Israeli Navy officer cadet ‘O’ forged in Oct. 7 fog of war

Typically, the Israel Navy signs new recruits to join the naval command course from the start of their IDF service.They then spend years in a mix of in-classroom, in-university, and out-at-sea operational training, in one of the military's longest and most complex courses, until they are given command roles on the navy's ships.Nearly everyone except "O", who just recently graduated the naval officer cadets course, but only after he had spent a nearly unprecedented 18 months as a regular non-officer mandatory service navy combat fighter before being selected to join the course.One of O's first supporters in making this highly unusual midstream career shift was Lt.-Cmdr. "Y.O.", one of O's two commanders, with around eight to nine years in the Navy under his belt, also serving as the deputy commander of a naval ship.Y.O.