Gadna

I just finished my 5 day Gadna at Base Sde Boker. It was pretty much a 5 day military basic training. I was expecting it to be just running and doing push-ups with no real goal, but it was not at all like that. Ok, maybe a little, we did have to run to most places, and if your water bottle wasn't touching your left foot even a little bit you had to do push-ups. But other than that it it was mostly an educational experience. On the second day we started out by learning everything about the M-16 rifles most of the IDF uses. We learned all of the parts, what they do, and why they are needed. We learned how to hold it, how to load it, and even how to shoot it. We spent a total of 6 hours talking about this gun. They kept emphasizing the fact that it was made to be a killing machine and it is not a joke. The next day we actually went out to a shooting range and had the ability to shoot five live bullets from an M-16. It was taken extremely seriously due to the fact that guns are intact dangerous. This is why we spent 6 hours learning about it the day before. Other than talking about a gun and shooting it, we also talked about the purpose of the IDF, who can join the IDF, and even current events that the IDF deals with. These were some of the best conversations I've ever had, my commander was incredible as well, she admitted that Israel has flaws, but she will still defend the country. She was incredibly trained and very skilled, she is 19. She made sure to give us as much information as possible about the IDF and different units. It was such an incredible experience and has got me thinking about my future. So that was my experience of Gadna. If anyone has questions I'd be happy to answer them as well!

-Jacob