Tank Commander's Course - Weeks 4-6

September 12

Tank Commander’s Course Weeks 4-6

We returned back to the base with the knowledge that we weren’t going to be going home for another three week stint, which makes the returning to the army a little harder because of the thought that one doesn’t see home for such an extended amount of time. These were considered to also be the three hardest weeks in the course because it was intense training all the time and it was continuous hours in the tank learning in gradual steps how to be a commander, finishing with our first time being a commander with live fire of multiple rockets. The challenge was going to be big, but the idea of getting to do this also seemed interesting, so we all tried to take on the point of view that it could possibly be fun. This is the attitude one has to take in situations like this because of the amount of time one will spend training and not seeing a shower or real food or home for such a long time. And you know what? It definitely pays off.

As we do with everything in the army, we led up to the final product in steps, learning from the base all the way to the big thing. The first week, we entered into the tanks without any movement and practiced the commands that we need to say to our other crew members in the tank and what we do in different situations, such as if an enemy soldier pops up on the side or when tanks are ready to fire at us. We then practiced our first movement in the tanks, travelling backwards and forwards and pretending to shoot at the enemy. The first time doing this was a wild experience, much more than it was driving the first time because your head is outside of the tank and you feel as though you’re flying in a way, floating on the Earth. I actually accomplished these tasks really quickly and really well, something I was proud of myself for. The only problem that in the army, that isn’t always the best thing because it meant that I was free to do other things such as…kitchen – the worst. I was placed there twice for the remainder of the first week with great dissatisfaction, but was happy to make it to the first Shabbat where I was able to rest up after a hard, physical week and to prepare for another one that was to follow.

Next, we returned immediately to the shetach with a similar week to follow, only this time we were going to be doing a full drill in the tank moving completely forward while practicing a full-on attack and firing most of the weapons on the tank, minus the rockets. This was going to be again challenging but also fun because we were going to taking that huge, expensive vehicle for a spin and using ample ammunition along the way. In addition, since we can’t all be commanders at the same time, we were able to practice the other positions many times over, making us even more experienced within the tank and understanding the roles of each position. Although each position is hard it its own way, they each have their really fun moments, ones that can’t really be described to someone who hasn’t tried them. But the one thing they all have in common is that if you do them while giving 100%, the experience is that much better. We finished the week having been a commander in the moving tank with firing for the first time, but we knew it was going to become more difficult with more things added on, but thankfully had another Shabbat to rest up before the upcoming week.

We didn’t waste any time on the third week, travelling to the shetach on Saturday night right after Shabbat ended. We woke up early on Sunday morning, got the tanks ready, and prepared for the most important week in the entire course, mostly due to the fact that it is with this week’s training that someone essentially finishes all of the necessary training to become a commander. But as stated earlier, we wanted to try having fun while also giving our all so that it wouldn’t feel like a mandatory week of training but more like an interesting and fun one. The first day I played to the role of water boy (bringing the people who were training water) and wasn’t involved much in the training because there wasn’t enough space for all of us to get the things done that we needed to. The next day, I started as the other members in the tank a few times, not looking as though I would get in my time as a commander (one needs to do both day and night for the training). Then, right before sunset, I was summoned to “prepare” my soldiers for our trek through the training, something that was also added to this week. Each time we were the commander, we had to run through what we were doing, how we were going to do it, and other bits and pieces such as information on the enemy or on our strength. I did a fairly good job but didn’t have any time to breathe, as I quickly did the night one as well. The reason they rushed me into finishing was because on the Tuesday of the week, it was a “fun day” for lone soldiers. This was really nice to partake in as they took us to the beach and just gave us a nice day off to relax and clear our minds and show their support for all that we do. It is a great feeling when people, other soldiers really, take time out of their days to show appreciation – it really makes you feel a little better on a daily basis with what you are doing.

We finished the “hardest part” of the course and in the end it wasn’t so bad after all. We were well on our way to the light at the end of the tunnel as we had finished half of the course and basically all of the necessary training as well. Although it was continuously going to be challenging, this was a positive reinforcement that we really could accomplish anything thrown our way, we just needed to take it easy and take it one step at a time. The weeks to follow aren’t supposed to be as difficult physically, but the challenge is always going to be present. But I know we are going to make it fun along the way and finish the rest of the course with pride and dignity for what we are becoming – commanders in the Israeli army.