A “Maya” girl sits in an altar during the traditional celebration of “Las Mayas” on the streets in Madrid, Spain Sunday, May 10, 2015. The festivity of the Maya comes from pagan rites and dates from the medieval age, appearing in ancient documents. It takes place every year in the beginning of May and celebrates the beginning of the spring. Girls between 7 and 11 years old are chosen as “Maya” and should sit still, serious and quiet for a couple of hours in altars on the street decorated with flowers and plants and afterwards they walk to the church with their family where they attend a ceremony. (Photo by Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP Photo)

“Weapons Instructor”, 2012. It’s a well known fact that the IDF trains some of the best soldiers in the world, but at the source of every good soldier lies an exceptional instructor – and that’s where Cpl. Daniella Stepanoe steps in. She travels from base to base training everyone from paratroopers to elite special forces units in the use of their weapons. (Photo by Israel Defense Forces)

Participants re-enact the “Battle of Five Armies” from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel “The Hobbit” in a forest near the town of Doksy, Czech Republic June 6, 2015. According to event organizers, hundreds of enthusiasts dressed as characters such as elves, dwarves, goblins and orcs from the book “The Hobbit” re-enacted the clash. (Photo by David W. Cerny/Reuters)

In this photo made Thursday, April 11, 2013, Soviet Jewish World War Two veteran Boris Ginsburg poses for a portrait at his house in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. Ginsburg, born in Belorussia, was kept by a German garrison in the Lenin ghetto since 1941 until its destruction by partisan units in September 1942. In 1942 he joined the partisans for two years and in 1944 he joined the Red Army as a combat soldier and fought till the and of the war. Ginsubrg demobilized in 1947 and immigrated to Israel in 2001. About 500,000 Soviet Jews served in the Red Army during World War Two, and the majority of those still alive today live in Israel. (Photo by Oded Balilty/AP Photo)

An Iraqi soldier drives MRAP at his base in Makhmour, after it was freed from control of Islamic State, south of Mosul, April 17, 2016. (Photo by Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)

This stirring collection of photos which offer a glimpse behind the scenes of army life have all been selected as winners in an annual competition. The remarkable pictures in the Army Photographic Competition show Britain's soldiers at work and play. They have been taken by amateur and professional soldier cameramen and include images from operations in Afghanistan, air shows and sporting events. The winners were announced at a ceremony held at the Army Headquarters in Andover in Hampshire. (Photo by Jamie Peters/MoD/Geoff Robinson Photography/REX Features)