A Strange Bit of אס״ק

In the IDF, there are all of these slangs and terms that are used within the system, that many Israelis outside the army, or at least those who haven't served or haven't served in a while would not know. It is like coming to college and having to learn the lingo of the campus. What is the quad? Where is it? And The Green, what is that as well? Over a few weeks you pick up the lingo, and you can speak as if you're a veteran on campus. This same lingo, and I think to an even greater extent, is a big part of the army language.

So, what is אס״ק? In Hebrew it is an acronym that stands for "אווירת סוף קורס" or in English "end of course atmosphere." Basically, as the end of course approaches, or in my case training, there is this excited atmosphere in the air that we have almost reached the end. After 7 insanely difficult months of being pushed to the limits, we are now 12 days away from the ceremony at the end where we will receive our red berets.

However, just like college for example, where the end also means finals, we too are entering the hardest stretch of training. Despite the challenges we have overcome over the last half year plus, our biggest challenge awaits us tonight. As I am resting on base this Shabbat, essentially getting to do whatever I want, I, as well as the rest of my platoon, are awaiting the end of Shabbat to come, where we will start the biggest challenge yet. Over the next 10 days we will be in the midst of "שבוע מלחמה" "war week" where we will spend days on end in the fields and away from base. This will be a 10 day period with little sleep, food, sanitary conditions, and a whole lot of weight on our backs.

Right as Shabbat ends this evening, we will be off on our first trek, with at least 40-50% body weight on our backs, and stopping at a point to perform our first drill. From there, we will spend the next ten days on long walks and performing more drills, with little time in between. In essence, these are about to be the hardest 10 days of our training, and they come at the very end.

So, are we feeling the excitement of the end? Surely we are. If this week was to happen in the middle of training, I think we all would be a lot more pessimistic heading into the week. However, with the end so near, we know that despite how hard this week is, we will come out the other side and touch the finish line. With that mindset we have that strange bit of אס״ק in our thoughts right now, even though what awaits us over the next 10 days will surely shock us in every single way.

*The official invitation for the ceremony