On Thursday, 20 Shevat 5773, the soldiers of the Tzabar Brigade will celebrate completing their training, albeit months after their course ended. Taking part in the ceremony will be Captain Ziv Shilon, who in October 2012 was critically wounded in a Gaza border bomb attack. Ziv has since left Soroka Medical Center and been working in a rehab facility after losing his left arm and sustaining serious injuries to his right. The attack occurred two days before he was to complete that assignment, two days before the scheduled graduation.

His soldiers decided they are not going to any graduation without their company commander, opting to forgo the ceremony. For Captain Ziv, his near-fatal injuries occurred just hours before he was going to be promoted to the battalion’s next operations officer.

Understandably Ziv is emotional and grateful, explaining that the ceremony will mark the first time he sees the company back together since the blast. It will mark the first time that he puts on his dress uniform again.

The event will be held in the Malcha Hall in Yerushalayim. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat adopted the young officer after the attack, and he has contributed the hall for the event as a gesture towards him.

Ziv told reporters that he is confident that he can return to serve as a combat officer and is working towards realizing this goal. Baruch Hashem his progress in rehabilitation has been nothing less than remarkable, due in no small part to his amazing motivation.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)