Sergeant-Major R
Sergeant-Major RIDF spokesperson

The “Southern Shield” ceremony recognizing the achievements of exceptional units operating within the Southern Command was held on Sunday, in the presence of the commander of the Southern region, Brig. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.

The intelligence branch of the Southern Command was singled out for excellence in its performance in the past year.

Among those cited in the unit was Sergeant Major R, a 23-year-old biology student who lives in Modi’in and learns in Ben Gurion University and who has been on reserve duty in the Southern Command. He was first drafted in 2017 when he served in Sayeret Givati before being transferred to the intelligence branch of the Southern Command.

Among the many missions R completed were attacks on missile-firing sites in Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls.

“I have a great deal of satisfaction knowing that we succeeded in preventing some of the missile fire against the State of Israel – this gives me peace of mind,” R related. “We worked toward this goal for a long period of time, and to see it all happening in real-time is truly awesome.”

Today, R lives in Modi’in with his wife and is always ready and willing to return to reserve duty.