26, making Aliyah and wanting to join IDF

[rafi]

Originally Posted by NegevBeast

Several posts... I find this thread quite interesting and I would like to note several things...
1. Slicha, Rafi could you please answer my question that I posted as you are the most qualified person to (it may seem since you are also the moderator on the MAHAL forum) about whether or not Mahal can place applicants for consideration into Combat Units providing their psychometric/physical scores are satisfactory and furthermore if any Mahal applicants can be considered to try for Gibush and or any special combat unit selections... I have had several guys in a high speed Golani unit say that Mahal is not going to allow anybody in the program get into frontline combat units because MOD does not want another foreigner (like Michael Levine RIP) killed in Lebanon, Gaza or the WB... is this just typical banter or is that true to a certain extent???? Because if that is true... I really would like to have more of a chance to get into an infantry unit and would rather make aliyah now rather than later if that is the way to help me try to get into an Infantry unit ...

Hi.

If you are on kibbutz chilling, it ain't working. Take a deep breath.
You really came out swinging.

You have a few jumbled concepts in your questions to me. MAHAL is a vehicle for enlistment, a classification of soldier. Best guess estimate is that 95% of MAHAL enlistees end up in a combat infantry unit. So I'm not clear on your concern. Of the other 5%, probably half to artillary.

There is plenty written on this site about what the gibbush entails and who it is open to. You will have to extend your service for any comitment of this kind. It used to be a minimum 22 month extension.

Now, let's talk about "foreigners" in the IDF. First and foremost, no soldier has ever died in the MAHAL program as it exists today. As to regular army "foreigners", there can be no such thing. Born in New Jersey to American parents, I am an Israeli. I earned it. Plenty of us have died in the service of Israel. It is estimated that in the early 70s almost 10% of the IDF was composed of guys like me from the US, Canada, UK, S. Africa, Australia, etc. So to answer your next question, I was regular army and keva, not MAHAL.

Speaking in first person, while I was not involved in Gaza, I was in Lebanon II. So your sources are not entirely accurate regarding front lineonvolvement.

"High speed Golani units" are a dime a dozen. Everyone is a sayeret, or some other type special force these days. Reminds me of my kids soccer leagues - travel, premier, ODP, gold cup and so on. The guys real honestot goodness guys who do the superman stuff? You said it yourself. They keep their mouths shut.

You'll be great in the IDF regardless of what you do. Chillin on kibbutz may be one of the bes preps for going in. As long as you stay away from the other english speakers!!!!!!!

Oh one last note. You warmed my heart. Last summer I did special work with the Beit HaMoshal MAGAV unit in command of East Jerusalem. Their motto painted on the wall of the HQ is "To Fight and remain B'nai Adam". Two of the Sgt. Majors have been over to Fort Bragg to do training. (Give it, not get it). The best of the MAGAVnikim!

[NegevBeast]

Originally Posted by mroutdoorsman83

I said I am now able to pass the physical requirements and am no longer active duty with the US Armed Forces. I have been a private contractor or government civilian since my leaving of the US Navy and have pushed myself well beyond where I was when I was active duty. During my active duty period most of my time was spent in theater (Iraq & Afghanistan) doing signals intelligence collection and support to special operations.

I have in no way attempted to "fluff the air" in any way shape or form. I in no way think I am better than anything Israel has to offer but this does not discourage me to push myself as hard as I can to attempt to reach my goals. It is open on my resume what my history is and I am fine with disclosing what I have done in the past as it does not endanger anyone or disclose any classified information in any way shape or form.

I am not going to argue regarding this at all as it is pointless. I have my goals set and I am going to attempt to achieve them with every ounce of motivation and energy I have.

If you would like to discuss this more and my background I would ask that we move this to PMs.

- First of all, when you say In Theater... I know what you mean, I am not in idiot... and I am guessing you were probably stationed in Kuwait not Iraq or Afghanistan... you are what a lot of grunts call a "Cross Keyboards" MOS... they don't put those guys on the IED collectors so stop trying to pervey the image that you were in the actual suck... the only Squids that I know that are actually literally attached to a boots on the ground unit are good ole Corpsmen... I do not wish to discuss your background further... I just feel that you exaggerated the act of setting up a firewall on the Rear-Admiral's personal laptop a little too much... I am pretty sure an actual Special Ops Support guy wouldn't be satisfied with working for an IT company in israel after retirement... The thing that tickled me was the irrefutable fact that you stated you could make a SEAL Team or an SF detatchment IN A VERY OFFHAND MANNER... just because you have started hitting the gym a little bit doesn't mean you are physically let alone mentally qualified to do such a thing...have you ever gotten wet and sandy?... How much log PT do you do at that computer desk of yours? if you were in THAT suck ... as a lot of my boys are right now (most just regular 11b grunts in the 48th Brigade NG)... you probably wouldnt want to come back... or you would be a "Contractor"-great euphemism by the way- at Triple Canopy taking out names for dollars and shekels and have long since sold your soul to the devil... My point is ... with your lovely open yet supposedly Top Secret resume on display, you need to realize that your attitude is that of somebody that wants to tell people he has done something...Instead, to succeed, your attitude should be "tell me what I need to do"
In conclusion, argument aside... If you really wanna do the dirt and still get into it in eretz Yisrael... my advice is to go make aliyah through N'Fesh B'Nefesh - you recieve good benefits to move as an American Citizen...there they will help you find out the exact process of volunteering for Magav (Border police) ... forget about the IDF- your too old (Im almost there too) and it will be a frustrating experience to get in and stay in... work your butt off in a regular Magav Unit (I suggest trying to get into one in Jerusalem -(thats some solid experience) and stay grounded -most importantly alive (amiretz Hashem) for a while and see if the opportunity for selection to YAMAM (Israeli SWAT on roids), YAMAS (undercover CT unit comparable to Sayeret Duvdevan), YAMAG (CT rapid response I guess kind of like YAMAM -correct me if Im wrong) or most importantly Matilan - fits your "resume" (special ops Magav unit that deals with Intel gathering, intel interception and infiltration -check wikipedia) THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS... from what I have heard... is that those guys are a bit older... from what I understand some guys in Yamam are as old as 35 -(of course they are all pretty much vets of top SF IDF units).... But you can try ... and if your drive is unstoppable/ your experience proves true in the field... then they might just let you attempt their selection...

hope that helps...

most importantly enjoy Israel... its like the wild west...its crazy

[NegevBeast]

Rafi...I spent some time at a Yeshivat Ohr Somayach which is right on the Green line ... and my window looked right across the street from Arzei Habira (loved waking up at 4 am to the prayers... not really) ... We saw some Magavnikim doing some crazy patrols through that neighborhood at odd hours... My most interesting experience was being caught in east Jerusalem driectly underneath Al Aqsa Mosque -at the tomb of Absalom in the valley of Hedron, and some crazy Palestinian teens came up to me and my buddy and started wailing at us with big sticks and throwing rocks at us (there were like 15 of them and 2 of us) ... one stole my wallet and camera which were lying on a rock... my buddy Dan dialed 100... he had a cell phone from beit Shemesh so I guess the Beit Shemesh unit answered... we told them we were in yerushaliyim in broken hebrew... and they transferred us to the east jerusalem unit which showed up within minutes of us speaking to them... the palestinian guys ran away... and the Magavniks had us follow them into their village ---- Ras al'amud I believe its called???... and try to stop anybody we see... the magavnikim were in some sort of a formation and we were behind them ****ing in our pants like "are you guys serious.... its not that important!!!"... couldnt get my phone or wallet but I will never forget that experience haha!

[johnboy]

NegevBeast
your going the right way to offend members
personal attacks will not be tolerated not on members or staff members
if you wish to argue the point with Rafi my advice to you is don't
what ever sites Rafi is on has nothing to do with me
if you can not respect my members and staff you are done on this site
so think before you go off half cocked
more advise for you Read the forums Terms and Conditions befor you post again

[NegevBeast]

slicha, but you misunderstood...wasn't arguing with raffi...On the contrary... he has served with Magav and I was commenting on how good the unit that he served with is... because I lived in the unit he has done work with... just retelling a memory...

[johnboy]

your last post has been deleted
as for insulting me have a nice time your done

[smithsgeorge8]

You are awesome man - GOOD LUCK!!!

[mroutdoorsman83]

Originally Posted by johnboy

NegevBeast
your going the right way to offend members
personal attacks will not be tolerated not on members or staff members
if you wish to argue the point with Rafi my advice to you is don't
what ever sites Rafi is on has nothing to do with me
if you can not respect my members and staff you are done on this site
so think before you go off half cocked
more advise for you Read the forums Terms and Conditions befor you post again

Thank you... Was getting sick of all of that. And it is very likely SmithGeorge is the same person.

[johnboy]

not unless he can travel really quickly
we have got just the right tools to help members if they don't follow the rules

[scelli]

Originally Posted by rafi

Hi.

If you are on kibbutz chilling, it ain't working. Take a deep breath.
You really came out swinging.

Having just perused this entire thread, I don't wish to take sides on some of the things broached. However, must admit NegevBeast's acronym-laden comments did bring back a plethora of memories. Can't recall any previous postings here (including my own) which utilized terminology and jargon to such an extent that it actually cuts a wide swath across 3 different branches of the US armed forces (Army, Navy and Marines) and the IDF as well. Did I miss any for the USAF or USCG?

Triple canopy? (Shades of jungle training for RVN!). A-school/AIT? MOS/Rating? 11B? 35 Foxtrots/Mikes? Corpsmen? BUD's/TED's? Wet and sandy? Log drills? Squids? DLI? ASVAB? (now, there's one I did recently mention myself in another thread...) and many, many more.

Must admit that "the suck" wasn't in vogue during my active duty time, but we had other terms to express our dissatisfaction with the lean, green, mean military machine.

[scelli]

Originally Posted by rafi

There is some weird affliction common to many olim from North America that after being complete losers in America,they are going to make aliyah and become Rambo/Superman and Oh my how lucky Israel is that they will be the ones to benefit from this metamorphosis. Unfortunately the plane ride will not change who you are.

Such an attitude appears to be rampant on this board, too. Remember the guy who said we shouldn't criticize him and those others who supposedly were someday going to take our places on the front lines in the future? Yeah: Sure you will, Jack. Sure you will. Better be able to back up such a statement with a lot more than admonishing trash talk on an Internet forum board before making that claim. The time may just come when some of these dream merchants and inhabitants of Fantasy Island might be required to back those words up. I have no doubt whatsoever most of those who spend their time rattling off pompous platitudes around here will be tested and found wanting in the balance when it comes down to where the rubber meets the road.

Not only do some people think they're the Lord's gift to Israel and mankind in general, I've also never seen so many unproven know-nothings post ridiculous comments regarding military matters they haven't the absolute foggiest notion about. Why these individuals choose to publicly spew forth their nonsense is beyond me, when they should know full well someone is going to call them on it sooner or later...and mostly sooner. It's become almost second nature (for me at least) to ask about a poster's experience in the armed forces when I read such frivolous meanderings; the country of that experience is irrelevant by the way, just as long as they have some active duty/reserve service on record.

[mroutdoorsman83]

Originally Posted by scelli

Such an attitude appears to be rampant on this board, too. Remember the guy who said we shouldn't criticize him and those others who supposedly were someday going to take our places on the front lines in the future? Yeah: Sure you will, Jack. Sure you will. Better be able to back up such a statement with a lot more than admonishing trash talk on an Internet forum board before making that claim. The time may just come when some of these dream merchants and inhabitants of Fantasy Island might be required to back those words up. I have no doubt whatsoever most of those who spend their time rattling off pompous platitudes around here will be tested and found wanting in the balance when it comes down to where the rubber meets the road.

Not only do some people think they're the Lord's gift to Israel and mankind in general, I've also never seen so many unproven know-nothings post ridiculous comments regarding military matters they haven't the absolute foggiest notion about. Why these individuals choose to publicly spew forth their nonsense is beyond me, when they should know full well someone is going to call them on it sooner or later...and mostly sooner. It's become almost second nature (for me at least) to ask about a poster's experience in the armed forces when I read such frivolous meanderings; the country of that experience is irrelevant by the way, just as long as they have some active duty/reserve service on record.

My "hotshot" period is long and over with as the Navy beat that out of me fast when I was active duty. A lot of people feel like they have to prove themselves with a big show every time and never learn otherwise.

I am a member of a forum called SOCNET which is comprised of mostly confirmed BTDT or people who are confirmed active duty/veterans or even LEO from around the world. On a almost daily basis there are people posting inquiry on if someone is a poser or not. Whether this be a so called friend, a co-worker, someone they met etc... this happens everywhere and there are some pretty high profile cases of people 'thinking' they are hot shots and posing to be someone they never were and never had the initiative to become themselves. Its almost sickening in a way.

[scelli]

Originally Posted by mroutdoorsman83

Its almost sickening in a way.

Wait until you've hung around this forum a while longer. You're still in the FNG stage, so just hover around long enough and you'll see exactly what I mean.