Israeli soldiers waiting near Gaza for orders to expand Operation Pillar of Defense were stunned in recent days to see none other than Maj. Gen. (res.) Udi Adam among their ranks. Adam, 54, was GOC Northern Command during the Second Lebanon War and has since retired from a permanent position in the military. Serving in the reserves voluntarily, since required reserve duty for officers usually ends around age 45, Adam could be seen driving semitrailers carrying tanks and other armored vehicles to help with the army's current southern deployment around Gaza. Since his appointment in 2008, Adam has headed the Negev Nuclear Research Center. He enlisted for three days of reserve duty to carry tanks from one spot to another outside of Gaza. On Sunday, he once again shed his uniform and returned home. Adam didn't want to stay home while the Israel Defense Forces was in the midst of a significant operation. He confirmed details of his three-day reserve stint to Israel Hayom: "I've been volunteering for long time already on the semi-trailers, and I felt the need this time as well to come and help." It's impossible not to compare Adam's reserve service to that of the late Maj. Gen. Eliyahu Ben-Hur. During the 1948 War of Independence, Ben-Hur forfeited his rank as general to serve, with the rank of corporal, as an armored personnel carrier driver. His decision followed a dispute with then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who was also the defense minster. Adam, the son of the late Maj. Gen. Yekutiel Adam who was killed during the first Lebanon War, began his military career in the Armored Corps. In 2001 he reached the rank of Maj. Gen. and was appointed to head the IDF's Technological and Logistics Directorate. Among other posts he has held, Adam was also responsible for the logistics during the Gaza disengagement in 2005. That same year, he was appointed GOC Northern Command, where he served during the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006. Adam's performance during the Second Lebanon War was heavily criticized. Upon retiring from his career military position, he requested to continue contributing to the IDF's efforts as a semitrailer driver in the reserves.