Beginnings and Ends

I recently experienced the end of two significant and exciting periods in my life: About a month ago I finished a long and fascinating reserve service. This week I was fired from my job for the past 13 years.

In this post, I share the things I have written about these two special periods.

A month ago marked the end of an exceptional period in my professional career with the culmination of reserve duty that lasted for 169 fascinating days in the Home Front Command.

It all began with enlistment by a special command in the midst of August 2020 in a big military base of the Negev, where I was charged as commander of the southern district in the regiment of transportation unit established specially for the purposes of transferring Covid-19 samples.

Although I had no idea what was intended, my time for learning the task at hand was abruptly interrupted from the onslaught of soldiers arriving ready for duty. The social spectrum was versatile and mostly consisted of volunteers from different units. From cargo drivers to special force fighters, officers to recruits, men and women, young and elderly, religious and secular, Jews and Muslims, we were an eclectic group.

We immediately began with tasks for transport that trickled in and swiftly turned into an outpour of teams that spread out across the country from the southern tip of Eilat to the center of Israel, from the western beach towns to the Dead Sea and eastern prairies. 

The tasks could last for hours, sometimes even for one sample; yet other times we released shuttles of samples at a time. I had the privilege of working with special individuals in different roles: officers of the home front command led by Brigadier General Nisan Davidi, Commander Alon, Commanders of Magen Dovid Adom, managers and staff of laboratories, representatives of local authorities, the staff of health maintenance organizations, and managers of shipping companies. Last but not least, the soldiers who undertook the task of collecting the samples spent long hours on the road and committed themselves professionally to their work with dedication over the course of months. What we all shared in the midst of this disarray was the drive to devote ourselves completely to this national challenge to carry samples swiftly and effectively to the laboratories for testing. 

I admit that at first I believed this was a logistic project fitted for a shipping company and not for soldiers. However, after months of executing this mission every day of the week for almost an entire year, I am certain that the unit which we established was the best decision for the professional and responsible implementation of the duty placed in our charge. We honorably fulfilled the standards of the Ministry of Health and Home Front Command and even when we were called to immediate action in the middle of the night, on weekends and holidays, we readily acted swiftly and without any partiality to rank including the senior officer himself who left for transporting duties at any time and location.

Over time, the core members of this special unit created a unique presence throughout their time together on this base in the southern guard. When I stayed over the weekend as a commander on duty, there was always someone who took it upon themselves to surprise us with home-cooked meals before the Sabbath and treats to make the time spent more welcoming. The individual sacrifices and volunteer work helped us handle the heavy work-load and long hours. With a smile, a laugh, and much comoradity, we created a family atmosphere that included baking pizza in the military units, a BBQ with an award rank ceremony and farewell from those released, a karaoke evening under the stars in the cold of the desert night, all the while respecting the regulations of social distancing. 

Our primary concern was road safety, particularly in light of reckless driving in the southern district. We built a precautionary system which included instructions, training, briefings, and investigations. Thank goodness, we successfully concluded the mission without any issues or accidents. Despite our precautions with social distancing, we also dealt with some cases of soldiers contracting Covid-19. As a result of a quick and effective response, we were able to investigate and isolate these cases from other soldiers through a series of follow-up tests without harming our routine procedures. Upon investigation of the southern area, we were found to have reached excellent status without mishaps. This status awarded us with complete autonomy and flexibility in our decision-making process and implementation.

It was difficult to leave this framework that had in such a short period of time become like a family. However, the challenges of us citizens remain and the return to my clinical work in the area of EP is just as crucial and necessary. Although this was a most unique experience, I can only hope the pleasant memories remain a one-time experience. 

The second incident occurred this week. The day I had to say goodbye to the company I worked for 13 years I sent a farewell email to all the employees. This was the first and last time I shared any content with all the employees.

Since the text is written in the form of a poem in rhymes, it is attached here in Hebrew.

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