Written by Einat Barzilai
Translated by Rivkah Ben-Yisrael
Edited by Juliana Brown
At that moment, Sergeant Shai became the one-woman Operations Room.
On October 7th, Shai woke up on base in Nahal Oz and, like her friends from Golani, found herself, wearing her pajamas and slippers, facing terrorists who had infiltrated the base . In the first hours, every soldier on base participated in the battle without knowing what was happening beyond their station. Was the entire division fighting like them? When would additional forces arrive?
Normally, Shai served as an army social worker in Golani’s 13th Battalion, caring for the soldiers’ non-combat-related needs. She would phone the soldiers’ parents, see what the situation at home was like for each one, and help them deal with personal challenges. Shai in Hebrew means gift, which is precisely what Shai was- a gift to her battalion. All of the soldiers were fond of her and trusted her.
While her commander was busy fighting the terrorists, he asked her to call the senior officers and report what was going on.
From that moment on, Shai became the call center through which all the forces on the ground were managed. Shai didn’t have an elaborate operations room equipped with cameras, computers, and special telephones directly connected to the Chief of Staff. She only had her phone, from which she called officers at other bases, coordinated between forces, and even called in planes to bomb the terrorists. She directed the Air Force to the terrorist’s location and called for a helicopter to evacuate the wounded. Without Shai, it would have been impossible to conduct the battle, rescue the injured, and inform the forces outside the base what was happening. The heroic Golani soldiers fought like lions in Nahal Oz until they eliminated the terrorists.
Many soldiers were injured, and Shai hasn’t stopped caring for them, even now. She visits them in the hospitals, makes them laugh, and helps them deal with what they went through. She even recruited her mother to visit the wounded while she was still in Gaza! Every time she visits, the soldiers are happy to see her. Everyone knows, without a doubt, that Shai is truly a gift to Golani’s 13th Battalion.
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