The National Search and Rescue Unit arrives at every disaster scene in record time, jumps into action and comes out with miracles
Date: 12/10/2011, 10:57 AM
Author: Rotem Eliav
When a disaster strikes, whether in Israel or abroad, the IDF National Search and Rescue Unit is always ready to leave everything behind and save lives.
The need for a search and rescue unit became clear after the first and second Tyre catastrophes where the efforts to rescue the over 100 victims from a collapsed building were disorganized and inefficient. As part of the Home Front Command, Col. Gabriel Rapaport and Lt. Col. Moshe Glili founded the National Search and Rescue Unit in 1984 as a solution.
The unit is composed of reserve soldiers that originally served in other units and volunteered to partake in the IDF's efforts to save lives worldwide and in Israel. The selected soldiers have civilian skills essential for the unit's operation including medicine, engineering, operation of rescue machinery, or work with dogs.
For these soldiers reserve duty means a rescue mission, and they may be called unexpectedly and for unknown periods of time. The majority of the soldiers are experienced and have been serving in the units for multiple years and participated in at least one incident, allowing the unit to operate at an extremely professional level.
There are approximately 40 women in the unit serving in every position, including rescuers and instructors.
Rescuing abroad
Other than disasters that take place in Israel, the unit also participates in aid delegations the IDF along with the Israeli government sends to assist in incidents abroad.
Once a disaster struck in a foreign country, Israel must initially offer the country assistance. At this point, the Search and Rescue Unit already begins to plan and prepare.
"Our unit gained a lot of experience abroad," said Deputy Commander of the National Search and Rescue Unit, Col. Amir Golan, "and when a disaster strikes the commanders immediately begin preparing: studying the location and specifics of the incident, organizing logistics provided by the Home Front Command, and putting together a team."
Among the unit's rescue missions are the earthquakes in Mexico (1985), Armenia (1988), Greece (1999) and Turkey (1999), a building explosion in Barcelona, an explosion at the U.S embassy in Kenya, and an explosive car detonated at the Hilton Hotel in Ta'aba, Sinai. More recently, the unit participated in aid delegations to disaster-struck Haiti after the earthquake, and to Japan after the devastating tsunami.
"When we arrive in a devastated city, the people feel that we came to help them. We bring them hope and they clap for us and bring us food. Any prejudice becomes irrelevant," explained Col. Golan.
The efficiency and availability of the unit it crucial, "timing is everything. Our golden rule is that 90% of the people rescued will be saved alive within the first 24 hours. We must arrive as quickly as possible, take over the incident and come out with miracles," added Col. Golan.
Miracles from the rubble
Extremely specific details of every single rescue are engraved in the rescuers' memories forever: the location of the victim's limbs, complications of the rescue, and the moment a life was saved. Though each rescuer also remembers a mission that profoundly moved them.
Lt. Col. Zohar Moshe, a Company Commander in the unit and an engineer in civilian life, remembered a miracle from the earthquake that took place in Turkey in August of 1999.
"When we began rescuing in Turkey after the 1999 earthquake, other people both soldiers and civilians began mimicking what we were doing," explained Lt. Col. Moshe. "One night we were called to a site where a civilian unsuccessfully attempted a rescue. Upon getting to the site, we found a little girl with only her ear exposed, mumbling. A team of rescuers and a doctor were immediately called and the delicate 17 hours of Rose's rescue began."
Lt. Col. Moshe described every intricate detail of the rescue: he realized that the entire building collapsed while the young girl was sleeping in her bed and that her one foot was caught underneath four floors of rubble. After hours of complications, one of the soldiers suggested the solution that saved Rose's foot and later, her life.
"After already being awake for 70 hours, the difficulties and complications of the rescue made us lose faith that we will succeed. Though when we finally pulled her out and she opened her big blue eyes, it was like reviving a dead body. We saved her. Saving Rose's life proved to me that there isn't anything we can't do," Lt. Col. Moshe continued.
"We all have daughters, and we couldn't escape a very personal emotional attachment while saving Rose. I went to visit her at a rehabilitation hospital and found her healthy and happy. My daughters got to play bowling with her."
"Rose's rescue changed Lt. Col. Moshe as a commander," added Cpt. Nir Hazut, Platoon Commander and lawyer. "He inspires us with his determination that nothing is impossible."
Cpt. Hazut's then told the story if his first ever rescue after the earthquake in Haiti. "The city utterly devastated. We weren't dividing regions anymore- we were trying to save lives," he explained. "One of the civilians was advertising our unit on the radio with a phone number for people to call if they recognize any signs of life anywhere within the ruins. We would then rush to the addresses and begin to work."
"The third address brought us to one of Haiti's government buildings where a man waited for us claiming his cousin has been trapped inside for four days," Cpt. Hazut continued. "We couldn't see him but we heard Jill's voice, and began a rescue that would lasted seven and a half intensive hours.
We were pressed for time and the rubble allowed only two people to enter the site at once. After several hours of work, we exposed his shoulder and immediately sent in a doctor, though he was unable to complete the necessary procedure. I was next to go in and freed him enough to begin pulling him out. The putrid smells of his bodily secretions made me vomit immediately and then as I held on to him people from outside began slowly pulling me."
Cpt. Hazut explained "pulling Jill back into the world and to life truly felt like giving birth, giving someone his life back. We are midwives wearing yellow plastic helmets. If we hadn't been there, 40-year-old Jill cold have never survived."
He then described that absolute euphoria after saving Jill. "Still elated, a man approached us. When we told him we are from Israel he said, "you flew half way across the world to come here?" and then like a heavy weight reminding me that I am still in Haiti, the man then told us that his wife is also trapped in the same building."
Cpt. Hazut continued to explain that after several rigorous searches the woman could not be found, though the man just kept repeating that his wife was in the building. The man finally believed the rescuers only when he was brought inside and she did not respond to his calls. "Broken, he looked to the ground and thanked us for what we are doing for Haiti," Cpt. Hazut solemnly concluded.
Saving lives at all costs
Back to everyday life
The rescuers discussed the mental difficulty of being exposed to thebhorrid sights of bodies and odors, and how the closeness within the unit helps them overcome the experience. "You never get used to it, but if something is difficult we talk about it," explained Col. Golan.
Upon retuning home from a rescue mission, the soldiers remain several more days on base to discuss the incident and gradually return to their civilian lives.
"Coming back to my wife and children, I don't talk or share what happened at home, I would never expose them to that. I would call up someone from the unit," said Lt Col. Moshe. "It's a very drastic switch coming back to a regular day job after so much adrenaline"
Although the soldiers are summoned for reserve duty unexpectedly, for undesignated periods of time, and at a higher rate than in other units, the rescuers agreed that the majority of employers are extremely considerate and accommodate any mission or drill.
"The true heroes are the families," Lt. Col. Moshe continued. "When we leave everything on a rescue mission for an undesignated amount of time, my wife is left with double the work and responsibilities. Without her I wouldn't be able to do this."