Registration of Recruit J. Böckling

For his series Vechters en vredestichters (Fighters and Peacekeepers), Ad van Denderen spent a year documenting the activities of the Dutch army. He photographed the Dutch missions in Chad and Afghanistan, among others. He took these portraits of new recruits registering with the Airborne Brigade in the Oranjekazerne in Arnhem. Still far removed from the realities of war, these 18-year-old boys hold up a sign with their year of birth, the date, and a service number.