“Every career officer in the Golani Brigade, whether in the field or at headquarters, will be with their children on Sept. 1 and accompany them to school. The mission is our top priority, but we do not forget the home front,” said Lt. Col. N., deputy commander of the Golani Brigade, describing the decision made ahead of the start of the school year.
The decision to allow commanders and soldiers to accompany their children on the first day of school also has a personal dimension for Col. N., 41, of Kela Alon, who is married to Tirtza and has four children, including 6-year-old Maya, who is starting first grade Monday.
“It was a difficult year, with the distance and the longing,” he said. “I tried to make it to the important moments, birthdays, end-of-year parties, wherever circumstances allowed.” He said he took part from afar in preparations for the big day, although his wife did most of the work.
Speaking about Maya’s first day of school, he said, “Maya is very excited. It’s a new place, new children. You can see how happy she is.” He wished her “success in whatever she wants to do, that she flourishes and fulfills herself.”
To children whose parents were unable to accompany them because they had to remain in the military, he had a message: “Know that it was not because they did not care, but because the State of Israel needed them somewhere else.”
Maya, for her part, knows how to explain it simply: “Dad is in the army, protecting us.”
“This is what we are fighting for — so there can be school, so there can be routine, so the school year can begin,” said Lt. Col. A., 32, of Mevo Dotan, commander of Golani’s 12th Battalion, who will accompany his eldest daughter, 6-year-old Ella, to first grade Monday.
“She is very excited and happy, but she also has the composure that is typical of commanders’ children,” he said. Describing preparations for the day, he added, “I mainly got pictures of the backpack and the new things. My amazing wife is there doing an excellent job.”
'My dad is in Golani': Battalion 12 commander and his daughter, Ella
“Ella knows that I command a lot of soldiers and that we are fighting the bad guys,” he said. “There is no doubt that it is challenging. But she is very proud of it and appreciates it. I had to persuade her not to go in a shirt that says ‘My dad is in Golani,’ but to wear her school shirt instead.”
“The order is always subordinate to the mission. First of all, we make sure the mission is carried out in the best possible way,” A. said of the brigade directive. He added that being able to accompany his daughter to school that morning was also important.
“The second most important thing is the people, and I mean not only the commanders and soldiers themselves, but also their families. They are the ones who give us the strength to keep going.”
He ended with a wish for Ella: “I hope she has the very best, finds friends and enjoys herself.”