Here I am as I looked last week.  Now I am home and fell much better after a good night sleep.  The trip back was very long. Our base was located on the Egyptian border and was a 3 ½ hour trip to the airport.  We left the base at 11:00 Israel time, spent the afternoon in Jaffa and boarded the plane at midnight for an 11 ½ hour plane ride home.  All in all it was a very long day. 

The base itself was in the Negev dessert surrounded by nothing but sand, scorpions, snakes and sage brush. Basically it was a logistical supply base but also served as the jumping off point for many maneuvers in the dessert. Our job was mostly maintenance, resupplying and refurbishing equipment. 

The accommodations were surprisingly good as we slept only three in a room and the food while still poor, was better on the whole than what I had experienced in the past. I had mentioned in my last e-mail, for those of you who had been able to receive it, about the painting of the flag poles which were going to be used in the invasion of Gaza to designate the army camps.  That is if there will be an invasion.  I still had 6 poles left to paint when we ran out of paint.  If anyone is in the vicinity could you please finish the rest of them for me?

Also I mentioned that fact that we were in Sderot which is the town on the receiving end of the rockets.  On the same spot which we were viewing a tour leader was shot by a sniper and was fortunately only wounded. 

We had many interesting experiences.  I would like to share one of them with so that you can better understand what my trips to Israel mean to me. Our group of ten volunteers was having dinner in the mess hall when we noticed a fairly large group of Orthodox soldiers having dinner.  As I previously mentioned many groups came through our base as this was a starting point for field maneuvers.  This however was an Orthodox group.  One of their soldiers, whom I shall call El (not his real name) came over to us and began a conversation in reasonably good English.  This is not too uncommon as the Israelis are always trying to practice their English, or just being friendly, or just being curious.  He was about 22 years old and slight of build. 

We had a delightful talk with him.  He explained to us that he was in a combat group whose primary mission was to go into battle areas and recover parts of bodies or whole bodies that were lost during the battle.  If necessary they would fight their way into this area with the weapons assigned and with which they had been trained with.  It is a prime consideration that no part or no soldier is left behind.  What a sobering mission. 

To understand what the Israeli soldier and what his brothers, sisters, parents, wives and children live with on a daily basis is to understand what daily heroism really is. The following morning we met El having breakfast with his group. We were introduced to his Officer and spontaneously said that we would like to go on his mission that morning in the field.  To our great surprise we were allowed to partake in this training mission to capture a deserted building in the Negev and recover that which had to be recovered. 

We understood why we gave up our nice homes and the comforts we were used to and how our small sacrifices were insignificant compared to those being made by the young boys we were with. 

This would be a good place to stop but there is more. 

On Friday morning we were in Jerusalem at the Wall and as you might have guessed we run into El praying at the wall.  He is a student at the AISH Yeshiva and he asked us to wait so that he could finish his prayers and joined us.  He took us on a tour of the Old City and spent some time in the Yeshiva where he showed us the study rooms and the Synagogue.  His goal in life was to make a lot of money so that he could help to bring peace to the world.  What a sweet mature man he is.  We had lunch together and said goodbye but he will not be forgotten.

And I will now say goodbye …….

Shalom,

Mickey Kaplan