The IDF Education Corps has released a filmed podcast episode featuring Capt. Eitan Shmuel Lamberg, who served as a company commander in Brigade 7 and was killed in Lebanon approximately a week and a half ago.
During the episode, Lamberg chose to focus primarily on his soldiers and the deep connection he built with them throughout his service. He spoke about getting to know his troops, developing mutual trust, and the responsibility and care he felt toward them as a commander.
In one of the released excerpts, Lamberg was asked about the “why" that motivates him. He explained that, in his view, there are two levels of purpose: the national mission and the personal commitment.
“I don’t think there is one why. I like to divide it into two ‘whys,’" he said. “There is the big ‘why’ that we all know, the State of Israel, protecting the citizens we love, and defending the north now and Gaza in the south."
He explained that the broader mission takes on a tangible meaning on the battlefield. “When you see Misgav Am and understand that once we took Rabi al-Tlatin and the entire ridge, there will no longer be anti-tank fire toward Misgav Am because I’m sitting there, that is really what we mean by the mission," he said.
“The fire that burns inside me is that I protect my brothers, my country, and my communities. That is the great why in my eyes."
Alongside the national mission, Lamberg described the personal responsibility he felt toward the soldiers under his command.
“I have my team, I have my company. Through fire and water, we are together. They are like my brothers, and I am like their older brother. I will give them everything," he said.
He added that this commitment guided his actions every day. “I’m not willing to leave them alone. There is no chance they will be there and I won’t be there, and there is no chance they will do something and I won’t do it."
At the end of his remarks, Lamberg explained that the two motivations were intertwined.
“There is the big why, which always burns in the back of your mind and that you feel every day, and there is the small why that you feel in your hands," he said. “When I eat with my soldiers, I feel it. When another team is struggling because they laid a track and you go to help them, you feel it there. And that is what gives you the strength to keep going."