The Rasap of Unit 7108 started calling me Uncle Aron sometime during my third visit. I'd show up at their base with supplies, spend a few hours helping however I could, and eventually the name stuck. When you're there often enough, when you care enough to keep showing up, you become part of the unit's extended family.
That relationship came from my work with Smiles for the Kids. But some connections go beyond the organization itself.
I met Yonatan at a Chanukah carnival we organized for army families in Modiin. He'd gotten a few hours off to come home, and he found his family at the event. We talked briefly while his kids ran around with sufganiyot-covered faces. His unit wasn't looking for gear or equipment. They needed help for the wives at home managing everything alone. So we started small: candy platters for every family during the holidays, necklaces for the wives when the soldiers returned home.
When I finally decided to sign up, Yonatan spent weeks making phone calls, sending emails, trying to expedite the process. He set up bi-weekly check-ins, kept following up, wouldn't let the bureaucracy stall out. The internal army email system eventually had an entire thread about getting me into his unit. The head of all miluim for the army finally responded: "It's amazing that you want Aron to join your unit, but first he needs to join the army."
The system only had one path forward for me: Alog 99, the unit that took over the Shalav Bet program. So I joined there. Yonatan's advice was simple: join the army first. No matter what you do, it will be good experience. If it works out for you to join us later, we'll make it happen.
I went through basic training. Got my uniform, learned the systems, started serving. The transfer request to Gidud 6724 stayed in the system. A few bureaucratic challenges came up, mostly around someone with minimal training joining a more specialized unit. But the request sat there, waiting.
Now Gidud 6724 is going north for their next miluim rotation. The transfer finally came through. I was accepted for this cycle to see where it goes.
Is going back to the army right now ideal for my family? No. For my work? Definitely not. For me personally? Probably not that either.
But this unit, the one where I already know so many soldiers, where I wanted to serve from the beginning, is giving me the opportunity. I can't pass that up.
I'm no longer with Shalav Bet or grouped with guys who just drafted. I'm a non-commissioned officer in a unit that's trained to do more, expected to serve with more knowledge and capability. The journey I started in August continues.
For now, I'm jumping in. The relationships matter. The commitment matters. The chance to serve alongside people who've become family matters more than the timing being convenient.
So I'm going back.