At the Golani Brigade training base, the sidewalks are polished and the rooms are clean and prepared by the General Staff to absorb about 1,100 soldiers and commanders in the recruitment that begins today. This is a large and powerful mobilization, which came after a turbulent period in which the brigade lost 72 fighters on the first day of the war.
"We held talks with recruits to understand if they wanted to go to Golani," says Maj. Harel Shlomo, the training base sergeant. "The number of applicants to enlist has increased by at least 15 per cent. In my opinion, October 7 emphasized the significance of serving as a combatant and the importance of the IDF, and the Golani Brigade in particular, which was on guard. There are many heroic stories of soldiers who jumped on grenades that day, or others who fought while evacuating a wounded comrade. This spirit does something and it characterizes the brigade. Even though we got hit, the next day we were ready to fight and win."
Sgt. Seef,
Major Shlomo, who was a company commander in the Golani unit, arrived at the hospital a year ago after a period of study. He had already commanded quite a few trainees, but the training process of the last class was shortened by three weeks, partly to fill the ranks of the 13th and 51st Battalions, which suffered a severe blow in the fighting.
"Usually, when soldiers are jumped out of the house, they are told that within 24 hours they will prepare for combat," he says. "When we told the soldiers, 'War has broken out, get there as soon as possible,' within two hours the companies were ready. Soldiers said they had been preparing for this for seven months. I told them: 'We are finishing our training early, but we are a significant part of the fighting, and now we are facing Gaza.' Lions".
Call this generation the "TikTok Boys."
"Anyone who has been in the south can say that these statements can be folded and thrown away. I saw heroes, people who, despite experiencing an inferno, fought until the last moment. That Saturday, I went down to Kibbutz Nahal Oz to help the 13th Battalion. We gathered the soldiers there to continue the fighting and I said, 'There are still terrorists on the ground and we have to continue searching.' I saw crazy motivation. Whatever needs to be done - they will do. You see fighters here with a commitment to fallen comrades and also to the State of Israel."
The new recruits will be received by the base sergeant, Sergeant Major Bassem Seef, who has been there for 15 years. "I'm sure the recruitment will be different, for better or for worse," says the experienced sergeant-major. "Surely everyone wants to enlist in the shadow of the war, with a lot of commitment to the country, but there may also be an impact on parents, who fear for their children's lives. I hope we will undergo substantive basic training. I think soldiers shouldn't be treated differently, and what's good about commanders today is humanity. Today, commanders are more embracing, supportive, understand that now everyone is fighting together, far from home. We've never been in a situation like this."
Major Shlomo, photo: uncredited
Major Shlomo agrees: "The vast majority of commanders have experienced combat. They come with a heavy burden on their shoulders, understand the magnitude of the responsibility and know that the better they train the novice and embrace him, the more they will benefit. A week ago I left Gaza because I understood that this is what needs to be done, to train the next generation of fighters. There is a large factory here called Golani Hospital."
A factory called Golani Hospital
The commanders of the training base have already learned lessons from the war and intend to apply them in the upcoming training. Among other things, a strong emphasis will be placed on warfare in built-up areas, and the new soldiers will also learn well about the advantages of the Merkava APC, which takes an active and central role in assisting the brigade's soldiers.
"The soldiers use every second to train, because they understand that tomorrow can be a contributor," says Maj. Shlomo. "They finish their training and after that they will enter Gaza or maybe fight in Lebanon. That's why even those who have a little difficulty bite their lips, because it's clear to them that this is what needs to be done."
Sgt. Seef says that despite his tough image, he understands the soldier's heart very well. He, too, has a son who is now fighting in the south, in an elite unit. However, he will not let the new recruits stretch the rope. "A week before the war, I was preparing for the ceremony and there was a rehearsal of the singing of the national anthem," he says. "I noticed that some of the soldiers sang and some didn't, and that annoyed me. I told them: 'You're making a terrible mistake by not singing. See the flag? Everyone wants to eliminate him.' And that's what happened. We all fell asleep on guard duty, not just the army. The ranks need to be refreshed."
Saif comes from Yanuh-Jat and was a close friend of local residents Lt. Col. Salman Habqa and Lt. Col. Alim Sa'ad, who were killed in the war. He was also part of the team that organized the funerals of the fallen soldiers of the brigade and attended many of them.
"In recent months, I lost six friends, including Salman and Alim," he says. "It's hard, but someone has to do our job. We have to be strong for the soldiers, and that's why I'm continuing with all my might, there's nothing to stop me."
There is no doubt that this basic training will be in the heavy shadow of October 7. The recruits will hear stories of combat heritage from the battalions, fighters who fought that day will tell them what they experienced, and above all the commitment to badge and history will be emphasized. "When I left Gaza, I went to comfort the families of good friends who had been killed," says Maj. Shlomo. "I understand that this is part of the price of war, and when you meet the people you get a lot of power. A good friend who was killed was Moti Shamir, who was off duty that Shabbat. He grabbed a friend, went down to the field and fought Kibbutz Re'im until he fell. I met his wife, they have a small four-year-old child and she is pregnant. His wife looked me in the eye and said, 'I want you to win for Motti. I'm counting on you.'"
The writing on the wall
Golani Hospital is already preparing for the fact that in case of emergency, if a combat force is needed at any cost, the training will be shortened to a month and a half. That's how it is in war. At the base we met the August '23 recruitment soldiers, Roy Ben Harush from Omer and Eden Geary, a lone soldier from England, who are currently undergoing training for an exposure-attack company and are on standby.
"I feel more proud today to be in the Golani," says Ben Harush. "People always looked at me when I wore the badge, but today I am also arrested by people I don't know and praise. You can see that the war had an effect on them."
I asked if they were ready to go south. "We still have a lot to learn," Eden says, "but that's why I came to Israel. I enlisted to guard the security of the state."
This week, the next generation of fighters of the brigade, which participated in all of Israel's wars, will enlist. The campers will be greeted by an impressive mural by Meir Ben-Moshe, the military painter of the Northern Command – yes, there is such a profession.
It took Ben-Moshe five days to complete the painting in memory of the brigade's fighters who fell in the war, with above a quote from Amos Ettinger's poem "My Golani" - "And when evil opened to the south, my Golani is again at the top of the line."
"I focus on raising morale and do it through art and messages," Ben-Moshe says. "The painting connects to the Golani heritage. A novice who comes in here understands that he is fighting for future generations, for something bigger than you and me."
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