It's all about the team.

It all started when I was sitting in my first job interview after completing my military service. After a long service where I was not only commander of so many officers and soldiers but also the only one responsible for the communication capabilities of about 30 tanks, dozens of armored carriers, and countless missions - and the list goes on. After serving as the Operations Officer in the Northern Command's communications battalion where I was the back wind pushing a battalion of over 500 soldiers, communication centers, and mobile assets - I sat in a job interview and proudly answered the employment experience question with "I was a communications officer." The VP of R&D team who interviewed me waited for the rest of the sentence, and I just couldn't understand where the part is when she tips her hat off for me. Spoiler alert, she didn't. I realized there was a gap between how I perceived my past and how civilians perceived it. How is it logical that everyone who leaves Unit 8200, even if they were a the soldier in charge of watering the lawn, can get any job they want, and communications former officers, including a 19-year-old company commander who managed an entire brigade's operational plan or a platoon commander who at 22 carried dozens of crucial communication sites on his shoulders, don't get the same advantage? We understood that something had to be done. It is time to spread the ethos that communications officers so richly deserve. A dear friend of mine took it a step further and decided to found a non-profit organization. One with no interest other than to unite all operational communications officers and be a home for them. All the stars started to align (it probably happens when the goal is so pure) and within a short time, the Alumni Association of ICT Officers in Israel - The Gidonim - was established. With a team of people who came together to work hard and above all do good. We fulfilled a dream. Last Friday, we gathered to hold our first launch conference overlooking all of Tel Aviv from the 50th floor. We saw how the dream became a reality. The ideas turned into practical work plans to advance discharged communications officers. Thank you to everyone who gave so much of themselves for this to happen. Thank you to all the communications officers who proved to everyone that they deserve it.

With endless gratitude,

Maya Alon | Community Relations Manager of the Alumni Association of ICT Officers in Israel - The Gidonim.