____________________________________________ 6 IICC Perspectives D.: "We also received a few people, officers from the Intelligence Directorate's communications branch, logistics officers, officers from the Glilot base, and folks from the earlier CED group. I didn't know everyone who showed up. They heard a unit was being formed and came as fast as they could to help get it off the ground. "That's how we started the unit: from nothing. They gave me a key, I opened the door and we set up desks and computer stations. We opened a WhatsApp group and tried to figure out who would be a good fit. Everyone had heard a unit was being formed. People from Unit 8200 started arriving. A few intel debriefers, some Arabists, some translators. Field Intelligence brought in a few intelligence officers. "And then something amazing happened: the first people who showed up started calling their family members, friends, spouses, their kids. People literally arrived in extended families. Some of them are still here today. People who had been exempt from reserve duty or weren't assigned to any unit or mission came entirely on their own. They heard there was a need. Volunteers, drawn to contact. Most of them didn't have an intelligence background. People from the Navy who worked on Mediterranean coastal defense, people from logistics units. Someone who knew someone and heard a unit was being set up. People from all age groups, from over 70 to young reservists who had just finished their service. "From the moment the word spread that a unit had been formed, anyone without a combat assignment or who wasn't a fighter in the IDF, or any former intelligence person or anyone who had ever been connected to CED in any way, started converging here, in what I called 'Corona model,' it spread exponentially… A translator came in, saw the volume of material and called everyone he knew. An Arabist came in and called all the old crew, 'We need you here.' And they showed up immediately. One person brought another, and we began working in a constantly evolving setup because we started with the war against Hamas in Gaza, but the next day Lebanon joined in, then Judea and Intelligence material seized in Lebanon. (source: IICC)
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