It didnt take Houten long to become fluent in Hebrew, and proficient in reading and writing.It was interesting, but Im done tinkering with tools, Houten said.After basic training and Infantryman training at Fort Benning, Ga., Houten plans to apply for U.S.Army Ranger School.
He is a member of the Georgia Army National Guard. Houten finished up routine repairs on an Israeli Army M113 armored personnel carrier. As he shut the hood, he also closed the door on another chapter in his life. Born to a successful Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn, N.Y., Houten was afforded many advantages. His father, Dr. John K. Houten, director of spinal services for Montefiore Medical Center and one of the top-rated neurosurgeons in New York, sent him to the finest boarding schools in the metropolitan area. By the time he reached high school, however, Houtens sense of purpose had been tested. Eventually he withdrew from school altogether and set off by himself for the Gold Coast of California. There Houten wandered aimlessly, and while he often thought about his future, he did not find any answers. In search of direction and purpose, he wanted to join the U.S. Army - but without a GED and 15 hours of college credit, he was ineligible. Young Houten investigated and found out that he didnt need to be a citizen or have a diploma to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Although his religious faith had diminished somewhat, he still identified himself as a Jew and felt strong connections to Israel, the homeland of his people, culture and religion. Houten flew into the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv in September 2009. His IDF paperwork and in-processing took nearly two and a half months. While waiting on clearance, Houten served at Kibbutz Ein Harod (Ichud), a collective farm near Nahariya in northern Israel. I loved my time there, said Houten, who prior to serving at Ein Harod, had rarely seen a farm much less worked on one. It was centered around an old crusader basilica that had been rebuilt by the Ottomans after it was destroyed by the Mamelukes. It was later used as a stronghold during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence for the people of the kibbutz and took some heavy attacks. Houten left Kibbutz Ein Harod and was sworn into the IDF Dec. Before long he found himself face down sucking up sand as he and his fellow recruits were initiated into one of the best armies in the world. Houtens class was composed of Jewish men and women from all over the globe. He and his fellow recruits completed Course Ivrit, a combination of a Hebrew language course and basic training. It was a good transition though, because there I was serving in the Israeli military and I was immersed in Hebrew.
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