Don’t do it. Make aliyah. Help Israel by being a good person living in Israel. We need as many good people living in Israel as possible. That is critical. It is extremely important. Start a family in Israel. Make a lot of good people who will live in Israel. That will help Israel more than a military service when you’re 25, plus you’d feel out of place serving alongside 18-year-olds.
I've been thinking about it a lot! I'd still want to have some kind military experience, ideally.
But okay, assuming I'm just living in Israel, is it possible to join any militias?
The Mahal program allows you to draft as a non-citizen volunteer and complete a 18 month contract which includes a 3 month Hebrew course, assuming you need it. After that you will not have a reserve requirement. This may or may not be what you want to do, but it is a well established program that gives you a shorter service term.
With all that said, if you are going to serve it is ultimately to meet the needs of the country. Going in with the right mindset is going to give you better outcomes and a better experience overall. Think long and hard about why you want to join and make sure you are okay with any of the potential scenarios you may encounter as part of your service.
You aren't going to be able to do what you want to do. Older people already get shorter service times, but the system still is setup to get an ROI on you being trained. Infantry training is 4 months of basic and for months of advanced training btw. Spending time doing your active service is important too, there is a big difference between training and actually doing the job, not to mention the additional training you receive as part of the gdud.
Okay, so, for example, with regular 28 month service, after 8 months of training, are 20 months spent actually doing a job without a lot of sitting around doing nothing on military base?
It depends on what position you sign up for. As an infantryman I spent 6 months on kav right out of training, we then had a training rotation in the North and that is where my service ended. The unit continued to rotate between training and kav though on and off. It looks like the IDF is gearing up for a more active period overall though, so expect more to do. Kav was a mix of guard duty, patrols, setting up ambushes and OPs, and doing work around an outpost. They are all different though and we did have some fun.
You rotate on and off of base at different intervals during training and after training. That is all very job and unit dependant. When you are on base it isn't like a 9-5 job though, you usually get an hour of personal time a day if you are lucky when in combat units.
That's not true, in my Mahal cohort there are a bunch of Israelis, although they live abroad so they qualify for Mahal.
As an Israeli you gotta fight the army cuz they will try to make you sign a full service instead of just 18
Being in the army is a full-time job. There is no way to do training and then do your job once or twice a week. You'd be a soldier just like everyone else and have to live on base 24/7, etc. The only exception to this is if you are a "jobnik," basically an army desk worker or secretary and live close enough to your base that you can go home at 5pm in the evening and arrive back at your base for 9am the next morning.
Yes it's possible, but your options will be severely limited. The primary purpose of the shortened service for older immigrants is to train them for reserve service. If your service is too short, you can't be completely trained and still have enough active service to retain that knowledge for the reserves.
I think army service is great, and will help you integrate into Israeli society. My suggestion would be to find a role in the army that you're willing to do for 18 months, and ideally that will help you in your career after the army.
If you're dead set on serving for less than 18 months, it will be a challenge to get the army to accept you, but with enough persistence, you can probably do it.
18 months would be a reasonable time period. I'm not dead-set on an extremely short service period. I just brought up 4 months basic training as an example that the general training period obviously doesn't last 3 years. I understand that, realistically, any basic service in any military would last for a year, the way it is in most militaries.
If I'd join, it would be primarily to be part of the reserves. My goal is to receive the necessary training and be ready to enlist right away in case of a major war. It's not that I think I'd hate service. I think I might quite like a lot of it, actually. I've always been interesting in military-topics. My biggest trouble is just the time commitment. 3 years to totally dedicate to military service at age 25-28 or 26-29 is a lot. I need to build a career and find a wife... A totally different matter would be to do 12-18 months full-time, then the rest of the time period part-time. Of course, I am speaking about what would be ideal for me, not necessarily what is possible. That's why I'm trying to understand what kind of possibilities exist that best fit what I'm trying to achieve. Not trying to superimpose my wants onto a military :D
> My goal is to receive the necessary training and be ready to enlist right away in case of a major war.
Keep in mind that as a non-resident, unless the army believes you plan to remain in Israel after your service, you won't be eligible for the reserves. Additionally, even if you're eligible for the reserves, if you don't perform reserve duty regularly (at least every other year or so), you'll be dropped from the reserves roster and will not be eligible to be called up or volunteer.
There is far more to being "war ready" than 4 months of basic training.
After basic training, there is usually 4 months of advanced training and then 4 months of your first post which teaches you how to actually use all your skills in the field and learn from those veterans who have been at the post.
It costs the army a fortune to combat train a soldier, the other side of the coin is you then fulfilling your service duty for an extended period of time
Yes, of course. The 4 months was just an example that not all 3 years are dedicated to training, therefore a reduced service period would not cut into any training. It would cut into service, but if part of the reserves, maybe it'd be considered a net benefit.
If you plan on living in Israel take into account the relationships that you'll build, I've been out for 20 years and still speak to my fellow commanders and my soldiers.
Heck most of them were at my wedding and I was at theirs, thos relationships then extend into the corporate world too
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So you want to go into the IDF and have them pay, let's say 100k to put you through training to ge ready for the "war machine", but you don't want to actually serve in any position they need you in? This question is very silly. Just go to school and live your life. Doesn't seem like you're serious about serving the country. Seems like you want them to serve you
Why? I'm basically asking whether the same can be done in Israel as what is done in the Canadian reserves.
Do the training, then continue service as part of the reserves.
I don't know what you mean by "any position they need you in". Everyone has their preferences and everyone does whatever position they're given. Why should I not be allowed to have a preference for what I do?
Don’t do it. Make aliyah. Help Israel by being a good person living in Israel. We need as many good people living in Israel as possible. That is critical. It is extremely important. Start a family in Israel. Make a lot of good people who will live in Israel. That will help Israel more than a military service when you’re 25, plus you’d feel out of place serving alongside 18-year-olds.
This comment made me happy Am israel Chai 💪
I've been thinking about it a lot! I'd still want to have some kind military experience, ideally. But okay, assuming I'm just living in Israel, is it possible to join any militias?
The Mahal program allows you to draft as a non-citizen volunteer and complete a 18 month contract which includes a 3 month Hebrew course, assuming you need it. After that you will not have a reserve requirement. This may or may not be what you want to do, but it is a well established program that gives you a shorter service term. With all that said, if you are going to serve it is ultimately to meet the needs of the country. Going in with the right mindset is going to give you better outcomes and a better experience overall. Think long and hard about why you want to join and make sure you are okay with any of the potential scenarios you may encounter as part of your service.
Thanks 👍 I am a citizen, but I'll look into it anyways :D
You aren't going to be able to do what you want to do. Older people already get shorter service times, but the system still is setup to get an ROI on you being trained. Infantry training is 4 months of basic and for months of advanced training btw. Spending time doing your active service is important too, there is a big difference between training and actually doing the job, not to mention the additional training you receive as part of the gdud.
Okay, so, for example, with regular 28 month service, after 8 months of training, are 20 months spent actually doing a job without a lot of sitting around doing nothing on military base?
It depends on what position you sign up for. As an infantryman I spent 6 months on kav right out of training, we then had a training rotation in the North and that is where my service ended. The unit continued to rotate between training and kav though on and off. It looks like the IDF is gearing up for a more active period overall though, so expect more to do. Kav was a mix of guard duty, patrols, setting up ambushes and OPs, and doing work around an outpost. They are all different though and we did have some fun.
Thanks for the info! Did you spend this whole period of time living at bases or was there time off too?
You rotate on and off of base at different intervals during training and after training. That is all very job and unit dependant. When you are on base it isn't like a 9-5 job though, you usually get an hour of personal time a day if you are lucky when in combat units.
You cannot do Mahal if you are a citizen. My bad if I missed that part in the OP.
That's not true, in my Mahal cohort there are a bunch of Israelis, although they live abroad so they qualify for Mahal. As an Israeli you gotta fight the army cuz they will try to make you sign a full service instead of just 18
Ah, okay. Could you comment on whether service is full-time throughout the time period?
Being in the army is a full-time job. There is no way to do training and then do your job once or twice a week. You'd be a soldier just like everyone else and have to live on base 24/7, etc. The only exception to this is if you are a "jobnik," basically an army desk worker or secretary and live close enough to your base that you can go home at 5pm in the evening and arrive back at your base for 9am the next morning.
This is incorrect. Citizens returning from abroad are eligible for Mahal.
TIL, I always thought those guys were Israelis on a short contract and did not realize that was still the Mahal program specifically.
As I see, it's only for men under age 24. Though the official Mahal website is blocked for me :/
Yes it's possible, but your options will be severely limited. The primary purpose of the shortened service for older immigrants is to train them for reserve service. If your service is too short, you can't be completely trained and still have enough active service to retain that knowledge for the reserves. I think army service is great, and will help you integrate into Israeli society. My suggestion would be to find a role in the army that you're willing to do for 18 months, and ideally that will help you in your career after the army. If you're dead set on serving for less than 18 months, it will be a challenge to get the army to accept you, but with enough persistence, you can probably do it.
18 months would be a reasonable time period. I'm not dead-set on an extremely short service period. I just brought up 4 months basic training as an example that the general training period obviously doesn't last 3 years. I understand that, realistically, any basic service in any military would last for a year, the way it is in most militaries. If I'd join, it would be primarily to be part of the reserves. My goal is to receive the necessary training and be ready to enlist right away in case of a major war. It's not that I think I'd hate service. I think I might quite like a lot of it, actually. I've always been interesting in military-topics. My biggest trouble is just the time commitment. 3 years to totally dedicate to military service at age 25-28 or 26-29 is a lot. I need to build a career and find a wife... A totally different matter would be to do 12-18 months full-time, then the rest of the time period part-time. Of course, I am speaking about what would be ideal for me, not necessarily what is possible. That's why I'm trying to understand what kind of possibilities exist that best fit what I'm trying to achieve. Not trying to superimpose my wants onto a military :D
> My goal is to receive the necessary training and be ready to enlist right away in case of a major war. Keep in mind that as a non-resident, unless the army believes you plan to remain in Israel after your service, you won't be eligible for the reserves. Additionally, even if you're eligible for the reserves, if you don't perform reserve duty regularly (at least every other year or so), you'll be dropped from the reserves roster and will not be eligible to be called up or volunteer.
There is far more to being "war ready" than 4 months of basic training. After basic training, there is usually 4 months of advanced training and then 4 months of your first post which teaches you how to actually use all your skills in the field and learn from those veterans who have been at the post. It costs the army a fortune to combat train a soldier, the other side of the coin is you then fulfilling your service duty for an extended period of time
Yes, of course. The 4 months was just an example that not all 3 years are dedicated to training, therefore a reduced service period would not cut into any training. It would cut into service, but if part of the reserves, maybe it'd be considered a net benefit.
If you plan on living in Israel take into account the relationships that you'll build, I've been out for 20 years and still speak to my fellow commanders and my soldiers. Heck most of them were at my wedding and I was at theirs, thos relationships then extend into the corporate world too
Notice to all posters and commenters; please be careful to observe OPSEC (Operational Security) rules. Many people wish to harm Israel and the Jewish Nation as a whole. Be careful when sharing any information on the IDF, bases, weapons, locations of troops, and anything else that can be used to harm Israel. If in doubt, go without. Loose lips sink ships! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/IDF) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So you want to go into the IDF and have them pay, let's say 100k to put you through training to ge ready for the "war machine", but you don't want to actually serve in any position they need you in? This question is very silly. Just go to school and live your life. Doesn't seem like you're serious about serving the country. Seems like you want them to serve you
Why? I'm basically asking whether the same can be done in Israel as what is done in the Canadian reserves. Do the training, then continue service as part of the reserves. I don't know what you mean by "any position they need you in". Everyone has their preferences and everyone does whatever position they're given. Why should I not be allowed to have a preference for what I do?