Hi,
After visiting Sirkin airport just after it has evacuated (including the old bases of Sayeret Matkal and Yahalom unit), I found myself at the new base of Yahalom for military reserve duty.
Yahalom (which is an acrynom of Special Operations Engineering Unit, and literally translaets as Diamond) includes different sub-units, each profession with its own field of combat engineering.
Back on my days you could either get to Yael (“Ibex” unit) or to SAP (“EOD unit”) depends on the date you were drafted without any choice, My draft was had Gibush (a grueling five-day test of physical and mental condition in intensive field trials) for Yael unit and did not even finished it.
We don’t visit those bases unless we have a very good reason. It was because the retairing Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochvi, used the training base at Ze’elim for his inventiveness conference (many reference the conference as Kochavi retairing act, and blame him for waisting the army money on it).
It was a good chance to learn a bit more on explosives and new explosives we might use or bump into during war (which we all hope will not happen).
I don’t have much to write about the new buildings as this ordinary construction. But was very glad to find out that many of the roofs are covered by PV solar panels (just like Aba and Ima. house has) At least one thing is progressing in the IDF.
Take Care
Gad
The sign at the entrance with the Yahalom (“Diamond”) sign – winged Yahalom.
Gabions, as we saw at Sirkin base
The Solar panels on the roof of the many of the base buildings
The bombs garden, where an disposed bombs are stored
A disposed soviet bomb cut in half to understand how it works and to be used as teaching accessory