Thank Israeli Soldiers - BBQ
http://www.thankisraelisoldiers.org
http://www.thankisraelisoldiers.org
August 31st (Monday)
Today I had the privilege of joining the organization “Thank Israeli Soldiers” for a BBQ night. We started off by going to two army bases and handing out energy drinks, sodas, water, candy, chips and ice cream to the soldiers. I took a tour around the bases where I was able to see what a control room looks like and daily army routines. This included seeing how Israel is mapped in different sectors for different intelligence units to watch. You have women watching these screens for four hours at a time and anytime they see something suspicious the fighter teams will go out and patrol that area, I was able to sit in an army car - I could not even open the door that is how thick the material is so that it cannot get shot. The most impactful conversation I had in the morning was a boy who was 21 come up to me and started thanking me because he thought that because of the media nobody respects or supports the IDF so while I am here thanking them for protecting us they are so thankful to know that somebody is looking after them and are proud of them.
In the afternoon the organization went to the paratroopers training base where we cooked for hours with one of the units while watching other units practice shooting, running, and we even saw a hand grenade thrown (for practice of course). Later in the evening we got to feed 280 soldiers with the BBQ that we prepared as well as talk and interact with the 18-24 year olds.
Today I had the privilege of joining the organization “Thank Israeli Soldiers” for a BBQ night. We started off by going to two army bases and handing out energy drinks, sodas, water, candy, chips and ice cream to the soldiers. I took a tour around the bases where I was able to see what a control room looks like and daily army routines. This included seeing how Israel is mapped in different sectors for different intelligence units to watch. You have women watching these screens for four hours at a time and anytime they see something suspicious the fighter teams will go out and patrol that area, I was able to sit in an army car - I could not even open the door that is how thick the material is so that it cannot get shot. The most impactful conversation I had in the morning was a boy who was 21 come up to me and started thanking me because he thought that because of the media nobody respects or supports the IDF so while I am here thanking them for protecting us they are so thankful to know that somebody is looking after them and are proud of them.
In the afternoon the organization went to the paratroopers training base where we cooked for hours with one of the units while watching other units practice shooting, running, and we even saw a hand grenade thrown (for practice of course). Later in the evening we got to feed 280 soldiers with the BBQ that we prepared as well as talk and interact with the 18-24 year olds.