Unleashing My Most Animalistic Behaviors

Glossary:

Tzanhanim - Paratroopers

Gibbush - tryout

Alunka - stretcher

This past Wednesday, I had the privilege of attending Gibbush Tzanhanim, an intense one day tryout for a spot in the paratroopers brigade. A day filled with running, an interview, sprints, crawls, carrying a stretcher, and throwing my body in all different directions. In the end, my goal is to pass the tryout and be accepted into the unit. In the IDF, placements into units work in different ways, depending on what you want. For most units, you would fill out a form called a "Manilla" or basically a questionnaire form. You would rank the units you want, and then the army places you where you are needed, usually in your top two choices. To get into Modiin (intelligence), the army usually contacts you with a job, and then you'd have to go through a few months long security clearance process before being able to start working. For other units, specifically special combat units, you need to attend a tryout. In essence, you attend the tryout, and if you pass then you are in that unit. It gets a little more complicated than that for certain tryouts, and the different outcomes one can receive, but for our intents and purposes, if I pass the Tzanhanim (paratroopers) tryouts, then I get accepted to Tzanhanim. Aside from a few dreams of serving in some of the IDF's top units, which might not have been the most practical, I knew all along that I would eventually want to end up in Nahal or Tzanhanim. Both units are places where I think I will feel comfortable with the right people, and get the most out of my service. Therefore, when gibbush tzanhanim was coming around, I was ready to sign up. For the half week before the gibbush, I have been resting and drinking a lot of water, wanting to come in fresh for the day of the tryout. Thankfully, when I woke up on Wednesday morning, I was ready to go. After a three hour bus ride to Bach Tzanhanim (the main paratroopers training base), we got off the bus and were immediately introduced by some top officer in tzanhanim. We all received numbers, and were told to write them in big black lettering on the plane white t-shirts we were told to bring. I was given 270, and that was my name for the rest of the day. I was no longer Ira, but rather 270, and the front and back of my shirt was there to prove it.

*270 for the day. With a friend from my tzevet (group) at Michve Allon who also came to tryout. We dealt with some initial paperwork and a medical check that took 20 minutes, before heading to a tent to get ready for a 2k run. In pretty much every tryout, we start with a run, usually of a different length. The point of this run is just to weed out the bottom runners who I guess won't have made it anyway, and therefore won't participate in the main physical part.

Everyone was split into about 30 per group, and there was a constant flow of 30 people running the 2k, and then the next group, and then the next. The whole point is just to weed out the slow runners, and I knew that from the start. We got on the line, they said go, and we were off. I ended up finishing 2nd in my group, after my friend from my Garin, so I knew that not only was I not going anywhere, but that my placement can only shine a good light on me. Unfortunately, some people in our group, and some people I knew and came with, did not make it past the run, and were done for the day. At that moment, it was about 11:30, and we didn't pick up again until 4:30. What were we doing? Great question. We entered the interview part of the day, and this took forever. For the next 4-5 hours, we were all waiting in a tent for the tzanhanim judges to pull us out for an interview. There were obviously many judges and many interviews going on at once, but it still took forever, and I waited about three hours before being called in. For me, the interview wasn't much, and it's hard to tell how you did. These guys are ex-combat soldiers, and they don't show much or any emotions or reactions. It's all in Hebrew, of course, which was fun because I don't think I've been interrogated that much in a language that isn't english. I was asked about my motivation to come here, my reason for wanting Tzanhanim, about my childhood, my strengths and weaknesses, and other typical things from an interview. After 10 minutes, it was over, and I had another 1-2 hours to wait. Around 4:30 we got split into our gibbush groups, and this is where the fun starts. We were about to start the main physical portion of the tryout, the part where the judges really look at you and observe everything you are doing. We walk 10 minutes off the base to this big and flat sandy area, where the tryout is going to happen. We do stretches, warm up, get loose, and then the fun starts. "On the line." Twenty five of us line up on a line that should really only fit 15 people. We squish together, all trying to place ourselves with elbows in front of the guy next to us so we have room to run. The main judge of our group places a cone 20-25 meters away and says "the goal is to run around the cone from this side and come back to the starting line." "Tzuh ha'derech" (Go) We all start running to the other side, turning the corner around the cone and coming back. "Now, you see this cone, the first five people to make it back stand in front of this cone. Now, you see this cone, the bottom five people to make it back stand behind this cone. We are only writing down the top five and the bottom five." At this point there is pressure. Since I was always in the top quarter-third of the group, I knew that the bottom five was not a worry. However, the last thing I wanted was to get 6th or 7th. "Tzuh Ha'derech" We all ran, turned the corner, and came back. I decided to not go for the top five every time. If I was to give it my all each time, I would have had no energy. Therefore, I decided on the spot if I am going for the top or not, usually based on my tiredness or my body positioning on the line compared to everyone, and if I saw myself getting in front. "Tzuh Ha'derech" I would run and get top five a few times. Then the judge changed it to top three, making it even more competitive. When I was going to be 1st or 2nd, there was no stress, or when I was taking a round to run a bit slower and come in the top eight let's say, which everyone did at a certain point. However, there were points where I was coming in close, and there was a big difference between 3rd and 4th, and I needed 3rd. I would fling my body forward, diving on the sand like a frisbee player making a layout catch. Sometimes I was rewarded, and sometimes I got 4th or 5th, and my name wasn't written down. I hope that despite this, they saw my effort and took note. After maybe fifteen sprints, that was only one exercise, and there was a lot more to go. We crawled back and forth on the sand, seeing who could push through and who would give up. I flung my body forward on the sand, moving like a snake slithering around. We then had another sprint exercise with the alunka (stretcher), where the first four had to grab onto the stretcher, and do the sprint while carrying it. The judges only wrote down those who were holding it up, and out of 8/9 sprints, I got to the stretcher 3 times, which was good in a group of 25. During this exercise I was flinging my body around like crazy. I dove twice for the stretcher handle, succeeding once and coming very close the next. One time being neck and neck with the person next to me, and my dive making the difference. We did some smaller exercises such as pushups and planks until he told us to stop, and the challenge being that we didn't know for how long we were going to do it, and they therefore would want to see who would give up. They did some random group building exercises and a public speaking introduction exercise for everyone in the group, where they most probably wanted to assess our social skills. At the very end, right before the tryout was over, they combined crawling and sprints for a never ending exercise. We started on one line, all crawling to a line 66% of the way. We then picked up a sandbag and had to sprint with it over our head to the end and back to that line. Finally we had to drop the sandbag off where we picked it up, and then sprint back to the starting line and scream "Echad" (one). We then did that again and again, at the pace we were at, screaming the next consecutive number after each lap. This is where I think I really shined. It was at the end, and everyone was losing energy. This wasn't a test of how strong you were, but rather who had the will to keep going. I fell behind at the start when I couldn't pass the people crawling in front of me, but then I took off. I started counting numbers, and was the first to say that number. When I would say nine, some people were still on six or seven, and then I even lapped a few people who were only one number from me. In the end I got to thirteen in the time allotted, a few people got twelve, and I think the average was around nine-ten. I was very proud with how I performed here, giving it my all in the very end when it mattered most, with two minutes left in the 4th. We finished and the main judge congratulated us all for giving everything we got, and he was right. I don't think I have ever physically exerted myself in such a fashion, giving it everything I got and throwing my body in ways that I would most normally caution against. I essentially resorted to my most animalistic behaviors. That night I felt so sore, and now four days later, I'm still feeling sore in my upper body from the crawls. I am not sure when results will come in, but it's expected to be in a week or two. I am hoping for good results and for my hard effort to pay off. And, if I don't get in at the end of the day, everything will be fine and I have other options. In all, the gibbush was one crazy day, bringing out everything I have, and I can say that I left it all out there with no regrets, which I believe is most important. Whether I'll be a tzanhan or not, I certainly gave it my all.