My Graduate Degree

Monday January 19, 2009

Our first full day at Netafim began with flag-raising at 7:10 a.m. (Not 7:09, and not 7:11.) Our group of 18 volunteers stood in formation next to two dozen young soldiers assigned to the base. One volunteer and one soldier raised the Israeli flag. Very light on ceremony, but very full of meaning.

Our madricha, Lior, then gave us a “news report.” The cease-fire remains in effect, a few rockets are still falling, and the Cardinals beat the Eagles and are on the way to the Super Bowl. (That last bulletin was supplied by Jerry Bernstein, a judge from Phoenix.)

We then assembled for greetings from the Deputy Commander of the base, a young man named Moshe who made all the women in the group swoon. If you look up “tall, dark and handsome" in a Hebrew dictionary, his picture is there. He explained that the base is primarily responsible for supplying other units in the north, although there have been many shipments to the south before and during the Gaza operation.

After breakfast, we received our work assignments. Along with an orthopedic surgeon from Massachusetts, I reported to a warehouse to meet Eli and his boss, David. For the next few hours (interrupted only by the mandatory coffee break for Turkish coffee), we unpacked truck rims and loaded them onto pallets. Every piece also received two stickers called, in Hebrew, “bar-code.” My vocabulary is expanding by the moment.

The pace of work was not exactly frantic, with long breaks while David and Eli figured out what else there was for us to do. After lunch, we returned to the warehouse for a few more odd jobs until, at 2:45, they told us we were done for the day.

I’m a bit frustrated at not having enough to do, but Lior promised that would change tomorrow. We’ll see. In any case, I have now earned my “MSA” degree for “Moving Stuff Around.”

This evening, Lior gave a presentation about the various units in the IDF, including the Golani, the paratroopers, the Givati, the artillery, etc. We also learned a bit about the ranks and insignia. The “leaf” insignia which designates officers in the U.S. and Canadian forces is referred to in Israel as a “falafel.” The base deputy commander has one falafel, his boss has two falafels, etc. I haven’t yet seen anyone with hummus on their uniform, but I’m ready for it.

At the end of the presentation, we each received our own insignia: blue ribbons for our shoulders with the words “Sar-El Volunteer” in Hebrew.

So now we’re official.