what does the culture say about sleeping nude in communal same-sex settings such as a military barracks or in a tent which serves as such? When I was in Iraq last I generally slept outside on the ground or on a cot and undressed completely in order to sleep. Once when a marine came to get me for a prisoner interrogation, I was reluctant to get out from under the covers. Perhaps understanding my wish not to offend or scandalize him, he left briefly and came back after I had put something on, but now I feel in retrospect that I was being excessively shy (I was then sleeping outside on the taxiway of an airstrip and the rest were inside an armored airplane hanger. By the way, each of them had sheets or blankets hanging around their bunks so they actually had privacy though sharing the same room.). In Falluja my commander and I shared a room and after an Arab American translator ridiculed me for pulling off my underwear to put on pajama bottoms, the staff sergeant told me that he slept naked whenever he could. But it was too hot for me to sleep with him in the building and I ended up sleeping on the ground outside instead (naked there too!). On a convoy down to Iraq, I recall someone also making a remark when I changed into pajamas as I also had to strip completely to put them on. It seems such a hassle and maybe in my upcoming tour I should just strip before going to sleep and tell anyone who makes a remark to STFU. What opinions are out there on this subject? I have read that soldiers in Vietnam generally slept nude in the field (it was hot and humid there too!) and that in World War Two soldiers of the Canadian army were required to sleep nude in their sleeping bags.
Interesting insight into what bewitches a soldier's mind in a war zone. If you're a hippie (with due respect, you probably are not), and sleeping in mixed-gender settings you'd doubtless be in good company with many nude sleepers who have yet to 'come out' about it. But a barracks and all the army thing is a lot more ... um, regimented... Pictures have been seen here and there of soldiers sleeping naked (with a machine-gun very close by). I have always been under the impression it is common practice (you are right that Australian soldiers particularly were not averse to stripping down in the squalid, stinking heat of Vietnam). I reckon most here would tell you to "stuff the Staff Sergeant" (and/or the Marine) and sleep as you please, LOL! In truth, it probably isn't that easy and straightforward. But in my mind, it's a war zone, hot, sticky and constantly on edge; how could soldiers not be able to sleep as they damn well want? Who is there to offend, and what are the consequences to them, to you? And why? Sleeping nude on a (aircraft) taxiway sounds absolutely risky. Just what happens if a transport plane mistakes you for a sack of rice and waddles over you? What a bunch of prudes they sound like to have their cots surrounded by sheets an an armoured hangar. You are none the wiser to wonder if they were liberating themselves of threads behind those secretive screens! As a matter of curiosity, who is higher up there? A Commander, Staff Sergeant or a Marine? If one turns a blind eye or couldn't care what you want to do within reason, do they take each other to task or does one have the final say? Where does that leave you? The fact there are multiple layers of authority, passive and final in such a place makes it sound to me that it could be quite tricky getting the subject over how you wish to sleep. Your fellow soliders probably wouldn't give a squid about it. Hmmm. It's no doubt going to be an interesting thread.
the hangar bunker was no longer used for aircraft (Asad Airbase, Anbar Province, Iraq). It was built by the Yugoslavians for Saddam Hussein and comofluaged the same color as the khaki soil. the taxiway was therefore fenced off, though two jetfighters took off at 230 am each night on the runway. There was no risk of aircraft rolling over me, just the wind blowing away my cot and the exposure to noise. I got to wearing earmuffs to muffle the sound. The mornings were just beautiful when i arose at 530 or 6 am. Commander is just short for POC, or POint of Command although it is a navy rank, technically speaking. My POCs were usually lietenants or corporals, though I was also assigned to a Lt. Col. who commanded a base. A staff sergeant is a rank in the marines and the word marine refers to the branch of service. One doesn't call a marine a solider; he is referred to as "marine." Another clarification: I might have gotten out of bed nude and I did set up a solar shower next to the hangar on a pull-up bar. But except for the few moments between arising and pulling on my uniform, one would not walk about nude. Until recently it had been an all-male facility and piss pipes were still placed standing up from the ground at strategic points between the hangar where we lived and the hangar where the prisoners were kept and that means pretty much exposing oneself and pissing in the open.
Hey JFH...I am also in the military. I have yet to deploy but unless I was in a CHU, I wouldn't be comfortable sleeping in the nude elsewhere, especially in the field. I am allergic to fire ants and I wouldn't want creepy crawlies all over me. Also, the idea that we could get attacked anytime is a big motivator to stay clothed...but during FTXs, I will change in the open if I have to. I have female soldiers as my subordinates and I have seen them in their undies...no big deal. One night, it got so hot I had to sleep in nothing but my boxers (but was sleeping in an LMTV)...however in my barracks, I have no issues being nude whenever I am in my room (only have a suitemate who i share a bathroom and kitchen with).
thanks for the feedback. I spent my share of nights in Humvees, but those were generally in the cold of the winter and when we were for one reason or another just sitting on the roadside. Of course there was no thought of undressing simply because no one knew when we would be going again (and thery were cramped with radio gear and what couldn't be fit in was strapped on back of the humvee). Once at a convoy staging area in southern Iraq I slept atop the humvee hood (keep those rubber ponchos handy for rain!). The hood was a choice location compared to the seats! The worst seat was behind the front passenger seat and that was usually the one I got as a translator (civilian in uniform assigned to patrols and checkpoints). OK, CHU is container handling unit or maybe just 'container', right? Those would be rather hot most months and cold others. LMTV: Light medium tactical vehicle, right? I will be looking forward to the new elevated i.e.d. resistant 'Buffalo' vehicles that were a rarity when I was leaving in early 2007, but I wonder if there is much space in them. By the way, there are no fire ants in the Middle East and no poison ivy to worry about either. If you are in Texas, you are well-prepared for Iraq and probably Kandahar in Afghanistan too!
Not Texas, North Carolina...CHU, I believe, is something housing unit...basically barracks downrange...my friends who deployed stayed in some nice one...looked like college dorms and hella privacy...asalaam alaiukum my man...
In our previous regime under apartheid,all white males were required to do compulsory natlonal service,and after 2 years national service,15 years of military camps,one month one year,three the next,and nude soldiers were a common sight.IN our company platoon,we had 6 guys sleeping naked,including myself(we were nudists).At night,preparing 4 inspection the next day(that happned every day),it was no comon thing for us to be naked.The one bloke IN PARTICULAR,always kicked himself open as he slept,with erections and all.Some mornings,some of our drill seargents chased us out of bed at 3am-4am for pt on the parade ground,and often we would have no time to get dressed,and had to do it nude.The six of us were nudists,so us being naked,was a well known fact,and respected.At shower times,we al in the barracks,prounced around naked,and had hygene inspections every second day,and that was conducted naked.When we did our camps,our Oc ordred al the platoon to sleep in the nude DURING WINTER! Sleep ware was a direct violation of orders.For us,it was normal.
hey thanks Kaalvoet for your own experience and perspective on this. strange thing about showers in iraq is that they were all private stalls with curtains! -- i guess this and the portajohns were the only places where one had total privacy. so it was possible if one held a towel around himself, never to be naked in front of anyone else. i did not even have that kind of privacy in college or high school. the football stadium at the university of texas, for example, had one bathroom for thousands of fans consisting of two long communal urinals on both sides of the room and one toilet at the end of the room with no barrier whatsoever for privacy. i remember a couple of sergeants in iraq who used to take off their shirts outside the tent every morning to sun themselves, but they also said that it was against the rules to take off one's shirts outside and that they were doing it on the sly. One normally wore a pair of gym shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals to the shower stall though one had to be careful about avoiding getting the clothing wet should it fall from one of the poor excuses for clothing hooks by the showers. so the culture of modesty seems stricter than what you experienced in S.A. We Americans have got to fight this!
The first time I deployed, we were living in tents and I was in charge of four guys. The five of us lived in a small A-frame that was connected to another small A-frame that the first sergeant and commander slept in (I was the OPS sergeant). It was SO HOT, even at night. We couldn't sleep in our clothes OR in our sleeping bags, and we didn't have sheets yet. (It was the beginning of the war.) Sometimes, when Top was feeling generous and if our generator was running at night, we had his oscillating stand fan to move the air around a little bit. So anyway, my four Soldiers and I slept in our skivvies, on top of our sleeping bags. We weren't nude, but close enough for a mixed-gendered tent. At a certain point, modesty steps aside for practicality. And for those who were wondering-- A CHU is a containerized housing unit, and they come with a/c and heat. Some of them also have latrines in them, and those are called wet CHUs. That is the most common housing situation for troops in Iraq these days. Some still sleep in tents, but they are generally air conditioned and partitioned in some way--not all of them, but most of them. I just returned from my latest deployment to Iraq and had the luxury of living in a hardened building. I had a roommate, but we had wall lockers that we set-up between the beds for privacy. I slept in the nude a lot this past year. I guess it depends on the situation and the people you are sharing a space with. I have found that guys generally like to sleep in the nude, and it usually isn't an issue with their room/tent mates. The females, on the other hand, tend to be more skittish about it, and get embarrassed more easily by other people's nudity--in shower room situations and especially in sleeping areas. I don't know why, but it is what it is.
Welcome back...one of my privates (female type) was late for PT so I had to go to her barracks to wake her up...she called out "wait a minute"...I asked her what took so long and she replied...had to put clothes on...she told me she slept naked...so there ya go... If i was in Iraq, I would definitely have to sleep in the nude...
oh, i definitely agree...I was a home nudist before joining the military and the military helped me be more comfortable with my body, as all the pt got it sexy...lol...once I finished AIT, there were weeks where I had the whole 2-man room to myself and I would be totally comfortable being nude. Now I have my own room so once I am done, the clothes come off...I also went to a quiet beach on a lake near base over the weekend and spent a few hours nude...sunning myself, swimming and then hiking...haven't done that for a while.
I was in the Army. I rarely slept in the nude. The only times I could get naked, was in the barracks (when my roomie moved away and had to still keep a bed) and a few time in the field (when we know we waere safe and no drills. Our quiet society (the sleeping nude people) took our clothes off and on in our sleeping bags. Some people laughed at us but everyone knew we slept the best and was well rested. I saw plenty of people were too embarassed to get nude, but you saw it in their eyes that they wanted to sleep nude. Well, I got out the Army few years ago. I still stay in contact with the military. One of my friends just told me that she walks around naked in the locker/shower/bed and the other women complain. She'd told them you have the same parts as me and laughed. I also know plenty of women and men that don't wear nothing under their uniform. For years, about 1/3 of the soldiers I know said that they never nothing under their uniform. I laughed and critized them. Then, when I join the reserves, some of my friends told me the same thing. One day, we was cleaning our equipment and all of us had our jackets off. I sat down by one of my friends and I'd asked her why did she still had her jackets on and everyone else just had their t-shirts on. She whispered in my ear that she really doesn't wear clothes (only for work and the reserves) and she had nothing under her uniform, including a bra. I told her it was still too hot. She was in an area by herself. If anyone comes around, just cover up or turn herself. She smiled and took off her jacket. She really wasn't wearing a bra! The flimsy shirt showed her outlines. I smiled and walked away. I guess she felt embarrassed or something. She approached me a few time later to thank me for not telling everyone and for helping her. Then, she began to tell me about her private life. She is always naked at home, no matters who comes over. She only allow certain people in. She'd continue to say that her neighbors know about her and accepts her. She get the mail and other quick chores outside. She I asked if that was strange and if she was wierd. I said no. I told her, the first thing I do is strip naked at my front door when I get home. Well, when my reserve unit gathered again, I had nothing on too. Ever since then, I nevered wore nothing. The military bdu's is very comfortable with out underwear.
I have long been under the impression that serving military guys don't wear much underneath, save for a t-shirt. It must be bloody hot and sticky in Afghanistan, quite apart from the constant danger everywhere. From these posts I'm reading that nudity is still not the norm in the army for whatever mores and values are in place and it seems it can only be done in selective areas at selective times amidst open people. Sleeping naked in a sleeping bag is the way people should sleep in milder-warmer climates. It's normal to wear some thermal clothes when sleeping in very cold (e.g. alpine) environments in winter, as I have in minus six degrees last winter (4 layers of clothes). If wearing anything when it's warm, you risk sweating while sleeping and that will make the sleeping bag feel (and smell!) like a sack of dead sardines. All very interesting reading, though I can't add an Australian army perspective on it as I do not know anybody in the army.
