29 September 2012. From the Russian Web. A Photo Essay. Felines at the Front, or, Pack Up a Kitty in Your Old Kit Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile…

French Army soldier in a bunker on the Western Front, Argonne Sector. FRANCE. early 1916 in the winter

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French Navy anti-submarine trawler. 1940

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French Navy Training Ship Théodore Tissier. 1940

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The ORIGINAL “Puss n’ Boot”. Kitty in German Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger (Paratrooper) boot. Crete. GREECE. 1943

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German Wehrmacht Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant Major). The two stripes on his sleeve indicate a VERY senior NCO… an old sweat, indeed. YUGOSLAVIA. 1943

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Evacuation in the winter of 1943-44. Vitebsk BYELORUSSIA. 

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French Army topkick feeds his kitten tinned milk. INDOCHINA. 1956. This is masculine tenderness incarnated… and don’t you dare laugh… Sarge will still kick your arse all over the camp, troop…

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French Army Légion étrangère trooper with… a kitty in his cargo pouch… well, waddaya know… INDOCHINA. 1956

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French soldier in Kosovo. 2001.

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I was thinking of my dear departed Poochie… he woulda liked hanging with this bunch… it’s going to take a little while to work through it all…

BMD

Western Military District Spokesman said that 30% of its Officers are Atheists

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On Wednesday, Colonel Andrei Bobrun, the head of Press Service of the Western Military District (ZVO), told Interfax that the percentage of enlisted personnel and NCOs who’re believers is higher than in the officer corps. He said, “The units and bases of the ZVO conducted an anonymous survey of military personnel to assess their attitude to religion. About 70 percent of the officers consider themselves believers; the other 30 percent identify themselves as atheists. Amongst the NCOs and soldiers in contract service {that is, long-service regulars, not conscripts: editor}, 75 percent of respondents labelled themselves believers”. Colonel Bobrun added that ZVO installations and garrisons have 46 religious sites, most of which are Orthodox. There are two priests acting as Assistant Commanders for Work with Believers {Russian jargonese for a chaplain: editor} in the ZVO. According to Colonel Bobrun, believers in the ranks feel that a priest’s spiritual talk before going on field exercises is of particular importance, as well as having a religious  blessing on their weapons and military equipment.

28 December 2011

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=43612