Best-dressed Warrior

[General von Hiller]

+ the sheer incompetence of the government to actually use their oil wealth and pay their troop's pay so they don't flee as soon as they see the enemy

 

[Vicccard]

I really doubt that it's the fact they haven't been paid that will have soldiers desert their post and abandon hundreds of thousands of civilians.

More like extreme fear for a knife in the neck.

 

[General von Hiller]

I really doubt that it's the fact they haven't been paid that will have soldiers desert their post and abandon hundreds of thousands of civilians.

More like extreme fear for a knife in the neck.

fear of beheading, sure. but they are thinking that why dying for something and not even getting paid for it. as far as I know, there is no conscription, so the recruits join on their own. there may bee some idealists who fight for their beliefs, but I bet that most of them who  joined before the 2014 crisis did it for the money

 

[Vicccard]

Isn't that why everybody joins the military in the first place?

 

[General von Hiller]

I have to say that 70% of my fellow comrades joined for the money, so I guess in a poor country like iraq, money is even more important, and if your pay is not there and there is a risk of being beheaded by the isil and other groups, I don't wonder why countless units ran off and/or deserted

 

[F.F.C._fritz]

Probably like the only force where the U.S. training even began to sink in. Not sure what's up with that uniform though, it's ******** silly. Black is beyond useless for all the terrain and conditions they'll be fighting in, and why on earth would you have entirely black equipment and then that bright olive vest?

"The man in the black pajamas, Dude. Worthy ****in' adversary."

Spoiler

 

[Eктωρ]

I really doubt that it's the fact they haven't been paid that will have soldiers desert their post and abandon hundreds of thousands of civilians.

More like extreme fear for a knife in the neck.

Nah, they outnumbered IS rebels in Mosul by like, 30-to-1. It really was that.

Isn't that why everybody joins the military in the first place?

The military is a very stable and prestigious organization. It means all your buddies will find you cool, momma will be proud you're a big army man, other people will respect you when you say what you are, and oh, if you're into that, army often teaches engineering, mechanics, driving and gives you both skills that can be used to make money and the employment to gain money with those skills. In Brazil, at least, it's very, very advantageous to join the army if you can bear that type of life, in fact Brazil has so many conscripts (it's mandatory), but so many of them want a military career that you can largely choose whether you want to actually serve of not because of the surplus, the conscription is only kept around to bring emergency manpower in times of war.

I was almost conscripted against my will, but that's because I have a beard and am in higher education, and the military over here are sadistic like that. I didn't take badly to it, honestly, I actually remember the higher officials in the army base all being very polite and even friendly to me, if anything, having to do collective showers, the machismo and right-wing inclination of the army here are what I've realized that make me loathe it.

 

[Vicccard]

Maybe in Brazil. In my country, society has a somewhat...different outlook on the military.

 

[matmohair1]

Spoiler

 

[Antonis]

Maybe in Brazil. In my country, society has a somewhat...different outlook on the military.

In mine too. Generally, in our army(not the compulsory service) there are fascists and members of the Golden Dawn(well, fascists) and people that are incapable of doing anything else in their lives and join the military due to lack of any other prospect.

Anyway, very good image, matmo.  Do you know if that book is only in Russian or has it been translated to English?

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

Spoiler

That guy needs to consider early retirement from historical illustration.

 

[matmohair1]

Anyway, very good image, matmo.  Do you know if that book is only in Russian or has it been translated to English?

its from the "Great Atlas of the history and culture of Kazakhstan"
I'm not sure if, or when, it will be translated?

http://www.petroleumjournal.kz/index.php?p=article&aid1=47&aid2=231&id=560&outlang=3

Spoiler

 

[Antonis]

Oh, well, at lesat we have pics to look at. 

 

[Inanch-Bilge]

Kara Fatma, a female leader of a company of some 300 men and women during Turkish war of independence

Spoiler

Spoiler

I like these caps btw, probably something Circassian refugees brought to military.

 

[General von Hiller]

might be a little off topic, but I really wanted to hear an opinion of a turkish comrade about this. Personally, I don't know what to believe, so here is the video:

 

[Inanch-Bilge]

Its an old video, these are not ISIS militants, either Kurds or FSA, and there is no coordination as you can see, soldiers come battle ready, warn them to leave, thats all.

 

[Do not look here]

It's generally hard to believe things called "very clear evidence for..." or any other things that try to convince the reader/viewer too hard in own title. I'm crazy enough to believe that evidences don't need cheap marketing tricks.

 

[Almalexia]

Spoiler

That guy needs to consider early retirement from historical illustration.

What for?

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

Maybe it's just me being a backseat artist but the inking is really strange and overdone -- look at the horse's barding, the tail and the face. He's got weird proportions (most noticeable on the eyes and visible leg) and the shading looks way too strong in places it shouldn't be. It just looks very rushed, or as if the artist was in a foul mood and took it out on the page.

 

[General von Hiller]

Spoiler