Army Life: The mental challenges

It took two months, but I finally finished tironut (basic training).  If there's anything that this first period in the army has taught me, it's just how much the key to success is mental. You learn to deal with the physical challenges fairly quickly. Eating rations for weeks on end, sleeping with someone else in a ditch, waking up to guard a couple of times a night, long marches with equipment and the many training exercises are all things that most people can handle.

The real test is whether or not you can live with the constant pressure placed on you by your commanders, the other guys in your unit and the general army environment.  Everything you do, from going to the bathroom to setting up targets for a firing range, must be completed in the amount of time allotted by the commander. A simple misstep by you, might lead not only to your own punishment, but to that of the entire group. Overnight, you cease to be an individual living in a modern Western democracy, and instead become a soldier with essentially no personal freedom. The stark differences between army and civilian life are highlighted by visits home, and it is often difficult to regain your balance when moving between these opposite worlds.

All of this has led me to the seemingly obvious conclusion that being a soldier is really hard. I of course knew that it would be difficult heading in, but it's impossible to grasp from the outside just how challenging it is.

The army week ends on Friday afternoon with the lowering of the flag and the singing of Hatikvah. After a week of rigorous training, it serves as a reminder as to why we do what we do. This week my unit is scheduled to begin guarding various yishuvim (rural communities). It's an honor and a responsibility that are well worth the blood, sweat and tears of tironut.