Fighting in Gaza and on the northern front, rescuing wounded and deserting pilots, changing descriptions, jumping from mission to mission, days full of activity, sleepless nights and total uncertainty.

All these scenarios are part of the final training of the trainees of the combat rescue and evacuation unit in the Israeli Air Force (669).

The purpose of the training is to simulate for the soldiers five days of combat, just before they receive the cat pin and begin their journey in the unit as full-fledged "cats".

As part of the intensive week, the trainees flew dozens of times on the "Owl" and "Yasor" helicopters that brought them to rescue missions in areas simulating the various combat sectors. In addition, the trainees practiced ground tasks of rope rescues, breaking into vehicles and handling a multi-casualty incident, all of these in conditions of complete fog - and when they don't know what awaits them further down the road.

"The purpose of the exercise is to simulate war and all that it implies. To simulate the fatigue, the intensity, the sharp transition from task to task, the need to reach the wounded and treat him even though you are tired and hungry and even though you don't know what will happen next," says the commander of the unit's training platoon.

"This prepares the fighters for an extreme situation both on a professional and mental level. In most cases, they received the scenarios while they were in the air and planned by themselves how to properly arrive and treat," he added.