I started my military course in a pilot course, and after a few months I arrived at the Armored Corps. I didn't want to serve in the Armored Corps, but I told myself I'd go for officer and make my way back to the pilots' course.
During training my plan changed completely and I fell in love with the Armored Corps. I finished the combat tour as a tank driver, and decided I'd remain in the force. The two things that made me fall in love are first of all the amazing people who showed me true friendship and brotherliness, and secondly - the tank.
I loved the plane very much, but the tank was a bigger challenge for me, since the pilot controls the plane only, while the tank commander controls about three crew members - which is a huge challenge in and of itself.
After completing my training as a driver, I went directly to the tank commanders course. I was eventually became a commander in the tank commanders course, and after one command cycle I went to an officers' course.
At the end of the course, I served as a Platoon Commander in the 74th Battalion of the 188. From there I continued to be a commander of the Armored Corps course, for three significant cycles. My next job was Armored Officers Course Deputy Commander, which I filled during Operation Protective Edge for two cycles, a challenging experience in itself. I went for a degree in economics under the framework of the Tactical Command College, and today I'm in my current position as commander of a company of recruits in the Armored Corps training brigade.
An experience I'll never forget that strengthened my desire to remain in the Corps was at Training Base 1, in a meeting with other corps. I felt that everyone had seen how strongly all the armor fighters were friends of each other, and I felt proud to stand behind the monstrous tool called the Tank.
I have three important tips for you, who enlisted in August 2018. One is to smile, and remember that the Chief of Staff also underwent basic training. The second is to invest in your friendships, these are the people who will be with you all along. The third and final thing is to remember that the tools you receive here will make you better people in the future.
I appreciate you for joining this significant corps, and I hope you'll contribute to the country (and no less importantly, to yourself) by doing things and overcoming obstacles you never thought you could get through before.