New Gap Year Program for the 2010

Just read that Aish Hatorah is introducing a new IDF-Mahal program for the coming school which will also be open to seniors in high school. Could this be an initial move following the article in the Jewish Week?
We think it is great that programs hopefully are beginning to look "out of the box" a bit.

Here is the Aish HaTorah program announcement:

Aish HaTorah has developed an exciting new IDF-Machal program that is different than previous IDF-Machal programs. High School Seniors can now enlist in a 12 month Machal Program that will enable them to return home in time to start college by the following Fall Semester. Previous Machal programs required 14 months service in the IDF in addition to 2 months pre-enlistment training and an additional 2 months for pre-training
application (18 months total). Those programs meant that candidates enlisting in the IDF always had to devote 18 months to the process and miss starting college in the fall a year after graduating high school. They
could only start in the Spring of the following year.

Aish's program offers two start dates and both will enable students to
begin college a year after graduation from high school. The program
includes pre-enlistment training of two months and a 12 month enlistment in
the IDF. For details please contact:

Rabbi Baruch Tretiak: btretiak@aish.com . +972-52-860-0062
A.Y. Katsof: akatsof@aish.com . +972-526-231-421

Marty Schlakman: mschlakman@optonline.net . +1-201-841-7048

Saul Levy: saul@geotonusaa.com . +1-201-927-9444