Soaring to New Heights: Academic Achievements in the Israeli Air Force

The academic program for the IAF pilot course continues to thrive. Recently, 36 graduates, including a pair of twins, successfully completed the rigorous course, joining the ranks of numerous pilots who have not only earned their wings but also a bachelor's degree from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. 

At the dawn of the new millennium, the University, named after Israel's first Prime Minister, was selected to provide academic support to aspiring pilots. Since the signing of the "academic-aviation" cooperation agreement, the university and the Air Force Flight School have worked in tandem to develop the academic curriculum for the pilot course. In 2004, the Council for Higher Education gave approval for studies to be conducted at both the University campus and the classrooms at the Hatzor Air Force Base. Over time, the strategies for synchronizing academic and Air Force goals have steadily improved. The inaugural class of graduates received their degrees in June 2005, under the command of Major General Eliezer Shkedy, a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev alumnus and then Commander of the Air Force.

In the past year, the degree ceremony was separated from the commissioning ceremony for pilot course graduates, and was held for the first time on the university campus. Ben-Gurion University Holocaust scholar, Prof. Hanna Yablonka, invited to deliver an address, recounted to the pilots that two-thirds of the first pilot course following the War of Independence consisted of Holocaust survivors, as did two-thirds of the combat force recruited for Israel's most arduous wars, fighting for its freedom. 

In her lecture titled "Strength for Renewal After Catastrophe," Prof. Yablonka also spoke of the survivors of the Bergen-Belsen camp and the enduring hope that sustained them despite the horrors they endured behind barbed wire: "Upon gaining their freedom, the survivors stood at the camp gates and sang 'Hatikvah.' From an endless well of pain, they sang with great fervor and full identification with the words, the first three of which are 'As long as in the heart...'"

In recent months, Israelis, along with Jews in the Diaspora, have endured one of the most challenging periods in their history. "And those three words," as Prof. Yablonka of Ben-Gurion University poignantly stated, "in their profound simplicity, are meant to ignite in each of us the strength to draw from disaster the power of that ancient hope, leading to the reconstruction of the national home in all its inspiring facets. Let each person look into their heart, listen to the call of their soul, and together we will choose a life worth living and striving for."

At the same event, University Rector Prof. Chaim Hames addressed the aspiring pilots: "You began the course and your degree in a vastly different reality from the one in which you are completing it. On October 7, nearly all our assumptions collapsed, and we have paid, and are still paying, an unbearable price. You are receiving a degree from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, an academic institution that excels not only in research and teaching quality but also in its commitment to the development of the Negev and the state as a whole. Take pride in your bachelor's degree certificate. It will accompany you throughout your life."

Prof. Michael Codish, head of the pilot course academic program, addressed the new graduates, "You have completed a highly complex, demanding, and intensive program, balancing flight training and military education with seven semesters of bachelor's degree studies. You have experienced learning in both depth and breadth, and I hope you will be eager to return to us for advanced degrees. Congratulations on your achievements, and best wishes for the challenging journey ahead."

A few days after being awarded their academic degrees, the 188th cohort of pilot course graduates received their wings during a ceremony at an Air Force base in southern Israel. The pinning of the flight wings was conducted in the presence of IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Air Force Commander Major General Tomer Bar, and special guest Fernando Marman, who was released from Hamas captivity along with Louis Har in Operation "Golden Hand" in February. Marman was invited by the Air Force Commander to be the guest of honor at the ceremony.