Tekes (Ending Ceremony)

I’ve been picturing and dreaming about my Tekes (graduation/ ending ceremony) in the army for as long as I can remember. It’s when the soldiers look their best, stand in perfectly straight lines, and sing Hatikva with the upmost pride for what they’re doing.

At the end of the first course, the commanders tell each girl which job she is going to specialize in… Basically her fate for the next almost two years! For some of the girls, it was legitimately a matter of life and death, it seemed. Thankfully, I have a pretty open mind when it comes to the army (something you learn you need very quickly), but I was still very happy when I found out what job I got because it was what intrigued me the most! You walk into a room where the head officers and commanders are sitting; they tell you your overall score for the course and the likelihood of becoming an officer (based on a bunch of numbers and test scores, not so sure), and they then tell you your shibbutz (placement). I got Madrichat Namach - Neshek Machlakti. In simple words, there are five different weapons I will be teaching - from a hand grenade launcher to missiles that explode entire walls and rooms. I will just say that there were many, many tears during this whole process from all of the girls - whether of happiness or anger. I felt like it was during American Idol when the contestants come out of the audition room with the yellow Hollywood ticket, or of course, with nothing. After that, all of the family and friends came for picnics and some talks/ videos by the commanders explaining what we’ve gone through the past two months. Then there was the actual ceremony part. We walked in perfect formation, barretts on our heads and guns at hand. We heard speeches from the head of our unit in the army and the head officer of our course who remarked how important our job in the army is - that because of infantry instructors, the soldiers know how to defend themselves, and in turn the nation. She spoke about what a big role the instructors played during last year’s war - working all hours of the day to teach as many soldiers as possible so they can go into Gaza. It was an empowering feeling to be standing in the ceremony knowing that despite the hardships of this journey, I am here for such a direct and important reason. Our commanders and officers then went around to each girl and gave us a Rabat which are the two stripes on both arms of our uniforms which show that we are now “ranked” in the army. They played hebrew songs that I’ve been hearing since I was a kid in my dad’s car on the way to school - so it was a very emotional experience!

Sadly, my parents and siblings couldn’t make it, but my aunt from Chicago who also served in the army and boyfriend were able to be there as well as my host families! It was so, so nice to have my Aunt Binnie and boyfriend there to support me because they understand how long I’ve been dreaming of being in the army for, and to have people who have known me for a shorter amount of time but who have really adopted me as their own meant so much. I spent that weekend in Tel Aviv and that Sunday, I returned to base to start my new course.

My Commander - Dana