Last week, I drove down to Agudah 99 to do what we do best at Smiles for the Kids: feed soldiers and remind them that the people of Israel stand behind them.
The occasion was a BBQ for the newest recruits who had just completed their two weeks of training through the Shlav Bet program. For those unfamiliar, Shlav Bet allows Israelis aged 27 and up to volunteer for IDF service. I went through this program myself after making aliyah during COVID, and at 44, I found myself trading my marketing career for a uniform and a logistics role with Alog 99.
There were supposed to be 130 new recruits at the BBQ. Due to political pressure and the ongoing budget fights in the Knesset, only 20 showed up. The system designed to let older Israelis serve their country had been gutted, at least temporarily.
But those 20 men who did show up told a story far more powerful than any headline.
A 55-Year-Old Who Refused to Miss His Chance
One of the soldiers at the BBQ had finished chemotherapy three days earlier. Three days. He is 55 years old. When I asked him why he didn’t delay his draft, his answer was simple: he refused to miss his chance to serve.
Think about that for a moment. A man in his mid-fifties, body weakened from cancer treatment, standing in formation with soldiers half his age because the call to defend his country was stronger than his need to recover.
A Father Who Carries His Son Into Battle
Another soldier was the reason we organized this BBQ in the first place.
His son had served in Sayeret Givati during the early months of the war. He fought in some of the heaviest combat operations and lost friends along the way. When he was called back for reserve duty, he went. He kept going back until his service ended.
But the war followed him home.
PTSD took hold. Despite his trauma, he pushed through his obligations. And then, after his service was complete, the war claimed another victim. His son took his own life.
The father is 66 years old. After burying his son, he made a decision that would baffle most people: he signed up for Shlav Bet. He fought his way through the bureaucracy, through the age restrictions, through every obstacle they put in front of him. He was going to serve in his son’s place.
At the BBQ, he showed me his neck. He wears two dog tags now. His own, and his son’s.
He told me that carrying both tags is what gets him through each day. His son is with him. Watching over him. The father goes forward because his son cannot.
What I Told Them
I spoke to the group about what comes next. About my own experience completing the training and then deploying with the unit. About what it means to be part of Agudah 99 at this moment in our nation’s history.
But honestly, they taught me more than I taught them.
These men represent something that statistics and political debates cannot capture. A 55-year-old cancer patient who would rather serve his country than rest. A 66-year-old father who honors his son by taking his place in the line.
The Shlav Bet program may be under attack. The numbers may have dropped from 130 to 20. But the men who showed up carry a weight of commitment that cannot be measured.
The Mission Continues
This BBQ was sponsored by Helping Israel Fund, who will never let our soldiers walk alone. Their partnership with Smiles for the Kids made it possible to give these men a hot meal after training, a conversation that reminds them they are not forgotten, and a chance to smile before they head back to their duties.
At Smiles for the Kids, we have served over 40,000 soldiers and 15,000 families since October 7th, 2023. Every single donation goes directly to the people who need it. No overhead. No bureaucracy. Just direct support for those who sacrifice everything.
The father with two dog tags reminded me why we do this work. The war in Israel is not just fought on battlefields. It is fought in hospital rooms and therapy sessions and lonely apartments where the weight of trauma becomes too heavy to bear.
We cannot bring back the fallen. But we can support the fathers who pick up their sons’ dog tags and continue the mission.