eight hours, then goes on guard duty/patrol for eight hours, and then has eight hours off again.

As for me, in this day and age, I’m an electronics engineer and an officer. In my unit, most people go home at the end of the day, which makes it seem like a daily job. My parents refer to it as "going to work." There are many similarities but one main difference. I find it hard to believe that in a "regular" job one would have to occasionally take a group of soldiers, sometimes technicians or mechanics, on their regular positions, and tell them, "Ok guys. Tonight it’s your turn—guard the base. Let’s see if you know the various ways to respond to such-and-such-a threat."

My morning routine is as follows. I get up in the morning at home, at 6 am. I am out of the house showered, shaved and dressed by 6:20, and off I go to the base. I get to the base, either by public transportation (free for soldiers in uniform) or by a ride with one of the others who serve in my unit. When I get to the base, I have breakfast or go for a 3-6 km jog and try to encourage other soldiers in my unit to do likewise. I check my schedule to see what there is to do that day, and I get to work. It can be various meetings about things that need to be done. I feel many times that it should be less talk and more work. It can also be working on some program or helping load a car for an experiment. On occasion, I have guard duty in which I am the officer in charge for that day. This means that I check the other guards’ guns, go back to my daily routine, and spend most of the night awake, making sure all the guards are alert — saluting the flag, morning and evening.

Ari Fellman participated in the Taglit-birthright israel: KOACH/Hillel mifgash (encounter) with our groups in June 2006 and January 2007.

[Posted 10/12/07]