Fierce Winter in IDF Northern Command

Israel Defense Forces ^ | February 26, 2003 | IDF Spokesperson's Unit

[yonif]

February 26, 2003

Fierce Winter in IDF Northern Command

Israel is bracing itself for another heavy coldfront which left Jerusalem and the Golan covered in snow. The IDF Northern Command anticipated such a storm and prepared accordingly.

"We have a fierce winter this year in the Northern Command, but the soldiers are feeling good, we are taking care of them and they feel it," said the Chief Maintenance Officer in the Northern Command, Colonel Nissim Peretz in an interview given to the IDF website. Colonel Peretz also added that the Northern Command and the various IDF posts were prepared for the winter weather.

Peretz explained that every soldier stationed in a post receives personal gear and supplies to last up to a week so that the soldiers will be able to endure periods in the post, even if contact is lost due to weather conditions. He added that the equipment in use is new and improved and that the soldiers' diets have been altered to include more hot soups and porridges.

The winter does not halt the operational activity

Operational activities in the Northern Command are still routinely carried out in the winter. The medical teams are always on alert in case of a weather related emergency, and if such an emergency occurs, the command's General Staff Officer orders the halting of all operations. "The winter does not stop the operational activity, however we have no interest in having soldiers injured," said Peretz.

Peretz concluded that the Northern Command had started preparing for the winter this past summer and had installed new heating systems in the posts. He added that in most cases, the soldiers stationed in the Northern Command, are stationed in far better settings than the average soldier who sleeps at home, since the post are kept properly heated.

[wardaddy]

BTTT for warm gear.