I am crestfallen. Stunned. Angry. Mad. And...hungry.

But let's start from the beginning, shall we?

Recently my company was sent to defend the "blue line"-the "lebanese border". My tank crew was sent to a fort that was abandoned during the second war in lebanon. It was empty for about half a year now and our "supreme commander" decided that we must man it again.

We were sent there in the middle of a night with our tank without any advance warning so we did not have time to pack our stuff with us. That happens all the time to our stupid battalion, so it was not so catastrophic. However when we had arived there we did not have in this damned fort electricity, water and beds. Our apartments were leaking (it is winter here, it rains and it is very cold so the nonexisting heating was a constant thorn to our side).

A day after, water was brought to water tanks. When we tried to drink it we have discovered that it tasted like dirt, chlor and rust combined. That fine gourmand's combination was in the water tank that these idiots forgot to clean prior to refillment. Electricity was relativly fine untill the storm struck and ruined somehow the generator.

That was not the end of our hardships.
There was no food. We had recieved for 10 men (there were also half an infantry squad with us) food that was fit for 10 mice for quantity and not even fit for a pig for a quality. The food was cold and sometimes even spoiled.

We protested to our captain.

The captain tried to organize the logistics a bit and managed to supply us with cold sliced meat (beef or canine. We did not manage to figure out what it really was). We had protested yet again.

Instead of recieving food we had recieved two "nagadim" (soldiers that serve for more than 3 years time without going to officers' courses. I do not know how to call them in english) that fished in our f****** garbage bag. They have managed to produce from there the caninebeef package that we threw away in disgust and a cheese package that we threw away because it smelled funny. They have declared that since we threw away our food we are not priveliged to extra rations.
The sheer size of their bellies suggested 2 things:
They are decendants from semiintelligent fat cell.
They probably had arrived in 2 separate 5 tonn trucks.

Here i am my gunner had to prove that the russian short cursing dictionary is far bigger than a full one in hebrew.

We were finally victorious and after 3 ************* weeks we finally have the privelidge to sleep on a bed in a room that does not leak, and to drink water that we must boil for 10 minutes before drinking.

138 days...

AD MATAI?

untill when?

Is the entire IDF this badly organized? I mean, I hear stories from a few other people in the IDF, and I hear of nothing but incompetence, bad planning and dubious decisions.

So, is the entire IDF faring this badly or are you just cursed with a particularly terrible part of it?

IDF is very badly organized and i am stuck in the most chaotic part. Tanks.

RRRRRRRrrrrrrrrr....

Well, at least you can threaten to run someone over until you get what you need?

Geez...I knew pretty much every army was under-equipped, as far as logistics goes. Sounds a lot like my cousin's experiences in Iraq...or, Afghanistan, for that matter.

It'll get better eventually, but I'm sure it'll get bad again...

Logistics will pretty much always be underfunded...and when they're not, they'll pull a Haliburton, and cost thrice as much for less service.

I can say that i will not load the shells in the gun, but it will not work in the long run. Besides things start to getting better. Anywhay i will be released in May (roughly) so i do not have that much time to suffer.

<font color=skyblue>We'll be pulling for you to make it through until then. Stay strong, man!

I once was told that everytime you are made to suffer something unfairly in the service of others, you get 1 point of attractiveness added to your future wife. During my two years in Mexico as a missionary, I accumulated enough points to have a really gorgeous wife, so you have something positive to look forward to after this is all done. ;) </font>

[ 02-01-2007, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

Larry to funny pics please. J/K

Black baron hang in there. Stay safe the food will come in time. ;)

Geez, that's pretty ordinary stuff. I hope you guys sort it out, BB. Being the ones defending your country, you deserve better. Sounds like the IDF's standards have slipped a bit lately. Maybe that Halutz guy was the problem?

You will be released in May, does that mean the end of your military career ? What will you do next ?

He'll be trying to catch up with your post count on the forums of course. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Suddenly my office job seems damned appealing....

I say, steal the tank and make a run for somewhere else.... Mexico for example...

I shall try to overcome the 1000 post barrier :D .

As for work i will probably go to work somewhere, probably as german-hebrew translator in Yad-Va-Shem.

Thankfully that stupid blue kite (Halutz) has resigned so i shall not have to suffer his idiocy anymore.
137 days...

<font color=skyblue>I have connections in Mexico.

If you make it to Mexicali or Tijuana, I can arrange for food and a place to stay. </font>

If he can drive a tank from Israel to Mexico... I'll foot the bill personally!

As long as I get to sell the TV and film rights, that is... ;)

It's possible to drive a car from Israel to Mexico in some months of the year, but the tank is several dozen times heavier [img]tongue.gif[/img] Would've been interesting to watch, no doubt.

Hmmm, how would you do that, Bozo? Up into Russia and straight northwards over the Arctic, then south down through North America? From Kamchatka to Alaska into Canada and then south?

Or am I overlooking some totally obvious route?

Yep, that one. As I said, only in some months of the year [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Alternately he could hook up the tank with some pontoons and a sail and then set out across the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

<font color=8fbc8f>That will cost you, and you know it!

Remember, you must suffer from the bottom up, or being baptized in fire and blood to emerge steel has very little meaning!

At least you had four walls and a roof on this mission! Have you forgotten your last one so soon? I still pity the Russians that were encamped in their BTR's for 5 months over the winter of 03 in the Balkans! That really made our 'fire base' look like a 1 star roach motel!

Are you still in the 77th?</font>

Felix-yes i know that it would cost me, that is why i do not attempt to do anything illegal. I can pity the russians ...but! they were in balkans and i am in my own state. I have some liiiitle privileges, you know, food, water heating. My last mission (that is worth mentioning) was to ruin the "Gaza International Airport". I had slept in a tank for a week or so, in the loaders cabin that is not made for seating let alone sleeping. I have suffered quite a lot (by my army standarts) and i simply do not wish to suffer anymore.

And yes i am in this damned 77 battalion.
135 days...