Very moving and really hit home. As an active combat reservist, I have had first hand experience of what it is like to be fired upon, especially hundreds of rockets over your head. It never leaves you, but you somehow learn to live with it. As someone who was not a lone soldier but constantly around lone soldiers in my combat unit, I saw the trials and tribulations that they had to go through. That said, many of them (myself included) had an incredible service. There are currently 3500+ lone soldiers in the IDF. For many (myself included) it was the best period of their life and the best way to integrate into Israeli society. In my particular unit, the commanders helped lone soldiers on a continual basis. Combat is not for the faint hearted and many lone soldiers who come to serve in combat should not be in the army in the first place. Combat is not for everyone. The stories of suicide, mental health issues and just general difficulty is ubiquitous across every army in the world and is not unique to the IDF. Lone soldiers should go to pre-military academies prior to service. These places better mentally prepare you. I will be forever grateful to the friends and commanders I had who made my service so unique. I pray that the IDF can find a better way of ascertaining the mental capacity of draftees to be in a combat environment and I pray that lone soldiers who do feel alone get the help they deserve. Mental health is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Gd bless all the lone soldiers and the army in general for watching over us everyday.
This is so important. I didn't serve, although I made aliyah, because of mental health. I knew that it would kill me. Rather, I would kill myself. Hearing first-hand stories from people who did serve and struggled is heartwrenching. These people chose to potentially give their life, chose to leave home and serve for their homeland, and they are treated like shit for it. Not ok.
Very moving and really hit home. As an active combat reservist, I have had first hand experience of what it is like to be fired upon, especially hundreds of rockets over your head. It never leaves you, but you somehow learn to live with it. As someone who was not a lone soldier but constantly around lone soldiers in my combat unit, I saw the trials and tribulations that they had to go through. That said, many of them (myself included) had an incredible service. There are currently 3500+ lone soldiers in the IDF. For many (myself included) it was the best period of their life and the best way to integrate into Israeli society. In my particular unit, the commanders helped lone soldiers on a continual basis. Combat is not for the faint hearted and many lone soldiers who come to serve in combat should not be in the army in the first place. Combat is not for everyone. The stories of suicide, mental health issues and just general difficulty is ubiquitous across every army in the world and is not unique to the IDF. Lone soldiers should go to pre-military academies prior to service. These places better mentally prepare you. I will be forever grateful to the friends and commanders I had who made my service so unique. I pray that the IDF can find a better way of ascertaining the mental capacity of draftees to be in a combat environment and I pray that lone soldiers who do feel alone get the help they deserve. Mental health is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Gd bless all the lone soldiers and the army in general for watching over us everyday.
This is so important. I didn't serve, although I made aliyah, because of mental health. I knew that it would kill me. Rather, I would kill myself. Hearing first-hand stories from people who did serve and struggled is heartwrenching. These people chose to potentially give their life, chose to leave home and serve for their homeland, and they are treated like shit for it. Not ok.