At 5:50 Mark Turner corresponded with the late Ilan Fiorentino, Rabbi of Kibbutz Nahal Oz. 40 minutes later, the murderous attack on the Gaza Envelope began. And this is one of the main reasons why he was with his friends in Israel last week - to make sure that something like this never happens to any Israeli.
Mark is one of the founders of a group called "The Overwatch Foundation", a group of former fighters from the American special forces, which has set itself the goal of helping people who are needed for their specific abilities around the world.
IDF activity in Gaza // Photo: IDF spokesman
About two years ago, after the departure of the American army from Afghanistan, Mark established with his friend Brad Jones the group of fighters, all from special units such as the Marines, the Green Berets, the Sea Lions and more, with the aim of training the Afghan allies.
After that, they did humanitarian work in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida, and even trained residents in Ukraine during the war.
"In recent years, we have been to two hurricane sites and six missions in Ukraine."
"I wanted to be involved"
He arrived in Israel for the first time in 2023, after Operation Shield and Arrow.
"Being Jewish, I always wanted to be involved in Israel, and after that operation (Shield and Arrow) I started making connections."
Mark's group, which consists mostly of non-Jewish fighters, arrived in Israel and began working in the Gaza Envelope.
Even though he was in the US at the time of the attack, Mark felt it very well. Immediately after realizing what had happened, the members of the group decided to come to Israel to help, and boarded a charter flight with hundreds of fighters who made their way to Israel. "It is a struggle between good and evil, And it was clear to us which side we were on," he says.
Training students in the settlement of Sde Bar, photo: Naama Stern
"A friend of ours said that everyone was being called to the reserves and that there was no one left to take care of the families, and asked us to help. Of course we agreed, and we set up a kind of 'mother base' in the settlement of Sde Bar in the east of Gush Etzion. We set up all kinds of parameters there, brought more equipment and trained the standby squad to make sure that October 7 will not repeat itself."
Currently in Gush Etzion
In total, they have been to Israel three times since the outbreak of the war, each time for the benefit of the training of standby classes and establishing contacts with special units in order to share their experience.
Most of their work at the moment is in Gush Etzion, with the assistance of the regional council.
The head of the Gush Etzion Council and the Yesha Council, Shlomo Na'eman, says: "It warms the heart to see the warm embrace of our friends from the USA, who came with an incredible spirit of volunteerism, with mutual guarantee and with the brotherhood of fighters for the people of Israel. On October 7 we learned the great importance of a fighting force and of skilled residents, who know how to respond quickly and professionally to any scenario. The more we trust our forces, the more we can provide the best response and save human lives. I have no doubt that the training with such experienced Marines will help us protect the home and fight the enemy who tries hurt us."
"We do not come to the Israelis to tell them that we are better - but to see what they are doing, to bring a different perspective and help them improve," concludes Mark.
"Sometimes, when you're used to a threat, you need a fresh look from somewhere else - and we provide that."
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