The guys in the previous and current shlav bet programs doing the ABC course only do 2-3 days of training in the place of miluim (reserve duty) every few years. I was in the Dec 06 program, which just finished a few days ago. We had options such as APC repair, ABC cleanup (with a week after basic training of shooting a MAG to upgrade to 03 from 02), heavy truck driver (over 15 tons), D9 driver (tractors and other equipment) for the homefront command and combat engineering, and general repairman. The APC course ended up getting canceled because not enough people were interested.
Every draft has slightly different courses and activities, depending on the needs of the army, the current budget and several other factors, you may get sent to a couple temporary postings after basic training, or go straight to a course. Like everything in the army, you hurry up and wait, and something usually happens with five seconds to spare.
They will try to pressure you to take a course on the spot and make up your mind, dont go for it, ask people and find what you want to do, then insist on getting that. After a while someone will probably end up helping you. There are unlimited opportunities in the army, with a million different jobs offering a wide range of possibilities. Its important to keep an open mind and remember that even the worst job, done in the best possible way with professionalism is recognized. For every job, someone has to do it, so it might as well be you doing your best.
Also, a couple more things.
- Army food is generally good, depending on where you are located. Just remember that the army is a once in a lifetime experience, stay positive, and you may even come to enjoy breakfast food for dinner. Every base has a slightly different way of doing meals, but for the most part, the food is varied, tasty and fresh. I could not understand how people complain about army food after living on my base for a couple months, the food there is excellent. After broadening my horizons a bit more and visit more bases around the country, I realized I was relatively lucky to have cooks who actually care if the food tastes like mass produced sawdust.
- My giyus in shlav bet had people ranging in age from 22-28, from all over the world, my team of 20 came from 15 countries. Its really interesting spending a considerable amount of time with people who the only language you have in common is Hebrew. Its also great practice for being in the real army, where people may not speak English at all.
- People in the army love speaking English, always tell people youre working on your Hebrew and want to learn, that way you may actually learn some of the army slang
- Always be friendly with everyone, particularly if they work in the kitchen. Its good to know the people with access to food, and be on good terms with all the people who can really help you out on a daily basis, or make your life miserable. Having a friend explain the endless paperwork can often save hours, and lots of pointless running around the base.
- If youre in shlav bet, and ever feel the urge to say AD MATAY?! (until when, the moaning cry of soldiers with a couple years left to go) be prepared to justify yourself seeing as you'll be out of the army in a few months, and most everyone else in a couple years. A good sense of humor goes a long way to bridge the cultural divide and make people laugh instead of wanting to kill you for complaining.
- Ask someone who has been in the army how to tie your boots before your first day, its a bit confusing, and no one at bakum has time to explain how to do it properly. Just remember that your boots should never have X's, they are always laced in straight lines.
- Make sure to bring lots of extras, just get a huge 90L backpack and throw it all in. Having an extra elastic for your boots or a backup brush and polish can really come in handy.
Shlav Bet specific tips (accurate as of my draft):
- You can work in lots of places, even without signing on for more time, its not easy, but it sometimes works. Before going in to the army, speak to people, find out what you might be interested in, and start going to interviews even before you go in. Making contacts is critical to your army success, as well as to life in general in Israel. Its always good to introduce yourself, ask names, make friends and build the contacts you will need at some point.
- The D9 (tractor, backhoe, earthmover, etc)- Homefront command course is ONLY training, you are never in an actual unit. You do basic training, wait two months sweeping streets or doing something on some base, then go to your course for a couple months, and then finish. Only in miluim do you get assigned to a unit (maybe) or just come in for excersizes every couple years
- The medic course is usually not offered without signing up for more time, the artillery course is sometimes offered, but you dont work on the artillery itself, just as a support soldier (since you only do 02 basic training, and artillery soliders need 03)
There are three kinds of soldiers in the army
1. Combat - For artillery and field intel: Training 03 and above 3+ months in basic training minimum. For infantry : Training 05 and above 5+ months in basic training minimum.
2. Jobnicks - Basic training 01 to 02 which takes a week to a month
3. Combat support troops (tomchei lechimah) - Basic training 02 which takes a month to five weeks. The basic training is the same as a jobnick soldier, but you get sent to a more dangerous area (with a small bonus for danger pay). Support troops do regular jobs in addition to a lot of guard duty, patrols, and operational support. I heard that combat soldiers think you're an idiot if you are support solider because you're really a jobnick and jobnicks think your crazy for being a combat solider. All in all, it can be a very interesting setting for an otherwise boring job.
Good luck in the army, it can really be a great time and a lot of fun!
