Girl Soldiers 18-year-old

Girls, soldiers, women: 18-year-old inductees in the Israeli army

Military kiosk counter, Shaare Avraham, Israel, 2004, © Rachel Papo

Photographer Rachel Papo served in the Israeli army when she was 18 years old. Years later, when she was still trying to come to terms with that confusing period of her life, she returned to the army bases of Israel to photograph a new wave of soldiers in training. Her series, Serial No. 3817131, offers a rare and candid look at the innocent young people who are forced to put their normal lives on "hold" while they prepare to fight deadly wars.
Lens Culture is very happy to present 20 compelling images from that series, accompanied by an articulate and thoughtful text written by the photographer.

Military woman

Apologies to those who saw an imcomplete earlier version of this post on Monday. Slight glitch on the button-pushing front when I was distracted by snails-pace server response times.

It's All about the Rank

New research shows that minorities and women have the highest job satisfaction ratings among those serving in the military.

F-15E Strike Eagle

The F-15E Strike Eagle is a superior next generation multi-role strike fighter that is available today. Its unparalleled range, persistence and weapons load make it the backbone of the U.S. Air Force (USAF). A complement of the latest advanced avionics systems gives the Strike Eagle the capability to perform air-to-air or air-to-surface missions at all altitudes, day or night, in any weather.

A derivative of earlier F-15 model aircraft (A-D), the F-15E Strike Eagle includes the following attributes:

• Unmatched combat radius and persistence
• Advanced digital electronic controlled higher thrust engines
• Max speed greater than twice the speed of sound
• More than 23,000 pounds of payload, including air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons such as the:
  
  • the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)
  • the AGM-130
  • the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM)
  • AIM-9X
  
  
• An Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar
• A digital threat warning system
• A Service life that will allow it to be viable until at least 2035

The F-15E is produced by Boeing and will be in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) inventory well into the 21st century