32 | NOVEMBER 30 • 2023
from numerous officers, from
myself and from God to give
everything I had to my job.
I wanted to ensure the safety
of my fellow soldiers. For the
first time in my life, I didn’t
look to the future to get me
through the day.”
Rachel then shared a birth-
day with the congregation
that she will never forget.
“January 2023 rolled around,
Jan. 8 arrives, my birthday.
I turned 20 in Syria. The
moment I woke up that day all
I desired was a hug from my
father.” And that was before
she reported for duty and the
menacing news that awaited
her.
She received a report that
not many people could see
due to a lack of security
clearances. “I read it with no
one around me,” Rachel said.
“Tears came streaming down
my face as the implications
of this threat were deadly. I
prayed to God the moment I
finished reading that report.
This day is the day I under-
stood the gravity of my job
and how being an intel ana-
lyst often entailed knowing
something life-threatening
could occur but not being able
to share such details. This is
when I also started praying
every night for the safety of
my fellow soldiers.”
Later in her deployment,
Rachel was transferred to
another base where she faced
her greatest test yet, both to
her job performance and her
safety.
“My second base was
attacked on four occasions
by violent extremist organi-
zations,” she said. One such
attack came after only four
hours of sleep after a 20-hour
workday, while Rachel was the
singular source of intel on the
base.
“Our first sergeant always
yelled at anyone whose uni-
form was out of regulations,
but on that day I ran down to
the command center in paja-
mas and my combat boots.
All that was running through
my mind were the scenes I
witnessed of the rocket attack
from 2014 in Israel.”
She admitted that it was a
far cry from what Israelis face
every day, but it was neverthe-
less a new and chilling first-
hand perspective.
The mounting violence and
the ceaseless duress that went
hand-in-hand with Rachel’s
24/7 intel responsibilities were
taking an obvious toll on her
psyche. She was particular-
ly shaken when word came
down that a U.S. contractor
had been killed by a kamikaze
drone. But she weathered all
of those emotional storms
with an even greater resolve to
complete her mission.
There were moments during
her deployment that brought
Rachel some semblance of
peace. “I took up the responsi-
bility, alongside one of the ser-
geants, to change the U.S. flag
on base every week,” she said.
“This was one of the most
grounding experiences during
my deployment. While low-
ering the flag every week,
my eyes often stung. I was
reminded of why I was work-
ing so hard and how much my
fellow soldiers have sacrificed.
This always gave me the moti-
vation I needed to continue
giving my all.”
Rachel followed the tradi-
tion of soldiers buying their
own flags that are flown over
the base and given as keep-
sakes from their deployment.
BOLSTERED BY FAITH
“Throughout my time In Syria
I was lucky to be in contact
with numerous Jews in the
service who tried to find reli-
gious accommodations for
me. I was provided an oppor-
tunity to celebrate Passover
with other Jews in Iraq, but I
forego this opportunity as I
knew that no one would fill
my place at the base, and it
would place an undue burden
on my team in Syria.”
She would go on with
Passover alone. “I eagerly
awaited busting open my very
large can of gefilte fish, which
my family sent me through
Amazon. I made my first
Passover meal, adding hum-
mus, salad, matzah, horserad-
ish and gefilte fish. I started
eating just as a threat report
was sent to my desk. So, on
the first night of Passover, eat-
ing my Passover meal, I was
looking through a camera to
find threat indicators.”
It’s safe to say it gave new
meaning to “why is this
night different from all other
nights.”
OUR COMMUNITY
continued from page 31
SPC Rachel
Baker celebrates
Chanukah 2022
with a fellow
Jewish soldier on
her base in Syria.
SPC Rachel Baker
participating in pistol
training alongside an
infantry company.