FROM MISGIVINGS TO EXCELLENCE

I can’t believe that two years have already passed since our lone soldier granddaughter was recruited into the IDF.  Because of her impressive credentials, Ophir was chosen to join the Operations Room of the Tel-Nof airforce base in the south of Israel.

In its 70 years, the Tel-Nof airforce base - which is the air force’s place of origin - has acted as a main factor in both defense and offense. Fighter jets, transport aircraft, attack helicopters, transport helicopters and Remote Control Aerial vehicles have been situated in the airbase. No airforce base has ever been home to such a number of aircraft from various divisions, which together form Tel-Nof’s legacy in the IAF’s history. Every day, aircraft take off from Tel-Nof to perform training, attack, defense, reconnaissance and electronic warfare sorties, among others. 

Its personnel have made the place what it is. Our granddaughter was part of a human chain sharing responsibility and transferring it from person to person, thereby maintaining the base’s strong spirit.

As an Operations Room Controller in the Israeli Air Force only test flight unit, it was Ophir’s job to coordinate the execution of the test flights, supporting multiple flights each day. Her job was to make sure the personnel knew the schedule, arrived on time and had everything they needed - including mission  packets - which she built according to mission specifications, the right gear, etc. Ophir also had to identify all relevant external parties and make sure they were briefed and were aware of all the necessary details. During the day she helped solve any issues and emergencies that came up, in order to make sure that everything ran smoothly.

Last week, her family came especially from London to organize a farewell party  for all her colleagues serving at Tel-Nof, and including her very proud grandparents and aunt. The following is a very small part of the humorous speech made by my daughter – from her daughter’s tearful and very doubtful beginnings – to her elated and successful finale: 

“To be a lone soldier is  very hard - from day-to-day practicalities and, in particular, to the emotional aspect. It’s true that Ophir has family in Israel and wasn’t entirely alone. She has two grandmothers and a grandfather and an aunt, who had always wanted to adopt a lone soldier, and jumped at the opportunity. You know who I mean, the one who  turned up at the gates every Sunday morning waiting with home-made food, including her famous sponge cake!

During the two years of Ophir’s army service we discovered a strong and resilient young woman who, in spite of many difficulties and crises never gave up. She constantly aimed for excellence   and with lots of will power and determination succeeded in every step of the way. There is no doubt that the friendship and support of her amazing co-workers helped her to cope with the very complex job she had to face”. 

The fact that they all held her in such high esteem was evident in the tribute of her colleagues who  spoke at the party. We were particularly moved by the glowing terms in which the commander of the base  spoke about Ophir, and the fact that he expressed absolute faith in her reliability and sense of responsibility.

In any argument in which the need for female soldiers comes up, we were told that in this job in particular, which involves multi-tasking, they are the preferred gender.