Four Israel Defense Forces soldiers on duty in a tank crew on the Gaza Strip border were found asleep in their tank several weeks ago, not far from the spot where Gilad Shalit was abducted in 2006, it was revealed this week. The soldiers were reprimanded and sentenced to 40 days confinement on their base. The incident took place on the Gaza border while the soldiers, including the tank commander, gunner, driver and loader-communications operator, were all on active duty. An entire tank crew simply fell asleep on the job. This is a severe incident, and perhaps this wasn't the first time it happened, an officer familiar with the case said. According to the officer, the soldiers had been allotted enough time for sleep, in accordance with general staff orders. Soldiers falling asleep during active duty present a persistent problem in the IDF, and many former combat soldiers are familiar with the issue. One tank unit officer who led a group of soldiers near Gaza several months ago told Israel Hayom on Sunday that this particular incident was serious and needed to be handled with severity. I believe that if it had been possible, the soldiers would have been sentenced to military prison, but their unit is short on manpower, the officer said. The tank units operating near Gaza are under a lot of pressure. They operate around the clock because they are the only units who can reach trouble spots in the area. Any terrorist action in the Gaza Strip is handled by the tank units, who are in charge of killing the perpetrators. For this reason, senior commanding officers in the area put the tank units on round-the-clock shifts, sometimes for several days at the same location. The soldiers are exhausted, especially in the unbearable summer heat. On the other hand, soldiers in tank units want to operate in the Gaza area, because it's the only place these days that terrorists are actually shot and killed. Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was abducted by Hamas terrorists on June 25, 2006, while serving in a tank unit at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, near the intersection of the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt. Lt. Hanan Barack and Staff Sgt. Pavel Slutzker, who were in the tank with Shalit, were killed in the incident. The IDF Spokesperson said of the incident of the four sleeping soldiers: This is a serious incident in which soldiers fell asleep in their tank and the case has been dealt with by the soldiers' commanders. This case follows two incidents in which IDF soldiers went AWOL or abandoned their posts over what they described as poor conditions in the army. In another instance of insubordination at the beginning of August 2011, four army look-outs were charged with sabotaging their equipment and in effect abandoning their post on the Israel-Lebanon border. The women complained of poor living and working conditions as factors responsible for their misconduct.
In August 2011, 11 soldiers went AWOL, citing abusive treatment by their commander. The soldiers, serving in the Duchifat infantry battalion in the Kfir infantry brigade, abandoned their West Bank outpost on August 10, saying the army was indifferent to their financial hardships and that they were experience ongoing abuse at the hands of soldiers with greater seniority. The battalion's commander dismissed the company's first sergeant.
Four IDF soldiers reprimanded for falling asleep in tank near Gaza
Tank was positioned near site where Gilad Shalit was abducted in June 2006 • Military court sentences soldiers to 40 days confinement to base • Incident follows two other cases in which soldiers went AWOL over conditions on base.
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