Don't mistake these colorful gentlemen for anything less than trained killers.
In fact, they're part of a 500-year line of mercenaries who "took part in brief but glorious wars and then returned home with the "pay" and the booty."
New recruits in the Papal company of these Swiss mercs recently swore in last week — an annual ritual — and added a batch of 35 warriors to their ranks.
As Swiss troops, trained in Switzerland, they have a firm grasp of modern combat, small arms, and counter terrorism. The Vatican outfit numbers around 150 to 200.
They're on a paid contract to the Papacy ... one that's lasted 500 years.
The Swiss Guard started around the mid 1400s, when a village in the heart of the Alps was impoverished and in need of work.
The cluster of villages got together 15,000 men, trained them, and put them on loan to anyone who needed warriors.
Many of these warriors would do this during the winter, so they could farm during the summer.
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