IDF Foreign Volunteer program

[BenChug]

First of all hi y'all, long time no posting, been to busy cursing the cold and crunching around the tundra for too long.

I have a fellow in my section who's rather angry at the CF right now for lack of deployment, action, adventure and generally being scared sh*tless. So far to my knowleedge he's applied for a green card so he can join the USMC upon discharge. However he also mentioned that he's been looking up a program in Israel called Mahal2000. As the Israeli's tend to be consistantly getting into sh*t.

Just wondering what you guys have thought of it or have heard about them.

It's basically just the Israeli version of the FFL I guess.
Cheers.

[Hantslad]

Mate of mine went off and served with them as a gap year before uni. He said it was fairly scary, but as a jew, he got an enormous buzz out of serving his homeland

[BenChug]

well im not interested in the politics or religous aspects ofthe conflict, but it they are only serving for 14 months they can't be very thouroughly trained

[Wholley]

Wotcha Ben,Long time no see.
My info is that the IDF have kinda a National Service thing.A little like the British had in the fifties.Not altogether a bad thing IMHO

[Tab]

Ben, it is surprising just what you can learn in 14 months if some one is trying to kill you. Lets face it we only got 10 weeks training back in the 1950's before we where shipped of for active service

[Hantslad]

Well said TAB. I think the IDF is selling the whole idea on the basis of a desire to defend the Jewish State. Its amazing how quickly you can pick things up when you train in and deploy to an area full of people that want to kill you. Also, how much training do you seriously need to stag on on the west bank?

[BenChug]

It's not the 1950s tab, its not the same 'enemy.'
But while I agree that you can learn alot in 14 months of doing it, I would say at least 75% of the troops lack the actual confidence in there skills and relations with the local populace for awhile.
Also it makes me curious of how they train soldiers at the junior and senior NCM level.
I would imagine that they have a very competent training program, as per they have been in nearly constant conflict since they're foundation.
How goes it wholley?

[Wholley]

How goes it wholley?

It goes Ben,It goes on and on and on
One liner avoidance One liner.

[Tab]

Ben ole chum you don't have to be a brain surgeon to work out it is no longer the 1950's, but just what are you trying to say that the people from the 1950's could not cut it today?. When you look at the weapons we had to use during this period you should notice that they were well past there sell by date. Are you trying to say that conflicts so in 21 st Century are harder than those in the 1950's, and I would like to point out that communications were completely crap and had a very limited range a patrols radio in the mountains had a range more often than not of a few hundred yards, so if you got into trouble the only person that could get you out of it was you and your mates.