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Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade traveled to Metsada,
Israel, in order to study the ancient Battle of Masada during
Exercise Mediterranean Shock, Nov. 14, 2015.
The 140
paratroopers are in Israel to train with the Israel Defense Forces,
allowing the two partners to demonstrate collective readiness,
strengthen military-to-military cooperation and to enhance regional
interoperability.
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Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade traveled to Metsada,
Israel, in order to study the ancient Battle of Masada during
Exercise Mediterranean Shock, Nov. 14, 2015. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. A.M. LaVey)
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A break in training allowed the paratroopers a free day,
and hiking up Mount Masada combined both physical and mental
activities, as they studied the one of the final events in
the First Jewish-Roman War, occurring in the years 73 and
74.
"This is a very unique opportunity to be able to
visit and experience this site," said Spc. Jacob Hebner, a
radiotelephone operator with Company B, 1st Battalion, 503rd
Infantry Regiment. "You can read about battles and try to
understand them, but it's a lot more relevant, more
impactful when you can go to the location itself."
Masada was a mountaintop fortress, fortified by King Herod
the Great, but later became a refuge for about 960 Jewish
settlers fleeing Jerusalem. In the year 72, the Roman
general Lucius Flavius Silva led a Roman legion of about
15,000 people to lay siege on the fortress.
The
Romans surrounded the mountain and for two months built a
ramp made of earth and rock, to allow their battering rams
to breach the fortress walls. When the Roman troops passed
through the walls, they found the city in flames and all
within its walls dead. The residents had committed mass
suicide in order to prevent capture and slavery.
The
event is seen as a symbol of heroism and plays a role in the
Israeli national identity, with some IDF units scaling the
mountain as a part of their graduation from basic training.
For the paratroopers, studying the battle allowed a
glimpse into the Israeli psyche, enabling them to better
understand their IDF partners.
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Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade climb Mount Masada
during Exercise Mediterranean Shock in Metsada, Israel, Nov. 14,
2015. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. A.M. LaVey)
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"If you want to know the nature of this country and fully
understand it, you need to go back in time," said Ron Elberg, an IDF
veteran and one of the tour guides who accompanied the U.S.
paratroopers. "If you don't know history of a place, you'll never
understand its people."
The event was treated as a staff
ride, a learning tool that the U.S. Army uses to convey the lessons
of the past to Soldiers for use in the present day - bringing the
battle to life, while standing on the actual place where it
happened.
"There
are some people who think that you can't learn anything from
history, but as the saying goes 'those who don't know their history
are doomed to repeat it,'" said Hebner. "This is especially
pertinent to soldiers. By studying this battle, we are building a
better rapport with our IDF partners - allowing us to better know
them on a personal level, instead of just while training. We can
understand some of the things they've been through - and Israelis
have been through a lot."
Elberg concurs, highlighting the
fact that events like this can bring Americans and Israelis closer
together.
"Israelis are an interesting, but complicated
people, it's our history and background, and the neighborhood we
live in," said Elberg. "But events like this allow this special bond
between the American and Israeli people to run even deeper."
Mediterranean Shock is a part of an ongoing series of exercises that
are U.S. Army Europe's method of ensuring that units are able to
train, mobiles and deploy anywhere inside is area of operation at a
moment's notice.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the Army
Contingency Response Force in Europe, and is capable of projecting
forces to conduct the full range of military operations across the
U.S., European, Central and Africa Commands areas of responsibility.
By U.S. Army Spc. A.M. LaVey
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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