Atten-hut!

Twito says that today's youth is more critical and doesn't take things at face value.

By YAAKOV KATZ
One person who has been at Bah'd 1 since it opened its doors 40 years ago is St.-Sgt. Maj. Avraham Twito. He was there on May 27, 1968 when he lined up the first class of cadets that arrived at the school to become officers and he is still there today, at the age of 67, doing what he knows best. Twito is the school's quartermaster or sergeant major. (In Hebrew he is called the Rasar.) His job is to ensure that cadets always have their berets on their heads - that is the regulation at the school - have their uniforms tucked in and boots polished. He conducts all of the graduation ceremonies and is the one who you can hear ordering the soldiers to stand at ease, at attention or march left and right. He refuses to divulge how many graduation ceremonies he has overseen. "I don't count," he says. "Lets just say that a large-size city has been through me here." He is not concerned with the quality of the soldiers who come to become officers. "Throughout Israel's history and in all of its wars, the officers have proven that they have the right level of motivation," he says. While the "material" that arrives is of a high-quality, Twito says that today's youth is more critical and doesn't take things at face value. "There is more curiosity today," he says. "They ask more questions. At 67, Twito could have retired years ago but he says that he is looking forward to the upcoming graduation ceremony in the beginning of June. "I am excited and emotional at every ceremony," he says. "I conduct each one like it is my first. It is all for the cadets and the parents and that is why I can't afford to make even one mistake."