A company of soldiers from the Golani Brigade deserted their base on Tuesday after their company commander was dismissed and replaced with a commander from the rival Paratroops Brigade. The soldiers of the company, which belongs to the 82nd Battalion, left their weapons in a heap in their barracks and departed the base.
One of the soldiers wrote on Instagram: “We’re doing this because we love you, we will follow you to the end of the world. A Paratrooper company commander in Golani = company desertion.”
Following the investigation into the incident, the soldiers were sentenced to on-base detention for one weekend and probation.

In addition, it was decided that the soldiers would not carry out any operational activities until they complete an ethical-disciplinary-educational series which will begin in the coming days.
“The soldiers will be lectured by their commanders on discipline, military culture, and ethics. Following the educational series, they are to return to a series of exercises, after which their operational ability will be determined,” the IDF Spokesperson stated.
The investigation was led by 7th Armored Brigade commander Col. Yiftah Narkin and Golani Brigade commander Col. Yair Plaie. The investigation found that “the soldiers acted in a manner inconsistent with IDF values and contrary to what is expected of IDF combat soldiers.”