This past Sunday the group had the opportunity to visit Bahad 1 - the officer training school for the entire Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) - essentially the West Point for Israel. Our Israeli teammate, Gil Sharon, took the initiative and contacted the base the prior week to arrange a tour - and despite the short notice - the people he talked with at the base were extremely excited to host us for a tour of the facility and arrange meetings with cadets, as well as a one-on-one meeting with the base commander Col. Yehuda Fuchs.
"Q&A session with three officer candidates at Bahad 1"
Photo by Kristin Thompson
The base is located very near to the Ramon Crater - so after driving up from Eilat - we arrived at the base around 5pm in the evening. After clearing the gate, Gil went to find our hosts, both officers and trainers at the base. For about an hour they guided us on a tour of the facility - walking the grounds and pointing out the key landmarks. From there we went to a brief video presentation on the history of the IDF and the Bahad 1 base. This was followed by a Q&A session with three current cadets. Very interesting - especially in that the soldiers all had fairly different backgrounds prior to beginning military service.
"The team listens in as Col. Fuchs discusses the IDF"
Photo by Kristin Thompson
Our final meeting was with Col. Fuchs (aka "The Fox"), the commander of the base. This was quite an experience - and though the conversation was relegated to what I imagine is a fairly standard script - Col. Fuchs seemed incredibly candid and open about the military and its mission. After talking for a while, he asked for questions and wasn't hesitant to answer any of our queries. Hearing his opinions - especially in regards to the IDF's changing role in dealing with asymmetrical warfare against terrorists - was very enlightening. Very cool!
