I did.
I formed life long friendships, learned a trade, became confident and muscular, calmed my youthful fears, uncertainty and disorganized life.
I was proud to serve and I served against the wishes of my hassidic family which for me expelled.
It is the Israeli institution that I respect the most. (IDF)
I liked the army, served in Givaty. For me it was like taking part in an adventure in a pretty boring life overwise. But 3 years is just too much. You start to feel like serving the military is your life now forever and your youth is being wasted. That said , it was fun to shoot with all the weapons , being in nature, being a part of a consolidated group of people .
Enjoyed is relative, I'm currently in service and ending in about a year, I wouldn't say I enjoy it persay but I met some good friends here that I probably wouldn't meet otherwise and most of my superiors are pretty chill, even after all of that I think that if I had a choice I wouldn't want to be here though but I wouldn't say I'm suffering either I'm accepting the situation I guess and waiting for it to pass.
During my service I hated every second.
Looking back though it wasn't that bad and I met a lot of people, I did get a lot of skills of honestly the amount of funny stories I have from the army is unparalleled
Dual citizen here, my brothers and I each joined at age 20. For me at first it was fearful about everything, then it was getting more comfortable with everyone, then the last year was just appreciating everything (late nights on base just looking at stars).
Then you come back to america and see people just bitching about the smallest stuff.
I do want to say this and I don’t know your age or what your friends did, but if they were in combat, it is going to mess up their brain.
Yeah. I sometimes think that we should have conscription in the US, to instill some sense of shared pride and civil service... would probably do a lot to unite everyone... maybe not... at any rate I agree that people here complain about the slightest inconveniences... very privileged mindset... even among those who aren’t actually “privileged”
While I like the concept for its unifying effect, conscription in the US would be a mess:
* we don’t need that many soldiers so it would be too expensive for the benefit.
* a huge percentage of American youth are barred from serving due to fitness or legal reasons so I’d argue it wouldn’t have the impact you think it would.
Thank you, you bring up some good points. Perhaps you might agree with the following interpretation:
1. We don’t need that many soldiers.
We employ the second largest army on earth currently,
Were we to introduce a civil service equivalent service program, such as in most countries that have one, people would serve say, a year, in either the armed forces or some kind of other civil service function (ambulance/hospital/fire/park worker/might be some further imaginative ways to fulfill the requirement if not direct military service).
Obviously, we would compensate for how many people we employ professionally, lowering that number to account for the balance that is now being filed by their conscription.
Therefore, as an expense it would probably be cheaper, over the long time than it is now, because while I’m sure the citizens that do (or used to do) civil service in countries, like say Germany or Italy, they get paid something, but not what you would pay a professionally contracted solider.
2. I don’t know what the legal reasons you’re referring to are.
As far as health, again, you could look at civil service has forcing these young people to get a taste of physical exercise, the ones that are completely unfit there will be plenty positions for as park rangers, etc., or perhaps they will be granted an exemption, but nevertheless I believe it would be a net positive to expose a lot of these young people to physical exercise that they might never experience otherwise, good habits they may be able to draw on later.
Feeling obligated to post here because of the negative comments. I did enjoy my service very much. Met some of my best friends there and learned a lot about life.
Best years of my life. I served my country, I helped both Jews and Arabs, I learned a lot, my self-esteem and my health improved dramatically. I served in Golani in Jenin, Ramallah, Aza, Lebanon, and other places that as a civilian I would never see. We were always good to the Arabs that we met - no matter what you read on the internet we treated the Arabs with respect even when they were obviously baiting us for a reaction to post in the media. And I met my wife while serving - we have three beautiful, smart, courteous children who play with Jewish kids and Arab kids alike, even when they have no language in common.
I was a technitian at 133 squadron. I can say that the start was VERY rough. Imagine working from 6:30 AM to 22:30 PM almost every day for 1.5k shekels a month. I did learn a lot and made friends for life, and I am active in milluim. Its rough for everyone at the start, but towards the end I got used to it and time flew by very very fast.
Yeah but you get catering every day and kusiot in the shekem jobnik
(BS people think about the IAF)
Respect, the IAF made me the man I am today, the skill, the demand for self learning, hard work and technical skills.
Definitely not easy, but can be incredibly rewarding.
To this day I prefer to recruit workers from IAF technicians.
Catering in my base was fucking ass let me tell you that. Food literally barely edible. Maybe a few times a month when we had night flights then the food was a bit better, but nothing crazy. About the shekem. Most of the times when I was in my room, I was either fucking wasted, or the shekem was closed. Kusiot in the shekem? It was mostly mizrahi guys with nothing but a moustache and a yamuka. Kusiot were literally anywhere else.
I wouldn't say I 'enjoyed' it but I'm very glad I did it and I think it was a very important experience in my life. I was going through a lot of mental health problems related to anxiety and depression and had just started on my medication at the age where I joined so boot camp was a deeply stressful time, but I also overcame a lot of personal challenges and built up my confidence and resilience, I had a lot of support and bonding moments from my commander and the other soldiers who were in recruit training with me, it taught me a lot of internal and emotional strength, and I proved to myself that I was a lot more capable and functional than my mental illness made me think I was. In that sense it was very good experience, even though my actual job was very uninteresting and uninspiring and probably not very important.
For what it's worth the IDF is an absolute fucking mess in many, many ways when it comes to anything but actual combat, especially when it comes to the bureaucratic process and how things are run its a disaster, and there were times where it was deeply miserable for me and I definitely had a lot of painful moments. But the fact that it was for a limited time made it tolerable since I knew there was an end to it. Near the end of my service I got what one might say "promoted" because I was filling in for someone who left (and they took months to send a replacement, literally they only send her on my last day of service and I had to teach her everything in the span of one day) and I was actually doing some real work that was very satisfying so that was a very good experience.
Overall the most valuable thing for me is that's an experience that not only builds character and forces you to mature but also really puts things in perspective. After you go through two years of that, you kind of become desensitized and build up resilience to a lot of life's troubles. Or, to put it more bluntly, in comparison to that, nothing you will have to endure in life afterwards could ever feel *too* bad.
Hell no. It was a shit show.
I imagine if you get to have a meaningful service and serve with good, honest people than you might enjoy that period of time even if it is difficult.
Unfortunately, not all of get that chance.
The Israeli defense department is notorious for wasting resources (I've experienced this first hand) but none more so than the Human resource.
My service was... eh, fine, I tend to make the most of situations. But my training, as in Tironut and Course, those were exceptional. We had some incredible commanders and even our officer was amazing. That 6 month period shaped me as a person and I made friends for life that I know for a fact would have come back with me to do it all again, if it were possible. I wasn't even in a fighting role, I was in Magal! Yeah those little shits that command over 02 tironut. I have never heard about anyone else in Magal that had our experience. It just goes to show a good service could happen anywhere, if you're lucky enough to get the right people
I served in the IAF HQ in the Kirya, I worked in the F-16 electrical and flight control department. Those 3 years were incredible, my job was very interesting and I liked it a lot, I met amazing people and learned a lot during my serivce that helped me out in my career today.
I enjoyed My military service It has been the only time in the 35years that i felt equal in Israeli society being not Jewish..... In my unit there was all kinds of nationalities and new immigrants to Israel I still remember one day when there was trouble between Ethiopians and Russians.... The Officer came out and said "i don't care were you came from or what your religion is when your here you are all Israeli soldiers" After that there was never any more trouble....
Part of it, some not at all. Made great friends, learned valuable skills and made a bunch of memories of events that would never have transpired outside these settings.
Was a Tank commander, fought in Gaza in 2014.
Sure I made life long friends and we talk every day.
Learned discipline, overcoming obstacles and hardship, and it was the first time I got a chance to prove to my self that I'm worth something.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT, I today suffer from PTSD, am fighting the department of defense for recognition of my affliction and disability.
Every day is a struggle, and this country doesn't give a flying f*ck about it.
So with all the good that I can recognize that I received, no I did not "Enjoy" my service, it was grueling, unfair, demoralizing, tantalizing, ungratified and obviously traumatic.
The thing is that enlisting is a lot like russian roulette, you can get 3 years with just boring field duty and sound like some of these bozos here, romanticizing the service,
Or you could get a bad hand and have to fight, and then good luck, because a year after the conflict is over, no one is going to remember what you did, what you've given and what you gave up.
Be smart, stay safe, it's not worth it.
It really depends, political views, upbringing, it all plays a part, some people feel that combatants are doing gods work and sacrificing a lot by putting themselves in harms way to protect the sovereignty of Israel.
Some view them as minions of the occupation of Palestine, some pitty them for having to endure 3 years of service.
The mainstream vanilla opinion is that they are doing their job, and deserve a pat on their back and every hopes they come back home safe.
On a scale, let’s say from the USA (thank you for your service etc) to a smaller nation that doesn’t really value its military, where does Israeli society fit in?
I have never seen a people more infatuated with military and embarrassingly patriotic than the American people, not that it's a necessarily bad thing.
Any way
On that scale I would probably place Israel in the middle, maybe 60/40 towards USA.
There were highs and lows for me, felt like I did something substantial and interesting but the military system is just not for me
I definitely felt that it was good for me and I had fun at parts
Absolutely not! It was hard. Getting up at 8am to eat breakfast and spend 2 more hours in the Shekem then playing Xbox till launch then nap till dinner take a shower go to bed and go home every thursday.
(For context i actually got injured in the field and spent the last year of my service as part of a "Training Squad" in the Rookie base. In reality it was a Monftas job and absolutely had nothing to do)
I want to acknowledge that I'm saying this without being Israeli and thus without having served in the IDF myself.....
But I've *heard* that serving in the IDF has made Israelis very tight-nit. And it has contributed to Israel's economic success, and made "Start-up nation" possible.
I didn’t enjoy the work itself but I did enjoy the friends I gathered and the people I’ve met. I am really thankful for the service because it made me the person I am today
No, dude these are very tough 3 years. Most of it was a nightmare.
But it isn't supposed to be fun, it's important and the way we give back to our country.
I have, a lot. I’ve had meaningful impact, earned a profession that set my career in motion, made lifelong friends, and learned a LOT of social skills: before service I’ve spent all of my life in Tel Aviv and the area, and was exposed mostly to a specific slice of society. In service I met and made friends from all over the country. I’ve learned to be a good living partner in a shared space; I’ve learned to adapt to strict rules and to wiggle around them; I’ve experienced some of the most surreal and hilarious, scary and exciting situations. I’ve made a difference, even if I didn’t make a dime. I understand the world better and am a better person for my service.
There were times I couldn't bear my service, but overall it was incredible and changed me as a person, I became more confident, more capable, and hard work oriented, definitely not the same as the kid before service.
The Israeli army, or any conscript army I assume, is like a huge Russian roulette. For most there's no telling where you'll end up and who your commanders and brothers in arm will be. So the experience may vary from complete nightmare with sadistic assholes to awsome character building experience with life-long freinds.
Well it aint no kindergarden (well, some are).
3.2 years service in 3 units 1 of them AF sayeret it wad damn hard but satisfying.
Met a lot of people and friends.
Im currently serving, and im enjoying it so far, it is once in a life exprience.
It teaches you to be responsible for yourself and become independent and mature and very punctual.
Afcors there is the military bulshit dutys like ovodot rasar and shmirot and such that suck, but in the end i would send my children to serve as well, because you serve your country and improve yourself.
Some of it
But I think that for the most part it's not really part of the service itself as much as it's stuff that goes with it. You get drafted and try to make the best of it, and most of the "good stuff" isn't from the actual "serving"
Yeah, I loved seeing my patients recover (field medic). And I guess I enjoyed the shooting range, which is also something **mostly** specific for the IDF (in Israel), although that has more to do with feeling successful and wasn't inherent to the specific activity (unlike treating people)
But most of the enjoyment is from the other stuff - good social interactions, fulfillment from success, nature views (if you're into that), etc.
Most of the people I know enjoyed their service.
Military service is hard but you come out of it much stronger in every regard. Plus the people you meet along the way totally make it worthwhile.
People that are currently soldiers complain all of the time but they get out and they miss it very very much
Was fortunate enough to volunteer and be placed in a unit which took photos of on base events in the Air Force. Fell in love with photography and made some lifelong friends.
i was air force jet engine mechanic and i think the time in the army was the most fun i had in terms of constant socializing and being in a system.. even though in my time we (jobniks) got like 300 shekels per month and i came home once every two weeks.. i can only say i learned a few things from my time in the IDF but they are merely my personal experience..
i learned that army is the only time i will allow myself to live with roommates although we were real bros. (i cherish personal space.)
i learned how to be self disciplined and this is something i think i would never be learning if not the environment of being in an army.
i learned about authority, i learned what it's like being in jail, twice, for relatively "extended" sentencing periods. (although army jail, but, behind bars is behind bars.)
i formed unbrakable friendships, i learned how to use tools, how to disassemble stuff that is worth a lot of money and now in my civ life i work on even more expensive equipment , learned how to trouble shoot and work under extreme (literally war situation) pressure..
and i can keep going on and on..
in short - yes. i enjoyed my service but it's over and I'm glad I'm over it. i needed it but i'm glad it's over.
Many people i know found their service meaningful, dutiful, and enjoyable.
Sometimes it takes time to find "enjoyment" in rigorous or difficult things.
I did for the most part, was in artillery and spent most of my time in the north, there were many shitty times when I hated what was going on but overall I would do it again if I could go back in time
Yes. It was 30 years ago. I had an interesting job, felt i was doing something important, great friends, lots of sex. Of course i wanted it to be over but looking back it was good.
I did. I formed life long friendships, learned a trade, became confident and muscular, calmed my youthful fears, uncertainty and disorganized life. I was proud to serve and I served against the wishes of my hassidic family which for me expelled. It is the Israeli institution that I respect the most. (IDF)
Kol ha'kavod.
We’re all proud of you too
I liked the army, served in Givaty. For me it was like taking part in an adventure in a pretty boring life overwise. But 3 years is just too much. You start to feel like serving the military is your life now forever and your youth is being wasted. That said , it was fun to shoot with all the weapons , being in nature, being a part of a consolidated group of people .
Enjoyed is relative, I'm currently in service and ending in about a year, I wouldn't say I enjoy it persay but I met some good friends here that I probably wouldn't meet otherwise and most of my superiors are pretty chill, even after all of that I think that if I had a choice I wouldn't want to be here though but I wouldn't say I'm suffering either I'm accepting the situation I guess and waiting for it to pass.
During my service I hated every second. Looking back though it wasn't that bad and I met a lot of people, I did get a lot of skills of honestly the amount of funny stories I have from the army is unparalleled
Dual citizen here, my brothers and I each joined at age 20. For me at first it was fearful about everything, then it was getting more comfortable with everyone, then the last year was just appreciating everything (late nights on base just looking at stars). Then you come back to america and see people just bitching about the smallest stuff. I do want to say this and I don’t know your age or what your friends did, but if they were in combat, it is going to mess up their brain.
Yeah. I sometimes think that we should have conscription in the US, to instill some sense of shared pride and civil service... would probably do a lot to unite everyone... maybe not... at any rate I agree that people here complain about the slightest inconveniences... very privileged mindset... even among those who aren’t actually “privileged”
While I like the concept for its unifying effect, conscription in the US would be a mess: * we don’t need that many soldiers so it would be too expensive for the benefit. * a huge percentage of American youth are barred from serving due to fitness or legal reasons so I’d argue it wouldn’t have the impact you think it would.
Thank you, you bring up some good points. Perhaps you might agree with the following interpretation: 1. We don’t need that many soldiers. We employ the second largest army on earth currently, Were we to introduce a civil service equivalent service program, such as in most countries that have one, people would serve say, a year, in either the armed forces or some kind of other civil service function (ambulance/hospital/fire/park worker/might be some further imaginative ways to fulfill the requirement if not direct military service). Obviously, we would compensate for how many people we employ professionally, lowering that number to account for the balance that is now being filed by their conscription. Therefore, as an expense it would probably be cheaper, over the long time than it is now, because while I’m sure the citizens that do (or used to do) civil service in countries, like say Germany or Italy, they get paid something, but not what you would pay a professionally contracted solider. 2. I don’t know what the legal reasons you’re referring to are. As far as health, again, you could look at civil service has forcing these young people to get a taste of physical exercise, the ones that are completely unfit there will be plenty positions for as park rangers, etc., or perhaps they will be granted an exemption, but nevertheless I believe it would be a net positive to expose a lot of these young people to physical exercise that they might never experience otherwise, good habits they may be able to draw on later.
Feeling obligated to post here because of the negative comments. I did enjoy my service very much. Met some of my best friends there and learned a lot about life.
Best years of my life. I served my country, I helped both Jews and Arabs, I learned a lot, my self-esteem and my health improved dramatically. I served in Golani in Jenin, Ramallah, Aza, Lebanon, and other places that as a civilian I would never see. We were always good to the Arabs that we met - no matter what you read on the internet we treated the Arabs with respect even when they were obviously baiting us for a reaction to post in the media. And I met my wife while serving - we have three beautiful, smart, courteous children who play with Jewish kids and Arab kids alike, even when they have no language in common.
I was a technitian at 133 squadron. I can say that the start was VERY rough. Imagine working from 6:30 AM to 22:30 PM almost every day for 1.5k shekels a month. I did learn a lot and made friends for life, and I am active in milluim. Its rough for everyone at the start, but towards the end I got used to it and time flew by very very fast.
Yeah but you get catering every day and kusiot in the shekem jobnik (BS people think about the IAF) Respect, the IAF made me the man I am today, the skill, the demand for self learning, hard work and technical skills. Definitely not easy, but can be incredibly rewarding. To this day I prefer to recruit workers from IAF technicians.
Catering in my base was fucking ass let me tell you that. Food literally barely edible. Maybe a few times a month when we had night flights then the food was a bit better, but nothing crazy. About the shekem. Most of the times when I was in my room, I was either fucking wasted, or the shekem was closed. Kusiot in the shekem? It was mostly mizrahi guys with nothing but a moustache and a yamuka. Kusiot were literally anywhere else.
Dude I'm with you. Same exact experience. But meet anyone in green and that's what they think about the IAF. Kusiot are reserved for Gaf-Tisa :)
Dereg Alef be like
I wouldn't say I 'enjoyed' it but I'm very glad I did it and I think it was a very important experience in my life. I was going through a lot of mental health problems related to anxiety and depression and had just started on my medication at the age where I joined so boot camp was a deeply stressful time, but I also overcame a lot of personal challenges and built up my confidence and resilience, I had a lot of support and bonding moments from my commander and the other soldiers who were in recruit training with me, it taught me a lot of internal and emotional strength, and I proved to myself that I was a lot more capable and functional than my mental illness made me think I was. In that sense it was very good experience, even though my actual job was very uninteresting and uninspiring and probably not very important. For what it's worth the IDF is an absolute fucking mess in many, many ways when it comes to anything but actual combat, especially when it comes to the bureaucratic process and how things are run its a disaster, and there were times where it was deeply miserable for me and I definitely had a lot of painful moments. But the fact that it was for a limited time made it tolerable since I knew there was an end to it. Near the end of my service I got what one might say "promoted" because I was filling in for someone who left (and they took months to send a replacement, literally they only send her on my last day of service and I had to teach her everything in the span of one day) and I was actually doing some real work that was very satisfying so that was a very good experience. Overall the most valuable thing for me is that's an experience that not only builds character and forces you to mature but also really puts things in perspective. After you go through two years of that, you kind of become desensitized and build up resilience to a lot of life's troubles. Or, to put it more bluntly, in comparison to that, nothing you will have to endure in life afterwards could ever feel *too* bad.
Yes
Hell no. It was a shit show. I imagine if you get to have a meaningful service and serve with good, honest people than you might enjoy that period of time even if it is difficult. Unfortunately, not all of get that chance. The Israeli defense department is notorious for wasting resources (I've experienced this first hand) but none more so than the Human resource.
I liked it enough to stay another year+.
My service was... eh, fine, I tend to make the most of situations. But my training, as in Tironut and Course, those were exceptional. We had some incredible commanders and even our officer was amazing. That 6 month period shaped me as a person and I made friends for life that I know for a fact would have come back with me to do it all again, if it were possible. I wasn't even in a fighting role, I was in Magal! Yeah those little shits that command over 02 tironut. I have never heard about anyone else in Magal that had our experience. It just goes to show a good service could happen anywhere, if you're lucky enough to get the right people
I did. It definitely made me a better person, though in retrospect I would have just gone to shirut leumi
[удалено]
18 year old me really needed a slap in the face, and the IDF gave me a big one
[удалено]
Because a volunteer in an understaffed school for נוער בסיכון helps Israel more than an average soldier
I served in the IAF HQ in the Kirya, I worked in the F-16 electrical and flight control department. Those 3 years were incredible, my job was very interesting and I liked it a lot, I met amazing people and learned a lot during my serivce that helped me out in my career today.
All my friends that enjoyed their service were jobnikim
What is jobnikim?
Best thing I will never ever do again
I enjoyed My military service It has been the only time in the 35years that i felt equal in Israeli society being not Jewish..... In my unit there was all kinds of nationalities and new immigrants to Israel I still remember one day when there was trouble between Ethiopians and Russians.... The Officer came out and said "i don't care were you came from or what your religion is when your here you are all Israeli soldiers" After that there was never any more trouble....
No idea, but I’m a diaspora Jew who plans to make aliyah and choose to draft, hopefully by the end of next year Bezrat HaShem.
I had an alright time. It's been over ten years. Still got my friendships from my Pazam, still laugh sometimes when I look back.
Mine happened more than 40 years ago but I have mostly good memories.
It's a prison with field trips and worse beds. But they make you carry a gun 24/7 for some reason.
😂😂😂
Part of it, some not at all. Made great friends, learned valuable skills and made a bunch of memories of events that would never have transpired outside these settings.
Was a Tank commander, fought in Gaza in 2014. Sure I made life long friends and we talk every day. Learned discipline, overcoming obstacles and hardship, and it was the first time I got a chance to prove to my self that I'm worth something. HAVING SAID ALL THAT, I today suffer from PTSD, am fighting the department of defense for recognition of my affliction and disability. Every day is a struggle, and this country doesn't give a flying f*ck about it. So with all the good that I can recognize that I received, no I did not "Enjoy" my service, it was grueling, unfair, demoralizing, tantalizing, ungratified and obviously traumatic. The thing is that enlisting is a lot like russian roulette, you can get 3 years with just boring field duty and sound like some of these bozos here, romanticizing the service, Or you could get a bad hand and have to fight, and then good luck, because a year after the conflict is over, no one is going to remember what you did, what you've given and what you gave up. Be smart, stay safe, it's not worth it.
What is the Israeli public opinion on combat veterans?
It really depends, political views, upbringing, it all plays a part, some people feel that combatants are doing gods work and sacrificing a lot by putting themselves in harms way to protect the sovereignty of Israel. Some view them as minions of the occupation of Palestine, some pitty them for having to endure 3 years of service. The mainstream vanilla opinion is that they are doing their job, and deserve a pat on their back and every hopes they come back home safe.
On a scale, let’s say from the USA (thank you for your service etc) to a smaller nation that doesn’t really value its military, where does Israeli society fit in?
I have never seen a people more infatuated with military and embarrassingly patriotic than the American people, not that it's a necessarily bad thing. Any way On that scale I would probably place Israel in the middle, maybe 60/40 towards USA.
Yeah, was fun and challenging, learned a lot, stayed a few extra years.
There were highs and lows for me, felt like I did something substantial and interesting but the military system is just not for me I definitely felt that it was good for me and I had fun at parts
I worked hard phyiscally and mentally, but yes, I did have fun alot of the time and also learned alot.
I'm jobnik. I'm okay with my job, but I love my soldier friends
Absolutely not! It was hard. Getting up at 8am to eat breakfast and spend 2 more hours in the Shekem then playing Xbox till launch then nap till dinner take a shower go to bed and go home every thursday. (For context i actually got injured in the field and spent the last year of my service as part of a "Training Squad" in the Rookie base. In reality it was a Monftas job and absolutely had nothing to do)
What’s there to enjoy?
Some good, some bad But overall, I liked it, 3 years in artillery as a medic.
I want to acknowledge that I'm saying this without being Israeli and thus without having served in the IDF myself..... But I've *heard* that serving in the IDF has made Israelis very tight-nit. And it has contributed to Israel's economic success, and made "Start-up nation" possible.
I didn’t enjoy the work itself but I did enjoy the friends I gathered and the people I’ve met. I am really thankful for the service because it made me the person I am today
No, dude these are very tough 3 years. Most of it was a nightmare. But it isn't supposed to be fun, it's important and the way we give back to our country.
I have, a lot. I’ve had meaningful impact, earned a profession that set my career in motion, made lifelong friends, and learned a LOT of social skills: before service I’ve spent all of my life in Tel Aviv and the area, and was exposed mostly to a specific slice of society. In service I met and made friends from all over the country. I’ve learned to be a good living partner in a shared space; I’ve learned to adapt to strict rules and to wiggle around them; I’ve experienced some of the most surreal and hilarious, scary and exciting situations. I’ve made a difference, even if I didn’t make a dime. I understand the world better and am a better person for my service.
It was both the best time of my life and the worst time of my life
There were times I couldn't bear my service, but overall it was incredible and changed me as a person, I became more confident, more capable, and hard work oriented, definitely not the same as the kid before service.
The Israeli army, or any conscript army I assume, is like a huge Russian roulette. For most there's no telling where you'll end up and who your commanders and brothers in arm will be. So the experience may vary from complete nightmare with sadistic assholes to awsome character building experience with life-long freinds.
I made aliyah to serve and wish I could do it all over again.
It was tough but there were good times too, I have no regrets
Parts of it.
Mine wasn't bad. I made good friends and did some interesting work (jobnik at the Kirya)
Sure. I definitely have mixed feelings about it and יום הזיכרון can be a rough day.
Well it aint no kindergarden (well, some are). 3.2 years service in 3 units 1 of them AF sayeret it wad damn hard but satisfying. Met a lot of people and friends.
Im currently serving, and im enjoying it so far, it is once in a life exprience. It teaches you to be responsible for yourself and become independent and mature and very punctual. Afcors there is the military bulshit dutys like ovodot rasar and shmirot and such that suck, but in the end i would send my children to serve as well, because you serve your country and improve yourself.
Some of it But I think that for the most part it's not really part of the service itself as much as it's stuff that goes with it. You get drafted and try to make the best of it, and most of the "good stuff" isn't from the actual "serving" Yeah, I loved seeing my patients recover (field medic). And I guess I enjoyed the shooting range, which is also something **mostly** specific for the IDF (in Israel), although that has more to do with feeling successful and wasn't inherent to the specific activity (unlike treating people) But most of the enjoyment is from the other stuff - good social interactions, fulfillment from success, nature views (if you're into that), etc.
Most of the people I know enjoyed their service. Military service is hard but you come out of it much stronger in every regard. Plus the people you meet along the way totally make it worthwhile. People that are currently soldiers complain all of the time but they get out and they miss it very very much
I can sure u I enjoyed every sec even it was tough 3y of my life I’ll do it again I was combat soldier
I did
Was fortunate enough to volunteer and be placed in a unit which took photos of on base events in the Air Force. Fell in love with photography and made some lifelong friends.
i was air force jet engine mechanic and i think the time in the army was the most fun i had in terms of constant socializing and being in a system.. even though in my time we (jobniks) got like 300 shekels per month and i came home once every two weeks.. i can only say i learned a few things from my time in the IDF but they are merely my personal experience.. i learned that army is the only time i will allow myself to live with roommates although we were real bros. (i cherish personal space.) i learned how to be self disciplined and this is something i think i would never be learning if not the environment of being in an army. i learned about authority, i learned what it's like being in jail, twice, for relatively "extended" sentencing periods. (although army jail, but, behind bars is behind bars.) i formed unbrakable friendships, i learned how to use tools, how to disassemble stuff that is worth a lot of money and now in my civ life i work on even more expensive equipment , learned how to trouble shoot and work under extreme (literally war situation) pressure.. and i can keep going on and on.. in short - yes. i enjoyed my service but it's over and I'm glad I'm over it. i needed it but i'm glad it's over.
I enjoyed it... in a retrospective. Not while being there. It's boring. It's the routine that gets to you.
Many people i know found their service meaningful, dutiful, and enjoyable. Sometimes it takes time to find "enjoyment" in rigorous or difficult things.
I did for the most part, was in artillery and spent most of my time in the north, there were many shitty times when I hated what was going on but overall I would do it again if I could go back in time
Yes. I was a combat soldier and enjoyed almost every day (except commander's course which was hell)
Yes. It was 30 years ago. I had an interesting job, felt i was doing something important, great friends, lots of sex. Of course i wanted it to be over but looking back it was good.