The fighters of the 77th Battalion are currently serving at the explosive border • The snow allowed them to practice evacuating the wounded from the tank - in a unique outline • Lt. Cohen: "I always wanted to practice in the snow"
Exercising - even in the snow
Photography:
By Cohen
Snowflakes on Wednesday colored the northern Golan Heights, a few meters from Syria, which allowed the armored fighters stationed at the scene to conduct a unique training to evacuate wounded along a relatively complex and rare terrain route, but one that could certainly catch the fighters on command day.
The fighters of the Hermon Queen Company in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade have recently been stationed on the Syrian border, and are required to maintain fitness alongside operational activities they carry out there.
Therefore, Lieutenant Yadi Cohen, a platoon commander, decided to conduct a wounded exercise out of the snow-covered tanks.
"This is a relatively routine training, of evacuating the wounded or burning inside the tank. Sometimes the exercise is done by surprise, but since it is snowing and there are safety issues the fighters have been updated earlier," Cohen explains.
"I always wanted to do a practice in the snow, because I knew they would not forget the exercise and when they got into combat they would know they had already done hard challenges. A week ago we did a similar exercise in the rain and mud, and I promised them I would do it in the snow. I did not know it would happen so fast." .
The fighters who carried out the evacuation of the wounded also provided Cohen, who is an amateur photographer, with an opportunity for exceptional documentation.
During his service, Cohen carries a camera with him and documents the armored and tank fighters on a variety of occasions.
Some of the photos were previously published on the "Israel Today" website and provide a glimpse at the Armored Corps at first glance.
"It was complicated to shoot in the snow, because the camera could be destroyed. That's why I put it in a hoodie," he says behind the scenes.
The timing of the fighters of the 77th Battalion on the Syrian border also provides a particularly interesting angle.
About a month ago, the first season of the TV series "Lock Hour" ended here at 11, which put the Yom Kippur War on the agenda.
The 77th Battalion, under the command of Avigdor Kahalani, was the one who stopped the Syrians in the Valley of Weeping.
"As an armorer to capture a line in the Golan Heights, it is different from any other line - you go up to positions and ramps where tanks from our battalion fought in the Yom Kippur War. The young soldiers were very enthusiastic about the series," says Cohen.
