GETTY Vladimir Putin\NATO tanks

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The casting call was posted by German recruitment agency Optronic HR GmbH, which specialises in enlisting extras for military exercises conducted by NATO and the US military. It wants actors to represent Russian-speaking ‘Civilians on the Battlefield’, such as farmers or shopkeepers, in unspecified conflict regions. The actors are needed for the upcoming exercises starting on April 28 at a US training base in Bavaria, southern Germany.

GETTY NATO soldiers are welcomed to Poland ahead of military excercises

The job spec says Russian-speaking actors will provide a “realistic practice scenario and therefore ideal preparation for upcoming deployment of the soldiers to conflict regions”. The ad also says 10 “villages” of 10 to 30 houses will be built for the war games, and applicants are expected to stay there for three weeks to create conditions for the US military “as close as possible to the real ones.” Some 30 to 100 extras are required for each village, indicating the approximate scale of the exercise.

GETTY Nato soldiers are preparing for war games in Poland

The actors are banned from leaving the territory of the training base during the drills, as well as from using mobile phones and other gadgets “for security reasons.” They are also banned from consuming alcohol. The ad states the actors will be provided with special vests with infrared sensors for the military to calculate how many civilians “suffered” during the “fighting.” Optronic HR GmbH states on its website: “Our objective is to familiarise soldiers with the language, religion, customs and morals of foreign cultures in different countries.

GETTY British tanks are loaded onto a ferry to take part in Operation Cabrit in Estonia

11 things you need to know about NATO Tue, February 14, 2017 NATO - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4th April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 11 Every member country, no matter how large or small, has an equal say in discussions and decisions. Photo shows: Signing the North Atlantic Treaty which marked the beginning of NATO, 1949.