Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front | |
---|---|
Directed by | Wayne Kopping |
Written by | Baruch Goldberg |
Produced by | Raphael Shore Rebecca Shore Baruch Goldberg Oren Rosenfeld |
Cinematography | Aviv Vana Sasha Gorev |
Music by | Miri Ben-Ari |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front is a 2014 documentary film which explores the personal experiences of five Israeli high school graduates who are recruited to serve in the army paratrooper brigade for their compulsory military service.
Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front is a coming of age story that follows the lives of five Israeli high school graduates who are recruited to serve in the army paratrooper brigade for their compulsory military service - which is viewed in Israel as a rite of passage into Israeli society. [1]
The filmmakers follow a lone volunteer soldier from Switzerland, an Ethiopian immigrant, a grandson of Holocaust survivors, a female sergeant who originally planned to evade army service, and the unit commander. The film documents their reactions to their army service, fears, responses to the danger of combat, and their families' reactions to their experiences.
Guy Leon Sheetrit, Sergeant
Guy is a sergeant in the 101st Paratrooper brigade basic training base. Guy grew up in Jerusalem He is an Eight-generation Israeli, He is responsible for the basic military training, education and welfare of 12 soldiers Guy was one of other 4 Sargeants in the 101st Paratrooper Brigade basic training base.
Eden Adler, First Lieutenant
Eden is a commander in the 101st Paratrooper Brigade basic training base; this is his first assignment. The son of an American mother and a Yemenite father, Eden grew up in the Western Galilee town of Kfar Vradim. He had serious learning disabilities as a child. He is directly responsible for the lives, safety and operational effectiveness of 36 recruits and 4 sergeants.
Eden sees his task as not just about making good soldiers, but about inspiring his recruits to grow, change and become involved citizens after their army service. In the film, Eden is seen taking responsibility upon himself for helping his soldiers overcome personal problems.
Oren Giladi, Private
Oren is from Switzerland. He left Israel at age 5 and has decided to come back and serve in the IDF. He left his family and friends behind in Switzerland to do basic training with the 101st Paratrooper Brigade in the Negev Desert. One of his best friends is Mekonan Abebe, whom he met while riding on the bus to the paratrooper base.
Mekonan Abebe, Private
At age 12, Mekonan emigrated to Israel from Ethiopia, his father dying suddenly just hours before they were to board the plane. After making aliyah, he was raised by his mother in a 2-room apartment in a Tel Aviv suburb that he shares with 9 other family members. In Israel for just 6 years, he is proud and excited to be a part of the Paratroopers; however, he faces a number of obstacles. Despite the fact that they come from different worlds, Mekonan has forged a deep friendship with Swiss immigrant and fellow soldier Oren Giladi.
Eilon Cohen, Private
A fun-loving jokester, Eilon has a lot to learn to become a successful soldier. He is a second-generation Israeli, the grandson of refugees who fled Nazi Europe to South America, and later emigrated to Israel. The oldest of three siblings, being the first in his family to be enlisted has been a major milestone for Eilon and his family. Raised in Ashdod, Eilon plays guitar, surfs and is into extreme sports.
Coral Amarani, Sergeant
Coral is from the affluent sea-side neighborhood of Herzliya Pituach. An only child, she originally planned on evading her army service but changed her mind. She is a drill sergeant at Michvei Alon, a pre-basic training program that helps soldiers successfully integrate into the IDF. She is responsible for the basic military training, education and welfare of 12 soldiers, many of whom come from foreign countries.
Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front was released on November 5, 2014 in Israeli and U.S. theaters. [2]
The Israel Defense Forces, alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel. The IDF is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is subordinate to the Israeli Defense Minister.
Commando Unit 101 was a Sayeret unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), founded and commanded by Ariel Sharon on orders from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in August 1953. They were armed with non-standard weapons and tasked with carrying out retribution operations across the state's borders—in particular, establishing small unit maneuvers, activation and insertion tactics.
The 933rd "Nahal" Brigade is one of the Israel Defense Forces main infantry brigades. From August 2019 to June 2021, the brigade was led by Yisrael Shomer. On June 28, Sharon Asman was appointed as the new commander. However, three days later, on July 1, Asman suddenly died during morning training. As a result, Shomer was issued command again until a permanent replacement could be found.
General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, more commonly known as Sayeret Matkal, is the special reconnaissance unit (sayeret) of Israel's General Staff (matkal). It is the tier 1 prime special forces unit of Israel.
Nahal is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training in entrepreneurship in urban development areas. Prior to the 1990s it was a paramilitary Israel Defense Forces program that combined military service and the establishment of agricultural settlements, often in peripheral areas.
The 35th Brigade, also known as the Paratroopers Brigade, is an infantry brigade unit of paratroopers within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and forms a major part of the Infantry Corps. It has a history of carrying out special forces-style missions dating back to the 1950s.
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee. Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The fort is named in honor of Union Army Brigadier General William Bowen Campbell, the last Whig Governor of Tennessee.
The 506th Infantry Regiment, originally designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II, is an airborne light infantry regiment of the United States Army. Currently a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System, the regiment has two active battalions: the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training (BCT), and is located within the city of Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army general and the seventh president of the United States (1829–1837) who was born in the border region of North and South Carolina.
Lieutenant General Daniel Shomron was the 13th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), from 1987 to 1991.
This page details the uniforms and insignia of the Israel Defense Forces, excluding rank insignia. For ranks, see Israel Defense Forces ranks and insignia.
The Battle of Ayta ash-Sha'b took place during the 2006 Lebanon War, when the Israel Defense Forces and the Islamic Resistance, the armed wing of Hezbollah, fought a 33 days battle for the town of Ayta ash-Sha'b and the neighboring villages of Ramiya, al-Qawzah and Dibil in southern Lebanon. The initial phase of the battle consisted of two and a half weeks of intense bombardment by air and artillery, followed by more than two weeks of intensive fighting in and around the town. The IDF deployed five brigades against an Hizbullah force consisting of litte more than half a company. Still the IDF failed to capture the town and suffered relatively heavy casualties in the process.
The Regimento de Paraquedistas, based in Tancos, Portugal, is a unit of the Portuguese Army and serves as the instruction center for recruitment and training of the Portuguese paratroopers. This unit includes an entire battalion, acting as support and reserve for airborne units which contains for example, military war dogs and airborne pathfinders and an instruction battalion responsible for the forming of new paratroopers.
United States Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) is the recruit training program of the United States Army, for service in the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve, or the Army National Guard.
Maglan is a sayeret (reconnaissance) unit of the Israeli Defense Forces, which specializes in operating behind enemy lines and deep in enemy territory using advanced technologies and weaponry. Though Maglan is part of the IDF's Commando Brigade, its operators undergo basic training with the Paratroopers Brigade.
Danny Matt was a decorated career Israeli military officer who served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1948 until 1992. He attained the rank of major general and fought in five Arab-Israeli wars, including the wars of 1948 and 1973. Among his many exploits was a daring operation involving leading a paratroop force across the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War. The operation was the beginning phase of a larger Israeli counter offensive that ultimately led to the victory of the Israeli army.
The 44 Pathfinder Platoon is part of the 44 Parachute Regiment. The pathfinder is a trained and specialized paratrooper, who performs covertly behind enemy lines, either in small groups or in collaboration with other reconnaissance units.
Yoel Strick is an Israeli General (Aluf) who commands the Ground Forces Command.
The Israeli Ground Forces are the ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the General Officer Commanding with the rank of Major General, the Mazi, subordinate to the Chief of General Staff.
The 8th Battalion (Parachute), Royal Ranger Regiment (Malay: Batalion ke-8 Rejimen Renjer Diraja (Para)), better known as the 8 RRD or 8 RRD (Para) – abbreviation from its local name, is a battalion-sized airborne infantry from the Royal Ranger Regiment of the Malaysian Army. On 10 October 1994 the 8 RRD became part of the 10th Parachute Brigade. The 8 RRD is the first infantry unit in the Malaysian Army transformed from a conventional to an airborne unit.