"If there's a will, there's a way" -- that is how one can summarize 2nd Lt. Rotem Chiprut, 20, a lone soldier who overcame cancer during her officers training course and then fought to her way back to combat duty again. Chiprut arrived in Israel August 2012 and enlisted to the Israel Defense Forces, becoming an infantry squad leader. "My parents left Israel for the U.S. when I was 12. After finishing high school I thought to go to college and continue my life in the U.S., but then I saw my friends going to Israel to enlist in the IDF and thought to myself, that country protected me until I was 12, now I need to make my contribution to it, and so I decided to make aliyah and enlist," Chiprut said. Last year, in the middle of officers training course, Chiprut discovered she had cancerous cells in her thyroid gland and had to set everything aside to go into treatment. "It simply came out of nowhere, out of the clear blue sky. I had to undergo a series of tests, an operation, and then recovery, but I knew I wanted to continue [army service]," she said. Rotem defeated cancer, but then came the next obstacle, this time from the IDF itself -- which she had to fight to be allowed to return to combat duty and complete the officer's training course. "After three months the army agreed to bring me back as a volunteer in a rear echelon position. But I didn't relent. It was a difficult time. I'm a strong person, but I had moments where I broke down and cried, but I was determined to succeed. I went to numerous committees and demanded to be placed back in combat duty until they finally agreed, and now I've completed my officer's course," Chiprut said. On Thursday, Chiprut received the stripe signifying her promotion to second lieutenant in the IDF. She has been assigned to serve as a platoon commander for recruits in basic training. Following in his sister's footsteps, Chiprut's brother Tomer arrived in Israel this summer and enlisted in the Golani Infantry Brigade. Rotem's mother, Leah came to Israel to attend her daughter's ceremony, at the end of which the two rushed to Jerusalem so they could make it to Tomer's own swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem. "I salute Rotem," Tomer said. "She's a source of pride and honor for our family."
