http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Russian_Army
Miss Russian Army is a beauty contest held by the Russian army in
which female soldiers compete for a title of the same name. It is
admittedly staged for the purposes of increasing interest in and
recruitment for the army among young men.
In June 2005, nineteen female soldiers and sailors participated in
the competition (entitled "Beauties in Shoulder Straps"), which was
broadcast on live television. The event, held at Moscow's Russian
Army Theatre, included the soldiers walking down the catwalk in
uniform and singing songs while accompanied by guitarists (a
memorable lyric included the phrases, "Since we're soldiers, our
first concern is automatic weapons; boys come second"). A
children's choir sang a song called "Our Army Is the Strongest".
Other events, shown on film, saw the contestants competing in
drills, crawling in combat uniform, entering tanks, and running
with automatic weapons. (Defense officials prohibited the wearing
of bikinis.) Other film clips showed women in the ranks of the
earlier Red Army and their role in Soviet-era wars. The jury
ultimately gave the title to Lieutenant Ksenya Agarkova, an
engineer with Russia's Northern Fleet. Her image will be reproduced
on a poster.
Officials were quite open about the hoped-for propaganda and
recruiting value of the contest. Colonel Gennady Dzyuba, of the
Defense Ministry, said, "Those who have served, especially in hot
spots, know the importance of women they calm the team down. We
restrain ourselves in front of them, desist from coarseness." A
former Miss Army said that because of the falling prestige of the
Russian army, such a high-visibility contest makes men "want to
join". Major General Nikolai Burbyga, the head juror, while
expressing doubt over the recruiting benefits of the competition,
admitted, "It kind of invigorates life everyday life is very
monotonous."
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Now,wouldn't it be nice if we could have an annual Miss Singapore
Army,or a Miss SAFTI,or a Miss MINDEF?
Some of the DXOs in Bukit Gombak come to mind....