FBI - Fire Department - Police

1978 - MPs with guns - and lipstick!: At the barracks of the 6th company of the Belgian Military Police in Cologne (West-Germany), there is quite something new to look at: three female Mps. The charming Belgian girls are the first females to serve at the military police of the 1st corps of the Belgian NATO forces in West Germany. They wear the same uniforms and weapons as their males colleagues and have the same duties: routine checks of vehicles and drivers, stand-by service, servicing of their own patrol cars as well as participating in manoeuvres.They can be considered as pioneers on their field, since it is unique in West-European armies, that women equal the male soldiers that much. The females within the Belgian army (presently about 600) are all volunteers. The army career had become first possible for women in 1975, when the period of service for conscripts was shortened from eleven to ten months and will even go down to six months from 1978. For duty in foreign countries, only regulars will be recruited then. Photo shows comb, lipstick and mirror have not been banned out of the locker.The female regulars want to be pretty during service also. (Credit Image: (c) Keystone Pictures USA/ZUMAPRESS.com/Mary Evans)

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19600104 Banned Barracks Charming Checks Colleagues Cologne Comb Conscripts Considered Drivers Duties Eleven Equal Nato Participating Pioneers Possible Presently Quite Recruited Regulars Routine Serve Servicing Shortened Stand-by Volunteers West-germany

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