WATCH: Givati soldiers in the mist
400 troops complete basic training with traditional beret march; Southern command decides to significantly shorten march due to hazardous weather.
The Givati Brigade welcomed in another class of basic training graduates Thursday after a traditional beret march that was shortened from 40 kilometers to just 16 kilometers due to extreme weather conditions.
Due to the haze and extreme heat caused by the current sandstorm sweeping across the Middle East, the Southern Command decided not to risk the soldiers' health, and so the march of 400 Givati soldiers was significantly shortened.
The march was supposed to leave Wednesday at 7pm, but was postponed to 4am Thursday morning. Only the last five kilometers were performed with open stretchers, and during that segment some parents decided to surprise their sons by appearing on the sidelines to cheer them on. The official beret reception ceremony was held in the presence of the families at a fortress between Kiryat Gat and Ashkelon at 4pm.
The recruits marched while carrying equipment equivalent to 40% of their body weight. After the march the soldiers received the brigade's signature purple beret.
The beret march marks the completion of the basic training process of Givati soldiers, which lasts several months. The continuation of the program includes a leave of absence before the soldiers join the rest of the division currently operating in the West Bank.
In the past, infantry beret marches were much longer than 40 kilometers, but due to criticism of senior officers and medical officials that the march was unnecessarily long without any significant benefit to the operational training of the soldiers, and in addition may also impair the soldiers' health, it was decided to shorten them.
