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In honor of the holiday: children of four commanders interview their fathers Israel today

2022-04-16T21:00:31.707Z


IDF commanders and their children talk about the demanding role - and about life through uniforms • Lt. Col. Kfir Raveh: "Especially in operational positions there is a complete disconnect from home, my wife connected me to the family" • Lt. Col. Sarel Sabag to his children: "Before I fall asleep, I think About you and your mother "• A special project


Father:

Lt. Col. Kfir Raveh, Deputy Commander of the Haifa Base

Girl:

Ronella (7)

Hero's hero - Lt. Col. Kfir Raveh // Correspondent: Yaron Doron // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon

Lt. Col. Kfir Raveh, 43, is the deputy commander of the Haifa base in the navy. He is married to Ofer and the father of four children, the eldest in the twelfth grade and the youngest in the first grade.

We asked his youngest daughter, Ronella, about her experiences with a senior father in the military.

What does Dad work for?


"In the army. He's sailing. Dad is watching over us."

When do you miss Dad the most?


"When he's not home. He's not home much."

What do you like to do most with Dad when he's home?


"Play with him and go out with him and the dog Joy to the dog park."

What do you like most about Dad?


"That he's cute."

When you grow up, do you want to be like Dad?


"Yeah. I want to do the roles Dad does."

"My job is to actually serve as a deputy to the base commander," says Raveh.

"I am responsible for all areas of infrastructure, budgets and security at the base. In fact, the commander's replacement in his absence."

What significant event did Ronella miss because of the role?


"I try very hard not to make it happen. I missed her parents 'day. My wife was there alone. Usually we manage to schedule things. The teachers also understand the constraints, and allow us to be last in the parents' order so that I can come. My wife and I try to make such mistakes. Will not happen.

"I am absent a lot from home. During my first period of service I was mostly in operational roles, and there is a complete disconnect from home. Even when a child wants to call me he can not. And until graduation parties and, of course, birthdays, I will be able to attend. "

"The truth? I did not want to be a pilot"

Father:

Lt. Col. A., Commander of Squadron 161

The children:

Uriah (almost 10 years old), Yonatan (7.5) and A. (almost 5 years old)

Hero of the father - Palmachim // Reporter: Efrat Forsher // Photo: Yaniv Zohar

Uriah, Yonatan and A. (his unique name does not allow us to write it in full) jumped at the chance to be reporters for one day and interview their father, Lt. Col. A., commander of the 161st Squadron (UAV Squadron) in Palmachim.

Neta, the youngest in the group, did not participate.

The boys seem mostly happy for the opportunity to remind their father that he is not much at home, to sting him that he is indeed a squadron commander, but that the real commander at home is a mother, and to punch him with awkward questions like, "How do you survive so many hours in a helicopter without peeing?" .

By the way, the answer to that was "do pee in a bag".

In between, they told how much they love playing football with Dad on Saturdays, riding motorcycles, listening to podcasts and playing board games.

Their father told them how much he misses them on nights when he does not go back to sleep at home.

Lt. Col. A., 39, a fighter helicopter pilot who also serves as commander of the Hazik Squadron - a remote-manned aircraft - also admits that he is not at home enough. The opportunity to tell them in detail about his role.

What is your job in the squadron?


"I am the commander of the squadron. This means that I am responsible for all the people who are in the squadron, and for all the tasks that the squadron has to do, and I have to see that they are done safely and that everyone returns home safely."

When asked if he has ever flown over other countries and won several wars, he replies: "I have flown over countries in the region, and also to more distant countries. I have not participated in wars, participated in battles, and I have not won them alone."

He explains to the boys that the UAV squadron carries out intelligence gathering operations and assists the ground forces, as it did, he said, in Operation Wall Guard and previous operations. "We gather intelligence to see that we have no problems with our enemies," he says.

Why did you choose to be a pilot?


He reveals to them that his dream was at all to enlist in the General Staff Reconnaissance Regiment, adding: “The whole course I did not want to be a pilot at all.

It was only at the end that I started to love flying. "In response, they ask him:" Why do you like to fly? ", And A. answers them:" Because it is something very special, which also allows you to see our country from above, and it is also very satisfying. "

Uriah declares that when he grows up he too wants to be a pilot.

Jonathan, on the other hand, dreams of being a fighter in the Sting unit, while A. solemnly informs us that he has not yet decided about his future.

"The soldiers are like my sons"

Father:

Lt. Col. Sarel Sabag, 931st Battalion

Children:

Afek (10), Barry (6.5) and Roni (4)

Dad's Hero - 931st Battalion in the Nahal Brigade // Reporter: Efrat Forscher // Photo: Yoni Rickner

We finally managed to catch the 931st Battalion in the Nahal Brigade, Lt. Col. Sarel Sabag from Gan Ner in Gilboa, who has recently returned home due to the security situation at a hotel in Jerusalem, where he spent Shabbat with his family.

On Seder night he was at the base, and his children looked disappointed when the subject came up again, but were happy that they had managed to spend the last Saturday before Seder night in a full family forum.

Three of the four children attend the interview: Afek, Barry and Roni.

They are restrained and quiet, but as soon as the microphone is in Afek's hands, she straightens up.

She already has questions ready for her father, and she starts right away:

"When do you think of us the most?"

"Every night when I go to bed late at night, after I finish the whole long day. I have a few free minutes before I fall asleep, and then I think of you and your mother Liran."

Afek smiles in response, and asks him: "Do you have our pictures in the office?", And he answers her: "I have a lot of pictures of you."

Afek softens a little more, and asks: "What do you like to do with us the most?", And he answers her: "Play football with you on Saturday afternoons in the garden, walk with you in the country, in the streams and in places close to home."

She loves to hear it, and now, having received answers to the questions that bothered her, Afek is free to ask her father about his role.

She asks him what he does all day, and he replies: "I enlisted in the 50th Battalion in Nahal in March 2006. For the past eight months I have been in command of the Shaham Battalion.

The main goal is to prepare the fighters for scenarios and war.

We do training, or we protect communities. "

"Do you worry sometimes?", She asks.

"Sometimes I take care of you, and also the soldiers, who are like my children," says the father.

Barry and Roni listen intently to the exchange between their older sister and their father.

To our question whether when they grow up they will want to be like a father - only Roni answers without hesitation yes, and declares that she will be a soldier.

Afek, on the other hand, aspires to be an architect.

The three of them recall how excited they were when they recently went to a football game, and their father, who due to the security situation could not take them, surprised them in half when he spontaneously arrived at the stadium.

When they ask him why he was not with them on Seder night, he patiently explains that "there is tension, and my brigade has to protect the localities and the residents, so I could not be with you this year."

"Most missed when he's not home"

Father:

Lt. Col. Ofer Takhoresh, 74th Battalion

Childhood:

Gaia (6) and Arbel (4)

Hero's hero - Lt. Col. Ofer Takhoresh // Correspondent: Yaron Doron // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon

Lt. Col. Ofer Takhoresh (33) from Rosh HaAyin is the commander of the 74th Battalion in the 188th Armored Brigade. He is married to Hadas and the father of three daughters: Gaia, Arbel and Ella the baby.

What does Dad work for?


Arbel: "Dad works in the army. He travels in a tank."


Gaia: "In the army."

When do you miss Dad the most?


Arbel: "When Dad is not home."


Gaia: "Even when he's not home."

What do you most like to do with Dad when he's home?


Arbel: "Play with him in the puzzle."


Gaia: "Draw with him."

What do you like most about Dad?


Arbel: "The heart."


Gaia: "The heart too."

When you grow up, do you want to be like Dad?


Arbel: "Yes."


Gaia: "No, I want to be a ballerina."

"I am in command of the 74th Battalion, it is an armored battalion that holds Mark 4 chariot tanks," says the father.

"The battalion is currently carrying out operational employment in Judea and Samaria."

What significant childhood event did you miss because of the role?


"I missed quite a bit, like birthdays, holidays and more. I can't get to all the events. But I do make sure that the time we have together is quality time, and with as many experiences as possible. When I'm not here, we try to make video calls and be a part.

Were we wrong?

Fixed!

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-04-16

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