Four men in a tank: A story of camaraderie among IDF tank crews - opinion

• Published date: 20 April 2024
• Author: BARBARA SOFER
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

He insisted on a combat unit. "I wanted to do something significant," he said. He became a tank crewman

Many military pundits have declared tanks obsolete for modern warfare. They say that armored personnel carriers and drones are more effective instrument of war. Even in Israel, with our glorious history of Armored Corps successes, the number of tank regiments has been greatly reduced.

E was happy to serve in a tank.

There are four soldiers in an Israeli tank: the commander, the driver, the gunner, and the loader. E, who is slim and of average height, became a gunner.

The excellent performance of tank crews in Gaza challenges the obsolescence of the tank. Our Israeli Merkava Mark IV tank has active protective systems and other hi-tech features, with tiny radars and fast-firing grenade launchers that automatically detect incoming missiles and rockets and intercept them. The tanks have reportedly also been fitted with low-tech but effective metal covers that protect them from Hamas quadcopter drones.

Life and friendship inside IDF tanks

Even though tanks are considered better for distance than close-range fighting, the tank crews have been performing with success and valor in Gaza's tight spaces.

To write this column, as you may already have guessed, I've been watching tank videos and reading personal descriptions of life inside tanks. The diarists from different countries have similar complaints of chronic discomfort, ultimate lack of privacy, and a dearth of downtime. In spare moments, there is often something that needs fixing in the giant metal machine. The tankers recall the din, the sweat, and the shared odors. But they also hail the unmatched camaraderie that develops among the crew. No one whose story I read mentioned fear, although even the most sophisticated tanks are not impenetrable.

On October 7, reports of the attack in the South filtered into the synagogue where E went to pray. Like many of his bench mates, devout yeshiva student E ran home to retrieve his phone. He wasn't surprised to be called up, but he was disappointed that his initial posting was on the northern border. After many requests, E was transferred to Gaza.

Looking back, E's wife, Ori – a young woman who can only be described as beautiful – said she was actually happy for him to get a place in a tank in Gaza because he was so miserable not serving at the front. She coped alone in their home in the Old City with their three children under age four, pregnant with their fourth.

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