Roni Zehavi graduated the officer's course in the IDF today, but amid the coronavirus outbreak, family and friends were barred from attending, and instead had to watch the ceremony from home.
When IDF troops graduate the officer's course, it's an emotional and exciting time for everyone involved, and the ceremony is usually viewed by hundreds of supporting friends and family members in attendance.
After finishing months of harrowing training, graduating the officer's course is one of the proudest and most important moments of a soldier's life, even following their military experience. Having to go through the service without parents in attendance just highlights the exceptional dedication of Zehavi and other soldiers like her.
Zehavi drafted to the army as an observer, left for commander's course in combat intelligence, and from there went to train to be an officer in Bahad 1, the officer's training base in southern Israel.
"The officer's course at Bahad 1 was one of the most meaningful experiences I've had. It was a challenging and unique time," Zehavi said.
Zehavi said that going through the course through these "uncertain times" during the coronavirus pandemic taught her lasting values such as leadership. "This situation is reforming, and I know I will take this experience with me for my future," she said, making the best from the worst of situations.
"We had to stay on base without going home for 47 days," she explained. Though it's a unique occurrence in the IDF for soldiers to stay on base for so many days in a row without seeing family, Zehavi continued to show her positivity and optimism, saying that despite the challenging time, it brought everyone closer together, "like a family," and added that the course gave her the opportunity to meet people from all across the army, and the country.