When I was in high school I didn’t care about my grades. I always found flaws in the education system and used that as an excuse to not try. Oh, I’m not going to waste my time on something I don’t even believe in. I always knew in the back of my head that I was digging myself into a hole. I knew that my general apathy was going to continue to eat away slowly at me unless I flipped my world upside down.
So that’s exactly what I did over a year ago when I made aliyah, but I’m only now realizing how important hard work is, and how exceeding in one part of life sets up all the dominoes for you to succeed in the next part of your life as well. Unfortunately, up until now, I haven’t been setting up the dominoes properly. I didn’t exercise properly like I should have over the past year, and honestly, if I had, I probably would have gotten an invitation from yom sayerot. People always told me that it’s a strong mind they look for, because the army can whip anyone who has a healthy body into shape. But you know what, all my friends who got invitations to gibushim are in amazing shape, and everyone who wasn’t in shape didn’t get an invitation. So go figure.
It’s hit me that my poor grades mean that when I finish the army I’m going to have to work extra hard in order to exceed in college. It means that from the get go I’m going to be at a disadvantage during the application process. It means that I’ll have to spend years making up for the lethargy I embodied during high school. It means a lot of things, and if I had put in the work beforehand, I would be much better off right now. It means that I have to succeed in the army so that I can start building a future for myself in Israel.
All of this coupled with the news that I didn’t get into the infantry. I was almost completely certain I’d get Golani, Givati, or Nahal. That’s what I’ve been dreaming about for over a year, it’s what I listed as my number one choice, and I didn’t get any of them. Instead I got field intelligence. At first I was shocked and thought to myself that I’ll fight tooth and nail to get out, but now that I’ve spoken with people about it, it doesn’t sound that bad. The job is from what I hear important, not at all “jobnik," and uses lots of cutting edge interesting technology.
My decision is that I’m still going to do everything I can to get into infantry, because that’s what I’ve always wanted. On the other hand, I also don’t want to risk losing field intelligence because it sounds like it could be pretty amazing. There are no special forces within the unit which upsets me because I’d like to give that a shot and if I go to FI I’ll never get to experience a gibush. Also, FI doesn’t get as much basic training as the infantry. Other than that, the overall training is still from what I hear very intense and lasts 8.5 months.
Basically, it’s all going to come down to my attitude. I know that my future has a lot of opportunities in store for me if I play my cards right and put in the hard work.
Great philosophy. Of course, that's what everyone tells us about the IDF. Push hard. But you can find solace in having given it your all if you don't get infantry. Good luck and just know either way you'll have an interesting job and will be contributing to Israel - which is why I think you joined the IDF. Take care.
ReplyDeletehey! in the field intel unit you will see more action than the regular infantry units...
ReplyDeleteyou will be always in the front line so be carefull
cheers
it is not hard at all to get into infantry, so you must really suck or be really special to get into field intel.
ReplyDeleteps. atleast u didnt get into tanks or artillery
Anonymous - it's a lottery, man. I don't know what unit you were in, but I saw guys who were totally awesome get stuck in artillery, and guys that were fat and retarded get into infantry. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
ReplyDeleteEli - BRO! Fucking break out of that fucking rut you're putting yourself in because of this stupid unit bullshit! WAKE UP! Look at where you are in the process! It's going to be awesome. Field Intelligence does some sweet ass shit. Want a story?
My buddy was on an ambush along the Egyptian border with the police YAMAM unit (look that shit up), and they were looking for drug smugglers. Some crossed the border with like a couple tons of heroin, and YAMAM lit those guys up! His boys and him were shooting, it was mayhem. Field Intelligence.
They also do like 72 hour ambushes on the Gaza border. It's intense.
They are trained almost to the infantry level, just kinda differently - and they have to carry just as much if not heavier gear. And though it sucks to carry all that gear, it is a bragging right! I was the king of my battalion because I had the very heaviest load. Everyone knew me. After exercises, guys from other companies would come up to me and say, "Hey, weren't you that guy with that huge thing on your back? How much does that weight?" Field Intelligence has that same mentality.
What's even better, and trust me on this because right now you don't understand this very important part but you will later VERY WELL, but Field Intelligence soldiers have a much better life than infantry. In infantry, particularly Golani and Givati, there are so many bullshit rules about what you can and can't do as a "young" soldier. It is pure annoying bullshit. In FI, it won't be as bad.
WAKE UP! You're about to be in the IDF!
Danny -
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for the comment and advice. It's very flattering but also bizarre having you comment on my blog because your blog was such an inspiration for me. It was one of the factors that gave me the courage to go through with making Aliyah. I've been in basic training in FI for a little over a month now. From the beginning I felt like it was such a mistake that I was there and that my dream to be in the infantry was dying. I would think of your blog and how much it meant to me and feel so bad that I'm missing out on the Golani experience that you had. Now that you are saying FI is a great unit, it mixes things up for me. Actually, I know that FI is a great unit, and that it's both very important and interesting. What irks me is that, as my mefaked said himself, in FI the goal is never to come into contact with the enemy. I know it's stupid machismo bullshit, but aside from the zionist reasons, I also decided to enlist for personal reasons; I want to prove something to myself. As it is now, I'm in the final stages of filling out Form 55, and it looks like it's going to go through, although it's not definite. I like the unit and the people, but it's not what I want to do.
However, it doesn't mean that I've been a crybaby. My mefakdim have told me that they're very pleased with me, have high expectations, and that if I continue on like this it looks like I'm going to get an important job. The last thing was brought up to me because they somehow found out that I'm trying to transfer. They still treat me well because they know that I always give 100% and have a good attitude.
Also, what do you know of what FI does in the north on the Lebanese border, because that's where I'm supposed to end up serving.
Lasty, I know that it's been awhile since I've updated, but I find myself so pressed for time to catch up with my persona life when I get out on the weekend that I don't arount to writing out a blog entry. I'll try to change that from now on for those who still follow my writing.
Thanks again for any advice,
Eli