So we've had a military thread about enlisting into a professional US Military branch of service, but I figured a lot of you guys are wondering what life is like in a conscription army - even it is the best conscription army in the world - so I decided to chime in and post some of my experience.
What are your credentials?
I got released from service this Sunday (Israel works Sundays, being the heathen nation we are...) as a Staff Sergeant in the IAF, after a succesful tour of duty of three years. I've been in service at HQ mostly, doing a lot of time in a personnel outfit - protocol, mostly - so don't expect any war stories. I'm not a combat veteran, I haven't been (directly) shot at, and I have never shot anybody. I've been to a hell of a lot of airbases, though.
So you haven't been shot at. What can you tell us?
General information regarding service, mostly. Such as - how the hell do you guys focus with all the hot female soldiers around you, how does your rank system work, who gets drafted and who doesn't, what are you actual views on the Israeli-Arab conflict and basically everything you guys want to know about army life with a few exceptions:
What can't you tell us?
Obviously I can't reveal unit locations, numbers, technological advantages and systems not made public already - all of these are a big no-no that would likely get me in trouble. I also can't tell you any names, or any details about specific projects currently underway in the IAF and IDF in general.
To save some time, here are a few answers to what I expect will be asked first...
Who serves in the IDF?
Everyone. Draft is mandatory for males and females age 18, for 36 months for us guys and 24 months for the girls. And by everyone, I mean everyone. We draft everyone without a life-threathening condition, and make arrangements for those who wish to volunteer despite being unfit to serve full time upon signing several waivers. I myself have asthma, which would almost immediately get me kicked out of the US Military, yet it was only enough to send me back to HQ down here.
The only populations exempt, aside the dead and dying, are the Israeli Arabs (who may volunteer at will), the ultra-orthodox Jews (half-jokingly referred to as parasites over this) studying in Religious Yeshivot and religious females. In case you're wondering - declaring you're a pacifist doesn't get you off the army - it gets you jail time and a psychiatric profile.
Wow, that sounds pretty brutal... how's training?
Obviously not everyone goes through the same boot camp considering we recruit people who are also physically impaired, so it varies depending on your unit. Air Force and rear-echelon training is pretty laid back, lasting between 2 weeks for females to up to 5 weeks for the unlucky males, mid-range field positions such as artillery, AA and armor core can go as far up as 8-10 weeks of basic followed by months of profession-specific training, to a full, grueling 8-month long slice of hell that's called Infantry training. Elite commando units have training stages which start with the end of 8 months basic infantry training, and depending on your unit you can go all the way up to a full 20 month course - the famed Sayeret Matkal course is such an example.
So not all Israelis can kill you in 20 different ways with a penny-sized rock?
Contrary to popular belief - no. Like most of the rest of the world, and despite our "training", the truth is that the vast majority of us still require a firearm to do any actual damage, and even then it depends greatly on each individual. While you are more likely to encounter grizzled veterans serving your hamburgers or riding the bus next to you without any of the actual psychotic rambling that tells they're vets, we're overall pretty peaceful - and getting a license to bear arms in this piece of desert is a hell of a procedure.
How are the statistics for suicides and substance abuse in the army?
Surprisingly, not that much higher than the rest of the Western world. Proper safety training with the weapon drilled into your subconcious being by your Plt. Sgt. accounts for what is generally a responsible nation of gun-owners, and thus gun-related accidents here aren't unheard of, but they're very, very rare considering the ammount of assault rifles we have walking around the country.
As for the use of drugs... well, reality says it's inevitable. This doesn't mean everyone is stoner, and slow reflexes out in the field will get you killed, so most of the cases of use are generally of rear-guard units or combat personnel off-duty. The army does randomly hold urine tests in its units and has a massive "overkill" policy on substance abuse - an acquaintance of mine was kicked out of the military (a big deal around here) and sent to a stockade for 56 days for possession of three joints.
So have you ever shot anyone?
As previously stated - no. Never.
I do have friends who command soldiers with kills to their names, but no one I personally know well has taken a life. Unlike me, however, they've been in several combat situations and at least one of them was involved in the recent war. I've also heard rumors one of them was involved in a screw-up which may or may not have resulted in seven civilian deaths, an incident which I haven't asked him about or have any intention to bring up again.
You're only 21... aren't you a bit young to be a Staff Sergeant?
Well, aren't you a bit short to be a stromtrooper?
Israeli ranks have a different structure than any other military I know. Unlike the US military, where your promotion automatically means a new pay-grade and requires you to deomsntrate ability to function in the requirements of your new rank - the IDF promotes its soldiers based on veterancy up until the reach the rank of Sergeant, and starts to promote on merit from Staff Sergeant onwards. Since we get paid jack-**** (SSgt's in conscription service make 360 NIS/month as basic pay, which comes to roughly about 80 dollars for rear-echelon SSgts and twice that with Hazardous Duty bonus), the ranks are the only thing we have that sets us apart from the other, younger idiots that didn't dodge the draft. We put a lot more emphasis as soldiers into "time left" than we do to ranks. A SSgt is revered by lower-ranking soldiers from different units not because of his rank - but because he's at most six months away from being released...
Does the same apply for officers?
Yes and no. The only promotion that's automatic is from 2nd Lt. to 1st Lt., which happens upon one year of completion of OCS. From 1st Lt. and up, it's based on having a position which warrants you veterancy and enables you to recieve a higher grade.
Again, unlike the US Military, all our combat-grade officers are pulled from the rank and file based on merit, and having a college degree isn't a requirement. Hell, the army even pays you less as a 2nd Lt. than it does as a SSgt...
You've mentioned pay briefly.. how does that pan out?
It doesn't. Conscription service gets you a basic salary of 352 NIS a month (80 USD) , with a maximum possible salary of 770 NIS (176 dollars) for hazardous duty for a conscripted SSgt in a combat unit. Officers get 400 NIS basic pay, and again - a maximum of 770 NIS hazardous duty paycheck.
When you hit the professional army, however, there's a large salary jump. A SSgt. makes 3,500 NIS (800 USD) basic pay, and can reach almost 7,000 NIS with hazardous duty and other misc. bonuses. A 1st Lt. in the same combat unit will make less than 7,000 NIS.
The average salary of my unit commanders at the Major level was around 18,000 NIS/month of basic pay with no type of hazardous duty bonuses, which comes to about 4100$/mo - or about twice as much as the average monthly salary in Israel...
Unconfirmed reports state that the General Chief of Staff of the IDF earns as much as 42,000 NIS/mo.
So, if anyone has a question - just bear in mind my timezone is GMT +02:00 and I got released this sunday. I might take my time getting to you, but I'll answer what I can to the best of my ability. Cheers!
What are your credentials?
I got released from service this Sunday (Israel works Sundays, being the heathen nation we are...) as a Staff Sergeant in the IAF, after a succesful tour of duty of three years. I've been in service at HQ mostly, doing a lot of time in a personnel outfit - protocol, mostly - so don't expect any war stories. I'm not a combat veteran, I haven't been (directly) shot at, and I have never shot anybody. I've been to a hell of a lot of airbases, though.
So you haven't been shot at. What can you tell us?
General information regarding service, mostly. Such as - how the hell do you guys focus with all the hot female soldiers around you, how does your rank system work, who gets drafted and who doesn't, what are you actual views on the Israeli-Arab conflict and basically everything you guys want to know about army life with a few exceptions:
What can't you tell us?
Obviously I can't reveal unit locations, numbers, technological advantages and systems not made public already - all of these are a big no-no that would likely get me in trouble. I also can't tell you any names, or any details about specific projects currently underway in the IAF and IDF in general.
To save some time, here are a few answers to what I expect will be asked first...
Who serves in the IDF?
Everyone. Draft is mandatory for males and females age 18, for 36 months for us guys and 24 months for the girls. And by everyone, I mean everyone. We draft everyone without a life-threathening condition, and make arrangements for those who wish to volunteer despite being unfit to serve full time upon signing several waivers. I myself have asthma, which would almost immediately get me kicked out of the US Military, yet it was only enough to send me back to HQ down here.
The only populations exempt, aside the dead and dying, are the Israeli Arabs (who may volunteer at will), the ultra-orthodox Jews (half-jokingly referred to as parasites over this) studying in Religious Yeshivot and religious females. In case you're wondering - declaring you're a pacifist doesn't get you off the army - it gets you jail time and a psychiatric profile.
Wow, that sounds pretty brutal... how's training?
Obviously not everyone goes through the same boot camp considering we recruit people who are also physically impaired, so it varies depending on your unit. Air Force and rear-echelon training is pretty laid back, lasting between 2 weeks for females to up to 5 weeks for the unlucky males, mid-range field positions such as artillery, AA and armor core can go as far up as 8-10 weeks of basic followed by months of profession-specific training, to a full, grueling 8-month long slice of hell that's called Infantry training. Elite commando units have training stages which start with the end of 8 months basic infantry training, and depending on your unit you can go all the way up to a full 20 month course - the famed Sayeret Matkal course is such an example.
So not all Israelis can kill you in 20 different ways with a penny-sized rock?
Contrary to popular belief - no. Like most of the rest of the world, and despite our "training", the truth is that the vast majority of us still require a firearm to do any actual damage, and even then it depends greatly on each individual. While you are more likely to encounter grizzled veterans serving your hamburgers or riding the bus next to you without any of the actual psychotic rambling that tells they're vets, we're overall pretty peaceful - and getting a license to bear arms in this piece of desert is a hell of a procedure.
How are the statistics for suicides and substance abuse in the army?
Surprisingly, not that much higher than the rest of the Western world. Proper safety training with the weapon drilled into your subconcious being by your Plt. Sgt. accounts for what is generally a responsible nation of gun-owners, and thus gun-related accidents here aren't unheard of, but they're very, very rare considering the ammount of assault rifles we have walking around the country.
As for the use of drugs... well, reality says it's inevitable. This doesn't mean everyone is stoner, and slow reflexes out in the field will get you killed, so most of the cases of use are generally of rear-guard units or combat personnel off-duty. The army does randomly hold urine tests in its units and has a massive "overkill" policy on substance abuse - an acquaintance of mine was kicked out of the military (a big deal around here) and sent to a stockade for 56 days for possession of three joints.
So have you ever shot anyone?
As previously stated - no. Never.
I do have friends who command soldiers with kills to their names, but no one I personally know well has taken a life. Unlike me, however, they've been in several combat situations and at least one of them was involved in the recent war. I've also heard rumors one of them was involved in a screw-up which may or may not have resulted in seven civilian deaths, an incident which I haven't asked him about or have any intention to bring up again.
You're only 21... aren't you a bit young to be a Staff Sergeant?
Well, aren't you a bit short to be a stromtrooper?
Israeli ranks have a different structure than any other military I know. Unlike the US military, where your promotion automatically means a new pay-grade and requires you to deomsntrate ability to function in the requirements of your new rank - the IDF promotes its soldiers based on veterancy up until the reach the rank of Sergeant, and starts to promote on merit from Staff Sergeant onwards. Since we get paid jack-**** (SSgt's in conscription service make 360 NIS/month as basic pay, which comes to roughly about 80 dollars for rear-echelon SSgts and twice that with Hazardous Duty bonus), the ranks are the only thing we have that sets us apart from the other, younger idiots that didn't dodge the draft. We put a lot more emphasis as soldiers into "time left" than we do to ranks. A SSgt is revered by lower-ranking soldiers from different units not because of his rank - but because he's at most six months away from being released...
Does the same apply for officers?
Yes and no. The only promotion that's automatic is from 2nd Lt. to 1st Lt., which happens upon one year of completion of OCS. From 1st Lt. and up, it's based on having a position which warrants you veterancy and enables you to recieve a higher grade.
Again, unlike the US Military, all our combat-grade officers are pulled from the rank and file based on merit, and having a college degree isn't a requirement. Hell, the army even pays you less as a 2nd Lt. than it does as a SSgt...
You've mentioned pay briefly.. how does that pan out?
It doesn't. Conscription service gets you a basic salary of 352 NIS a month (80 USD) , with a maximum possible salary of 770 NIS (176 dollars) for hazardous duty for a conscripted SSgt in a combat unit. Officers get 400 NIS basic pay, and again - a maximum of 770 NIS hazardous duty paycheck.
When you hit the professional army, however, there's a large salary jump. A SSgt. makes 3,500 NIS (800 USD) basic pay, and can reach almost 7,000 NIS with hazardous duty and other misc. bonuses. A 1st Lt. in the same combat unit will make less than 7,000 NIS.
The average salary of my unit commanders at the Major level was around 18,000 NIS/month of basic pay with no type of hazardous duty bonuses, which comes to about 4100$/mo - or about twice as much as the average monthly salary in Israel...
Unconfirmed reports state that the General Chief of Staff of the IDF earns as much as 42,000 NIS/mo.
So, if anyone has a question - just bear in mind my timezone is GMT +02:00 and I got released this sunday. I might take my time getting to you, but I'll answer what I can to the best of my ability. Cheers!
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)? Dayan? Sharon? Someone else?
