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Caleb Evan Lyons

Crowdsourcing A War

Israel’s war since the October 7th massacre has been underway for well over a year now. The IDF has reshaped significant portions of the Middle East – but has it changed itself to meet the new reality? 

Soldiers in combat units of every description say otherwise, insisting that the IDF is not adequately prepared for the challenges of the war despite more than a year of ongoing engagements. Israeli soldiers have flooded social media with ongoing requests for nearly every type of military equipment, explaining in videos directly from the front lines of Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Judea, and Samaria that their unit is still short of critical supplies. Many of the soldiers state that appeals for supplies to higher command have thus far fallen on deaf ears, leaving them to turn to supporters of Israel throughout the world for the equipment they need in their missions.

One US-based organization, calling itself Unit 11741, reports that Israeli soldiers are still clamoring for modern armor like ceramic vests and helmets, with more than 1 million shekels worth of equipment requests filed in just the last two weeks. The organization has published photos from soldiers showing the manufacturing date on the pieces of armor they were issued, with some tags showing that the equipment was originally manufactured for American troops in Vietnam.

“These helmets that the IDF issues will fail a ballistic test,” says Daniel Mael, an online advocate for Unit 11741. In a video on his YouTube channel, he displays the stark difference between the official helmets, which are penetrated completely by standard rifle round, and donated helmets, one of which saved a soldier in Judea and Samaria from a shot to the head. Further videos detail the shortcomings of officially issued tactical vests as well, and advice that soldiers inspect the armor plates within carefully before trusting them. 

Boots and uniforms may not appear to be in short supply, but that seeming abundance is only skin deep. Soldiers report that the clothing supplied to them is not up to one of the more horrific dangers facing armored and infantry soldiers, a clothing fire. Explosives or damaged machinery can set a soldier’s uniform alight, and the traditional clothing allows the flames to spread across the entire body. A modern tactical uniform would  this danger with flame-retardant textiles, which can rapidly self-extinguish, but such uniforms are not nearly in wide enough supply for all the soldiers in need. The demand by both soldiers and their families for such uniforms has overwhelmed both the official supply and private donors, to the point where some civilians are trying to manufacture their own to keep up. 

Boots may be hardened or damaged from years of wear and unsuitable for the constant marching, running, and wet weather in Israel’s many war zones. 

The organizations Boots For Israel and The Chesed Center, hoping to address the problem, have distributed thousands of pairs of modern tactical boots since the war began, and still cannot meet the demand from the front lines. Boots For Israel alone has distributed over 75,000 pairs already, with a waiting list of more than 9,000 still in need. 

The use of small, civilian legal quadcopters for a wide variety of tasks has taking off since the beginning of the war, and infantry units from every corner of Israel are desperately seeking any available drones. In the days following the war breaking out, drone importers reported that the IDF had bought every available unit in israel, and back ordered hundreds from various manufacturers. Official IDF videos show the importance of drones in every aspect of the fighting, from the elimination of Yahya Sinwar to documenting COGAT’s ongoing attempts to deliver humanitarian aid. Despite this, many units find themselves without even the most basic of drones. 

The Chesed Fund, a US-based organization that has being working to fill in the gap in drone supply, claims to have delivered hundreds of drones to Israeli soldiers, but the need remains unabated – with drones frequently going ahead of the soldiers into dangerous areas, they can easily wind up shot at, struck by debris, or disabled by Israel’s own GPS jamming, resulting in the crashing and loss of the drone. 

Small electronic weapon attachments, such as flashlights, scopes, red dot sights, and more, known to vastly improve the effective operational envelope of the IDF’s current service weapons, are considered unessential and rarely provided by the IDF. The soldiers lacking these attachments, though, must nevertheless contend with the same dark and obscured conditions, and their absence is felt in one operation after another. 

The list of equipment sought by Israeli soldiers goes on, including such surprising items as tourniquets, backpacks, and winter gear – all things that many in the public are certain the IDF is providing to its troops.

 The IDF has repeatedly stated that no soldier is missing any equipment needed for their mission. One IDF statement clarified that although there were some shortages due to the impressive reservist turnout when the war broke out, they have been addressed and the IDF no longer finds itself in deficit of any equipment. Individual soldiers who believe their equipment is insufficient or substandard were invited to report the shortcomings on a new website for soldiers to check that their gear is up to Israeli operational standards before it goes to the field, and promised that any gear found insufficient would not be confiscated without a replacement being provided.

 Mael’s Unit 11741 challenged the IDF’s assertion: “The IDF can spin what is happening, but our WhatsApps are loaded with reality – voices in the trenches, the need, the pain, the losses from negligence. There is a tremendous moral obligation in honoring that truth.” 

About the Author
Caleb Evan Lyons is an independent advocate, product designer, and content creator elevating the most marginalized voices of the global Jewish community. Based out of New England, he constantly fights for truth, volunteered in Israel in early 2024, and will never stop advocating for the hostages until they are *all* home.
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