After serving queen, Danish soldier makes aliyah, joins IDF

[ariel]

Benjamin Schultz leaves family, friends in Denmark, joins IDF's Givati Brigade in Hebron after service in Danish Royal Life Guard left him looking for 'more action'

From Queen of Denmark to IDF : Benjamin Schultzer, a 24-year-old Dane who at the age of 21 was recruited to the Danish army, is now serving as an IDF soldier in Hebron. At first he served with the Danish Royal Life Guard, the Danish monarchy's guard unit, and then, during his army service, he was assigned to the UN force in Lebanon. Not once did he look over to Israel – to which he always felt great fondness.

In November 2011 he returned to Denmark, and decided to leave the army frustrated with the "lack of action" offered by service in his country. It was then that the unusual idea first popped into his head: Why not join the IDF?




In June 2012, Schultzer left his family behind, came to Israel and volunteered with the IDF's Givati Brigade, where he continues to serve today. He told his friends that "the Danish army is small and professional because they have no enemies, while the Israeli army is big."








Next week Schultzer will begin the process of aliyah. He is eligible for Israeli citizenship due to the Law of Return, although he is not Jewish by halacha since only his grandfather is Jewish – and thus, he intends to convert to Judaism.



His mother may be worried, but claims that as long as her son is happy, she and the rest of the family are pleased and support his unusual life choice.


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4442390,00.html

[Sblast]

I served alongside of volunteers, they have the toughest time; far from home & family, in a new (Israeli & military) culture. So not surprisingly they have the highest rats of suicide attempts in the IDF; some tend to be quite impressive given their motivation. Currently I tend to be appreciative of any practical help regardless of the philosophy behind it (what seems to be genealogical values (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaucus_(soldier)) in his case).

In general I don't really understand people that draft into the military looking for "action". The army maintains itself; many consequences follow from that.
Soldiers take care of: cleaning duties, kitchen duties, guard duty and logistics (carrying stuff/getting from A to B). A big portion of your service will look like that (as opposed to "action"). And when "action" arrives; it's patrols during hot days wearing ceramic vests. When "more action" arrives, like getting fired upon, you don't know where its coming from and you bury your face in the sand for a quarter of an hour trying to figure it out.
I guess most of the glory in the army resides in commuting home in uniform (which you'll be sleeping through :lol:).
And yeah, it's quite a unique, bonding, character altering experience and a significant contribution to society (tho far from being the only way).