RUSSIA HAS 100,000 GI JANE'S COLLEAGUES








MOSCOW, MARCH 5 (from RIA Novosti's Alexander Konovalov) - The Russian Armed Forces have close on 100,000 women soldiers. More than 3,500 of them are commissioned officers, and 26,500 noncoms. Over 300 are serving in the North Caucasus, Colonel-General Ilya Panin, Defence Ministry chief of personnel, said to a conference of women soldiers.


	One Russian woman--Valentina Tereshkova, the world's first woman space pilot--is a Major-General. 24 have the colonel's rank. There are 167 lieutenant-colonels and 542 majors. The average age of female commissioned officers is slightly above 32. A majority have higher education, and are employed in the medical, liaison and finance services, and as translators or interpreters. Several hundred have high awards.