Would you pay to play soldiers?
Role-playing for tourists isn’t anything new, but an Israeli company has taken it to a whole new (and questionable) level.
Caliber 3 began life in 2003 as a training camp for professional security personnel like the police. However, since 2009, the business has offered ‘anti-terrorism’ courses, where tourists pay just over US$100 to handle weapons, play paintball or learn the Israeli military’s Krav Maga martial art, AFP reported.
Run by former soldiers near the Israeli settlement of Efrat, the program looks to help foreigners understand Israel’s counter-terrorism challenge.
“The aim of the training is not to teach you how to shoot,” instructor Eitan Cohen told a group from South America, “but to make you understand what we do here in Israel to fight terrorism.”
Dressed in army fatigues, Cohen is apparently a former sniper and member of elite police units. His fellow instructors, who are disguised, are said to have similar combat experience.
Read the full article by Mark Harada at Travel talk.