Today is Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 and it is now 1:41 AM here in Brooklyn, New York City.
Continuing from my previous entry...
My eldest son and I flew to Brunei, via Hong Kong. Like most Israeli-Jewish males he served a mandatory 3 years of Active Duty in the IDF. Unlike me, he is Golani (there are 4 Infantry Birgades: I) NACHAL, which is mine, II) Givati, III) K'fir and IV) Golani. A 5th brigade used as Infantry, is Tzanchanim (Paratroopers).
Golani, or Golanchiks as the soldiers in that Brigade are called are held in high regard. My 2nd son is also a Golanchik, but in a Special Forces element. Unlike my eldest, my 2nd is a pro as I was, meaning he is a career soldier (indeed it looks as though my daughter will be as well).
When men do 3 years Active Duty (4 for Navy), then get out at age 21 (usually) and have 8 to 10 months before they have to report back for their 1st round of Reserve Duty (30 to 45 days per year depending upon rank). That 8 to 10 month interval is used for soul searching and/or wild partying. We usually call it "Walkabout" in English.
In the West, you usually graduate HS at 18, then go off to university in 3 months. In Israel, at age 16 you go to a 1 week long Introductory Bootcamp called "Gasdar."Even retarded kids get to spend a bit of time and fire an M16. For so called "normal" youth, it is like a "tryout," where officers evaluate potential stock.
When you graduate, you have the summer off and then you must report for Induction, "Bakum." For 3 years the IDF owns you night and day. After those 3 years, they still own you until age 45 (was age 56 until 2007). Some who turn pro, like me, and have accumulated enough combat time (I have 4 wars) can retire at 40.
After Walkabout you begin your university. Israel has the highest per capita of university degrees of any nation in the world.
My eldest son though will not be going to university, at least not in the foreseeable future since he married while still on Active Duty. Already wit his 2nd child (my 2nd grandchild), he badly needed a good job. In a country with so much higher education it is difficult to find decent employment with just a HS education. For this reason I accompanied him to meet with an old mate of mine in Brunei.
The seas around the southern Philippines and eastern Indonesia are home to many ethnicities whose main livelihood is piracy. My mate is the CEO of 2 foreign owned companies who supply gunmen aboard ship, offering an armed escort.
He is actually based in Jakarta but we agreed to meet in Brunei's capital, Banda.
Stopping in Hong Kong we wet to my fabourite tailor, Ascot Chang. Although Chang has stores in Manhattan and London, Hong Kong is fhs flagship store. I treated my son to his 1st suit (In Israel men rarely, if ever wear suits.
In Brunei we spent 2 days seeing the very few sites and had a good meeting. My son will be heading to Aceh (Indonesia) in Feburary.
We flew back to Hong Kong where we switched to our respective flights, he to Tel Aviv and me to New York City/
Western New Year not observed by traditional Jews. I spent mine IMing to someone whom I will not discuss yet and that is the extent of my fabulous New Years' celebrations
Continuing from my previous entry...
My eldest son and I flew to Brunei, via Hong Kong. Like most Israeli-Jewish males he served a mandatory 3 years of Active Duty in the IDF. Unlike me, he is Golani (there are 4 Infantry Birgades: I) NACHAL, which is mine, II) Givati, III) K'fir and IV) Golani. A 5th brigade used as Infantry, is Tzanchanim (Paratroopers).
Golani, or Golanchiks as the soldiers in that Brigade are called are held in high regard. My 2nd son is also a Golanchik, but in a Special Forces element. Unlike my eldest, my 2nd is a pro as I was, meaning he is a career soldier (indeed it looks as though my daughter will be as well).
When men do 3 years Active Duty (4 for Navy), then get out at age 21 (usually) and have 8 to 10 months before they have to report back for their 1st round of Reserve Duty (30 to 45 days per year depending upon rank). That 8 to 10 month interval is used for soul searching and/or wild partying. We usually call it "Walkabout" in English.
In the West, you usually graduate HS at 18, then go off to university in 3 months. In Israel, at age 16 you go to a 1 week long Introductory Bootcamp called "Gasdar."Even retarded kids get to spend a bit of time and fire an M16. For so called "normal" youth, it is like a "tryout," where officers evaluate potential stock.
When you graduate, you have the summer off and then you must report for Induction, "Bakum." For 3 years the IDF owns you night and day. After those 3 years, they still own you until age 45 (was age 56 until 2007). Some who turn pro, like me, and have accumulated enough combat time (I have 4 wars) can retire at 40.
After Walkabout you begin your university. Israel has the highest per capita of university degrees of any nation in the world.
My eldest son though will not be going to university, at least not in the foreseeable future since he married while still on Active Duty. Already wit his 2nd child (my 2nd grandchild), he badly needed a good job. In a country with so much higher education it is difficult to find decent employment with just a HS education. For this reason I accompanied him to meet with an old mate of mine in Brunei.
The seas around the southern Philippines and eastern Indonesia are home to many ethnicities whose main livelihood is piracy. My mate is the CEO of 2 foreign owned companies who supply gunmen aboard ship, offering an armed escort.
He is actually based in Jakarta but we agreed to meet in Brunei's capital, Banda.
Stopping in Hong Kong we wet to my fabourite tailor, Ascot Chang. Although Chang has stores in Manhattan and London, Hong Kong is fhs flagship store. I treated my son to his 1st suit (In Israel men rarely, if ever wear suits.
In Brunei we spent 2 days seeing the very few sites and had a good meeting. My son will be heading to Aceh (Indonesia) in Feburary.
We flew back to Hong Kong where we switched to our respective flights, he to Tel Aviv and me to New York City/
Western New Year not observed by traditional Jews. I spent mine IMing to someone whom I will not discuss yet and that is the extent of my fabulous New Years' celebrations