Running with the recruits

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, February 5th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a run to remember.

Last fall, brand new recruits with the Israel Defense Forces’ Search and Rescue Brigade took part in a memorial run. It was to honor soldiers from their unit who died during the October 7th attacks.

REICHARD: WORLD’s Travis Kircher was there and spoke with several of the new enlistees about what the event meant to them.

SOUND: [Waves crashing]

TRAVIS KIRCHER: Waves from the Mediterranean Sea crash onto the beach in Tel Aviv. Unlike the holy city of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv is not a maze of stone streets and ancient brick. It’s a sprawling coastal metropolis—filled more with businessmen and beachgoers than dark suits and prayer shawls.

AUDIO: [Run starts, “Okay!”]

On this October morning, a few dozen young men and women are running together on the streets and sidewalks along the beach. 

To some, they appear little more than children—18, 19, 20 years old. But as new enlistees for the Israel Defense Forces Search and Rescue Brigade, their country is counting on them.

They’ve been training to save lives.

RUNNER: How long is this run? It’s 3-½ kilometers!

PRIVATE D: Maybe four!

That’s Private D. She has a name of course, but WORLD agreed to abide by an IDF policy that media only identify soldiers by rank and initial.

PRIVATE D: I never knew that run and speaking English in the same time is so hard…

This run isn’t a typical military exercise. These soldiers are running to remember. 

This race took place just two days before Israel mourned the second anniversary of the October 7th attacks—attacks that hit this unit particularly hard. Seven soldiers from the IDF Search and Rescue Brigade died that day. 

At one point after the run, members of the brigade rose one by one to tell the stories of each.

MONTAGE: [Speeches in Hebrew]

For 20-year-old Private O, who is in basic training, the experience is formative.

PRIVATE O: The unit has a lot of connection to this day, to those people. Like, it's very—it's truly close, like, it's very personal.

In fact, it’s personal for most Israelis. 

Military service is mandatory in Israel for any Jewish citizens over the age of 18, male or female, with some religious exemptions. But 18-year-old Private E says he’d sign on anyway.

PRIVATE E: Each and every one of the soldiers in the IDF want to be here. Even if it's mandatory and some people will complain and say, “Oh, I don't want to be here.” Everyone want to be here.

He says he was taught from childhood that the Middle East is a dangerous neighborhood…so it’s up to Israelis to defend their own country.

PRIVATE E: From the day I was born, my brother came to me and said, "This is an enemy. This is an enemy. This is an enemy. This enemy. All around, enemies.”

And Private O says that means she rides on planes when she goes on vacation, rather than risk driving through countries that might look down on her for her nationality.

PRIVATE O: How is it like to be able to move freely in the U.S.? We don't really know. Like for us, it's different. It's, it's weird that you can do that, that you can go through different places only with a train or only with a car. For us, it's only flying and it's really flying far away, because...

As part of the Search and Rescue Brigade, these privates train to respond to missile and rocket attacks and recover survivors. But they admit, for them it’s about more than the mission.

PRIVATE O: Also, just like shooting a gun is really, really cool. And learning how to do Krav Maga is really, really cool. It's probably one of my favorite things...It's really cool when our commanders wake us up at 2am and we have to, like, get as fast as we can on you know, training clothes, and go punch each other. It's really cool.

In the eyes of those commanders, it’s training that could one day save lives. 

Stav Cohen, an IDF special forces reservist, knows what lies in store for these recruits.

COHEN: They're going to be hungry, they're going to be tired, they're going to be cold. But the most difficult challenge won't be the weight, it won't be the heat, and it won't even be the mental challenge, which is crazy. The most challenging thing that these guys will face is staying human in unhuman war zone.

But that’s off in the future. Today—on this day in October 2025—the young men and women remember the fallen by living their own lives. By enjoying the bright sun, the warm air, and the pavement that’s calling to them. 

Letting these soldiers…

SOUND: [Running and laughing]

…be kids. At least for now.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher. From the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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