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Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/as-a-lone-soldier-i-know-ill-never-be-alone-684193
As a Lone IDF Soldier, I Know I'll Never Be Alone
(Jerusalem Post) Issy Lyons - A year ago I moved to Israel and officially made it my home. Today I am officially a combat soldier, physically defending Israel, whereas before it was just in words. My closest friends in high school were a group of elite triathletes that trained together. Among them, I had found a community and bonded with a group of girls who like me believed we could do anything we put our minds to. We were all strong, independent feminists; however, as the only Jew and the only Zionist in the group, I never felt like I could truly be myself. I remember wondering whether I'd feel less alone after making aliyah to a country where I knew few people, had no family, and struggled with the language - where I would be labeled a "lone soldier." I live with other "lone soldiers" when off base and do miss my family and friends, but I have now found family among my fellow soldiers. Among them I am the whole me. In a female combat unit, all the girls have volunteered to be there in the specific roles they serve. None of us were required to be combat soldiers. We are all really here for the same reasons, a personal sense of duty to use every skill we have to defend Israel. I have learned what it means to come home and be accepted for all the parts of me. The writer, 19, serves in a combat intelligence unit.