RAF Regiment uses condoms for advertising

LONDON, May 14 (UPI) -- The Royal Air Force is using instructions on the many uses of condoms as a tactic to lure young British men to sign up for the RAF Regiment.

A total of 20,000 prophylactics are being mailed in a recruitment drive, The Sun reports. They're mounted on cards with the instruction "Apply to weapon when on maneuvers."

The cards -- invitations to an RAF Regiment presentation -- describe the many uses for condoms besides their generally understood purpose. They can be used -- without lubrication -- as a water container, as a tourniquet to stop bleeding and to protect weapons from sand.

"We felt the condom would appeal to the target audience and hopefully encourage them to think about the RAF Regiment in a different way rather than just at face value," said Emily White of the government's Central Office of Information, which designed the campaign.

The RAF Regiment, ground troops attached to the RAF, began in World War I as a security force for airfields. Recently, the regiment has served in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.