Why IDF?

[masiro]

[Blackhawk]

In response to what *DAMN Mauti wrote:

Seems that your had quite a bad time in the army. However, I do not think you should extend it on the whole army or the service in the army.

I come from Germany, and I did my 10 months of military conscript service in a tank bataillon. It was not always great, but there were times I really liked it, for example the comradeship, the bivouac, and, of course, the days on the shooting range firing G3, G36, MG3, MP2 Uzi, P1, P8, Panzerfaust 3. I even got a chance to fire an SL-8 and a MP5K-PDW.  

You usually do not get to see the guy who shoots you (that is why sniper fire is so bad for morale...). But if you play a computer game like Ghost Recon you also act like that, picking off enemy soldiers at a great distance without them knowing what hit them. Great...

I also would have been able to go to university earlier if I did not have to do my military service here in Germany. If I had chosen civil service instead of military service I would have served 1 month longer, so there  is no big difference. Some of my friends did civil service, and they also did not do highly productive work all the time (some did much less than me in the miltary  ).

Payment is bad, all right (but is there any army in the world where you can make a fortune?), and you do not get to see your girlfriend too often (but the less you see her, the nicer are the times you are with her  )

"Do something constructive":
During the flooding here in Germany (and in Austria as well) a lot of soldiers (conscripts) did (and still do) a great job helping to stem the flood and clean up the mess it left. In my opinion, this is something constructive

Sulph8:

A lot of things you are going to expericence in the army are, in my opinion, really ridicilous and are a waste of time. You will have to decide yourself, since every case is different...

Just my 2 cents...

[Sulph8]

Well thanx for your opinions guys. Much appreciated.

[TheWizard]

How had I missed all that...

nm, I'm here now

I was in the IDF, for 3 years.
It is, definitely, a well worth experience - I would recommend all to pass, as it does give you a slightly different approach to life afterwords, yes - even, as *DAMN Mauti said, if it's only in "I've been to worst" kind of feeling... though I seriously doubt that and I really think you'll learn and experience A LOT.

as a regular soldier (regular army or "sadir" as it's called here) the pay is worst the worse. for warriors at A+ risk level it's around 135$ per month (a bit less) whilst for support stuff its halt that much. I'm sure you see how ridiculous that amount is.
come to think about it, I never really left the army as I'm (and will do for a couple of dozens years) reservist (about a month, or a bit more, a year).

I do believe Israel has a great army, but by no means capable of dealing with a western power (hypothetically) because of economic dependencies (a simple see block for a relatively extended period will suffice).
by that I do not mean any disrespect as the IDF has more tanks then Britain, France and Germany combined, a larger air-force (that is considered among the best in the world, if not the best) then each of them, more soldiers (regular and reserve) then each of them etc.. etc. and all that on a combined budget of all of israel security elements including army, navy and air-force, intelligent agencies (mosad), shabak (internal affairs agency equivalent ~ to the FBI), police, R&D agencies, etc. etc. of one fifth of the CIA's budget alone (less the half of britain's army, which is smaller, alone)... now THAT IS very impressive

about the palestinian conflict - the REAL story is VERY complex and the more I study it (I'm a real history freak) I come to see that, after all, Israel is on a much higher moral and historical right (not inc. biblical)
I might explain, some of it, someday if you insist
In the mean time why don't you read a post of mine in English at my site (btw the biggest Israeli HW site, recently voted best site in it's category by a leading daily newspaper's site ) it is a repost of a very old post of mine at netscape forums that I can't seem to find anymore... (it's the only thing in English in the middle of the page, you CAN'T miss it   )

c'ya and hope to here from you all, Wiz.

[TheWizard]

see = sea..
and some other spelling (perhaps) and phrasing (definitely) mistakes..
if one of th mods can correct that - it will be great, as I can't edit because I hadn't register...

sorry in advance.. It's mid-morning here and I'm in real sleep deprivation from all night

[retro]

whaoo guys, thank, i really happy u chose idf, im in the idf and yes we kick our ass there to get things right and protect the people, its a mayhem here

[buffalo6]

I have never been in the military but I have always been a history buff and military minded.  It has been the single biggest regret in my life but now I serve my country and community as a medic.  I think the IDF is a superior fighting force.  This MOD definately pays them respect.  I can't wait to see some mission MODS made for IDF.