Chapter 71, Airforce Academy

The first thing I remember and probably will remember forever is the horrible smell we woke up to. The Airforce Academy was located next to the industrial complex to the north of Haifa. It was one of the most, if not the most polluted area in the country. In the middle of the complex, you could see the two huge oil distiller stacks. Surrounded with so many chemical plants, that defiled the “Kishon” river. There were no fish in that river, nothing could live in this water. Even at the estuary and deeper to the sea the water had a dark green color, you couldn’t see the bottom.

“Up, up, up! Cadettes! On your feet!” The corporal yelled at us. You have 30 minutes to be ready in triplets outside the building. There were 24 of us boys. We were all 16 years old and most of us were members of that prep program except for two whom had very high grades in Math and Physics to start with. As soon as we arrived by train the day before, the corporal was waiting for us at the gate. We were the only kids with civilian clothing, it was easy to spot us. 

“Corporal Levy is how you call me; I will call you Cadettes. First thing first, haircut. This is where you will be visiting every 2 weeks, to make sure you have a prober military haircut. If you miss a haircut and your hair grows longer than the rules, you will get court marshaled and be confined to camp for the weekend.” Corporal Levy was very firm and loud.

At the supply building we each received three blankets, two big towels, a pair of black shoes, 6 pair of high wool socks, 6 cotton white under shirts, 6 under white pants, a pair of high boots, 2 military grade “B” olive outfits. 2 grade “A” kaki summer outfit and one pretty blue winter grade “A” outfit.

“We have a back order on the winter coats for now,” Said Corporal Levi. “We should get it by next week. Everything you receive here you will have to sign for. This way before you leave you will have to return all except your underwear and socks. If you graduate properly, you will take the rest of the cloths with you.”

Our room where we were cramped in, had 12 bunk beds arranged in two rows. Each bed had plywood under a foam matrass. 

“We have a weekly laundry service. They will iron and starch your summer outfit, but you are in charge of the winter suite,” Corporal explained. At the far end of your room, you will find an ironing board and an iron. Make sure you’re “A” grade outfit are always ironed and clean before we send you home on weekends. Except when we have a special program, you will be going home every Friday early afternoon, that is if you pass the weekly test.”

“What happens if we don’t pass?” asked Yossi Cohen.

“You will also have to pass the inspection on Friday morning before the exam. If you fail, you will be staying over the weekend for extra studying and will take the test over on Sunday morning.”

“What if you fail that one too?” asked Menachem the orthodox kid. 

“You will have three chances, either you will have to retake the whole course or leave the track. You might even be kicked out of the program.”

Every morning we got up at 5:30am, cleaned our room, set our bed just like we were taught and stand up for inspection next to our beds. Corporal Levi would walk around us and make sure we were all shaved (I didn’t shave yet – lucky me), our shoes were polished shiny so he can see himself like in a mirror. He would smack our beds to make sure there is no dust coming up. Check the windowsills for dirt and the glass for smudges. Next, we would line up in triplets and march to the dining room. 

The only problem we had was ironing the outfit. We had only one iron and we had to line up and hope to be able to iron the outfit before the inspection. I don’t have to tell you what kind of  mess it is when 24 boys are trying to fight over their turn. I hate fights or any kind of conflicts, so I had to come up with a way to avoid this mess and still have my outfit ironed. To my delight I remembered that we had plywood under our matrass. I stretched my pants and jacket straight on the plywood being careful to have the seam in the right place and placed the matrass on top of it. In the morning I lifted the matrass and pulled my outfit from underneath, and it was perfectly ironed.

As we entered the dining room the smell of the hot cereal with the sugar and cinnamon overpowered the stench from outside. I made my usual tomato, cucumber and hard-boiled egg sandwiches and save 2 sandwiches in my side bag with my books. 

The first course we took was “General Mechanics”. I liked that class, we learned about the 2-stroke motor and the 4-stroke motors. (For me it wasn’t new because I learned about it at Shfeya). As a final test we had to take apart a 10 cylinder round engine from an old airplane. Each one of us had one engine to rebuild without having any left-over screws. As I mentioned, I loved it and did very well. I put the engine together and kept my tools clean and in nice order. That first weekend was an exciting one; I got to go home wearing my new uniform. I could see people looking at me wondering how old I was to be dressed in military uniform. My mom cried and gave me a hug. I didn’t take the uniform of even when I went to the party with Efri that evening. 

“Tibi!” Corporal Levi called. As soon as I returned to camp/academy on Sunday morning, I insisted that my name will be pronounced as it was intended to, no more Tubi.

 “I heard you sing the other day, from now on you will be the one calling the steps. You will not need to line up in the triplets, you will walk to the back left and make sure everyone is on the correct foot and keep the beat, like a metronome.”

“Left, right, left, right left …” Everywhere we went, to the dining room, to class, to our bunks and so forth. At 10:00am we had a 20-minute break to get some snack at the canteen. Not having much pocket money, I would eat my sandwiches and buy a dark chocolate covered waffle for dessert. “Metzupe” simply translated to “covered” for the chocolate cover. It was a non-descript kind, you couldn’t by it anywhere, only at the military canteens. Everyone who went to the military knows this treat more than any other food served or sold in the army. There was even a popular song written about it and performed by a famous comedian trio “Hagashash HaHiver” - the Pale Tracker.

After learning general mechanics, we learned general electric and at the end of that course we were called for a meeting.

“We were watching you guys early in your prep class,” said some high-ranking officer we never met. “In fact, we had plans for you as soon as you started. You are going to be the first class who will be studying Data Supply.”

“Data what? Asked Erik the guy from Arad, he is the one who didn’t need to take the prep class. “We signed up for electronics and we have been passing all the test with high marks.”

“This is a breach of contract!” Yelled Menachem, adjusting his head cap. 

“Not exactly,” said the officer. “You will learn electronics but not the exact same curriculum. You will skip some of the courses. And instead, you will take some new courses.”

“No, no, no!” Dani Muallem broke in. “I want to learn how to fix communication equipment and radars, not some stupid data supply.”

“I tell you what, tomorrow we will be going on a field trip. I will take you to a lab in an air force base. You will see what is planned for you and you will have to make up your mind. If you decide not to continue, you will have the option to leave the school or go on a 4-month waiting period for the next electronic class. We will give you the rest of the week to think about it.”

The lab was something we didn’t expect. It was like walking into a science fiction movie. There were a few different labs in one large building. In each one they worked on different aviation equipment. But the bottom floor had a “Clean Lab”. A room where you had to wear special cloths and go through a dry shower and almost everything had to be under big magnifying glasses, for the parts were very small and delicate. I was impressed and I think most of my classmate were too. All of us, except one who took the option of waiting 4 months, agreed to stay and take that special course. In short, our task was to learn everything that had to do with auto pilot and navigation systems for combat aircrafts.

Kitchen duty was one of the not so popular duty at our school. As you recall, I had some experience in that department. This time, in between courses we had either a week vacation or a week of camp duties. We would help cleaning the dining room, help prepare the food and even serve the tables. A whole week morning to evening. 

On one of these occasions when you finally about to finish and you couldn’t wait to go home, sometimes, you don’t really think before you act. Friday morning after serving breakfast and cleaning up the dining room I was planning to catch up the train right after serving lunch. I didn’t have much time to go to my room and change. So, I decided to dress up with my “A” class outfit before going back to the kitchen. The pretty blue, the only one we had. I was sure I will manage it without getting dirty. I didn’t get dirty the whole week, so why should I get dirty now. Sure enough, I helped prepare the dining room and dish out the food.

“Tibi!” The head chef called me, “I will let you leave early today, just do me one more favor. I am running out of meatballs; can you go back to the kitchen and bring me that big pot?”

“Sure, thanks chef!”

I picked up the heavy pot carefully not to spill it and placed it on the cart. The cart was a tall narrow cart, designed for carrying pots across the room. I stood behind it and carefully pushed it toward the door to the dining room. Suddenly one of the wheels split and fell off. The cart tumbled forward and me right behind it. All the meatballs fell to the floor the oily sauce spilled all over and I fell face forward into the big mess. The pretty class “A” outfit was soiled all over with oily sauce. Trying to get up I slipped back into the mess. I had to crawl out of it before getting up. At the back of kitchen we had a big sack of rough salt. I walked toward it and literally rolled in the salt making sure all my outfit was covered with salt and walked to my room. I missed my train and had to hitch hike home, dressed in class “B” outfit, and carrying my dirty salty suit in a plastic bag. 

The way home by car was a lot different from the direct rout the train took. I had to walk to the main rout – the infamous X rated district and try to catch a ride toward the southern side of Haifa to the “Independence Street” where the sailors were selling goods they smuggled of the port and the prostitutes were spread on each corner. From there hitch on another ride south. The fast shore highway was stretched literally on the shore, and you can see the sea on one side and the farms lands on the other. I loved looking at that view. Right under Haifa passing the David Camp we could see “Atlit” a small hill with an old port where I was told the Navy Seals were training. Passing that we saw the southern side of the Carmel Mountain and the prehistoric caves. A very crowded small Arab village was located on the “Crocodile River” next to the shore. “Jusser a Zarka” – the Blue Shor was an odd village where two small Arab tribes were living for a few generations. They were “lower class” tribe and no other tribe wanted to intermarry with them. Unfortunately, this village was marrying their kids to their family and many genetic problems developed there. Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael came next with all the fish farms and next to it my old school’s fields where I worked the year before. An old Roman port Caesaria came next, and right after that I had to hold my breath for almost a minute. The “Hadera River”, a stream of stinking water from all the factories around running into the sea. The smell was worse than the smell we had to wake up to at our dorms. Once we drove up the hill the smell passed, and we could see the Alexander River and Netanya in the distance. My ride dropped me at the entrance to town and I walked home from there.

“Very smart of you.” Mom complemented me when I got home. “The salt soaked all the oil and now all I have to do is throw this in the washing machine.”

Sure enough, I was lucky, there was no stain on my outfit.

Efri was waiting for me in his house’s balcony that evening before going to the party.

“Look what I got!” He pointed out from his balcony above.

“What?” I yelled looking up at him.

“Look at the entrance.”

“A Tustus?” A nice and shiny scooter was parked in the entrance. “When did you get your riding license?”

“Three days ago, my dad surprised me with it when I got back from school. Like it?”

“I love it! When are we going on a ride?”

“Wait, I am coming down, we will ride and then go to the party.”

“Great! I can’t wait to tell you what happened to me today.”

***

 

 

Kibbeh

A middle eastern fried goodness. It is made with all kinds of meat, but mostly with lamb. I like to combine beef and turkey to create a different flavor. 

 

Ingredients:

Patty:

1 Lb. Yellow Split Peas

¼ Cup Chopped Parsley

2 TBSP Chopped Cilantro

½ Onion 

1 Celery Stalk 

½ tsp Salt

Pinch Black Pepper

¼ tsp Paprika

½ tsp Turmeric

2 TBSP Olive Oil

Oil for deep frying

 

Filling:

¼ Lb. Ground Beef

¼ Lb. Ground Turkey 

1 tsp Chopped Mint

1 Garlic Clove

½ Onion

1 tsp Crushed Ginger

½ tsp Salt 

 

Preparation:

Soak the peas overnight. Crush in a food processor the peas, parsley, cilantro, ½ onion, and mix with the spices and olive oil. Let it sit for 2 hours.

Chopped the onion and celery. Sauté in this order adding one ingredient at a time, the onions, garlic, celery, ginger, and mixed meat until the meat is cooked to medium. Put aside to cool.

Create balls with patty mix, flatten it and put a tsp of the meat mix in the center. Fold tight to a football shape and deep fry until golden brown.

 

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