[HappyFox05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elanorh Her ds is circ'd because "his dad is," but mostly because although she (an RN) knew at the time that the research didn't show benefits of circ, she had an RN coworker who'd been at Desert Storm who told her about "all the adult circumcisions that they had to do, and how awful they were," so they circ'd their son.

Lol, right. I wasn't in healthcare during Desert Storm, I was just a regular soldier, but there was never mention of it to anyone in our unit. And we sure didn't see a bunch of guys walking around looking like they'd just been cut. Rofl.

 

[KBinSATX]

Great I finally can add some 'real' info to a thread! Yay!
Here's the article I am referring to:
http://www.cirp.org/news/morganhilltimes06-14-05/

Quote:

Most circumcisions in the United States after WWII were recommended for hygienic reasons. Soldiers from allied forces had experienced b[a]lanitis, an infection between the foreskin and penile shaft caused by a buildup of urine or foreign material, in "epidemic proportions" during actions in sandy North Africa, according to an article by Dr. J. M. Hudson published in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics. It would be easier to circumcise infant males, who are less likely to experience serious side effects from the procedure, than treat blanitis later in life military physicians concluded, and this logic worked its way into medical practice back home as doctors who had been serving in the war transitioned back into civilian practice, he wrote.

That's just a little snippet out of that article. It's pretty interesting, you might want to read the whole thing...

 

[Daisyuk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KBinSATX Great I finally can add some 'real' info to a thread! Yay! Here's the article I am referring to: http://www.cirp.org/news/morganhilltimes06-14-05/ That's just a little snippet out of that article. It's pretty interesting, you might want to read the whole thing...

Funny though, that it only appears to have been American men that had to be treated like this, and it's only American babies that need to have it removed at birth, just in case they end up in a war zone?

Exactly what were those military doctors thinking? And why do they assume that Americans are always going to be sending their young men to war?

 

[kaylee6734]

My husband was in the U.S. Navy as a submariner in the mid-late 90's and into 00's. He was told when he chose submarine service that if he wasn't circumcised, he would'nt be eligible for submarine service. Basically, that if he wanted to join that particular branch, circumcision was mandatory. The main reason he was told, was that there can be conditions where they can be deployed for months at a time without ever docking anywhere, and in certain conditions, there was a possibility that fresh water would be conserved and wouldn't necessarily be available to use for personal cleaning issues. Combine that with such close quarters and many guys actually double bunking...where there was only one bunk and one guy had it when he was off duty and the other guy took it when the first guy went on duty, and you get the pic. about why there might be cleanliness issues with no water available....

I'm not sure why they didn't work towards fixing the problem all together though. I wonder if it was a JIC thing? Because DH said that in the years he was in, they never actually ran out of water for cleaning themselves, though they did frequently run out of toilet paper.

 

[Bm31]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaylee6734 My husband was in the U.S. Navy as a submariner in the mid-late 90's and into 00's. He was told when he chose submarine service that if he wasn't circumcised, he would'nt be eligible for submarine service. Basically, that if he wanted to join that particular branch, circumcision was mandatory. The main reason he was told, was that there can be conditions where they can be deployed for months at a time without ever docking anywhere, and in certain conditions, there was a possibility that fresh water would be conserved and wouldn't necessarily be available to use for personal cleaning issues. Combine that with such close quarters and many guys actually double bunking...where there was only one bunk and one guy had it when he was off duty and the other guy took it when the first guy went on duty, and you get the pic. about why there might be cleanliness issues with no water available.... I'm not sure why they didn't work towards fixing the problem all together though. I wonder if it was a JIC thing? Because DH said that in the years he was in, they never actually ran out of water for cleaning themselves, though they did frequently run out of toilet paper.

Not that I don't believe you, but that sounds absolutely ridiculous. With the few men in that generation that might have been intact, and the myriad ways/uses that water can be wasted, to try and fend off a fictional potential water shortage by denying a few guys wet wipes to clean their genitals.....it just goes beyond the realm of any good logic.

:

 

[fruitful womb]

BIL is in the Army; deployed right now. He knew someone who fought WWII. This guy told him NOT to circ any sons he would ever have because he was forced to be circumcised while in the war. This man told BIL that sex with a foreskin is like 'Color TV' vs sex w/ out a foreskin is 'Black and White'.

For this reason alone he decided against it. BIL tells me being intact is not an issue if you want to be in the Military. Nowadays, that is.

Just so you know, the Modern Military find ways to keep up with basic hygiene. I remember seeing in the news about US war supporters sending baby wipes for the solders because water was low. So, being intact is a non-issue for the Military.

kaylee6734, I suspect your DH ran into a prejudice Naval officer who is very misinformed about the intact male body. I do not discount your story. I find it rather suspicious re: the Naval Officer knowing what I know about the Military. BTW,

to MDC!

 

[kaylee6734]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fruitful womb kaylee6734, I suspect your DH ran into a prejudice Naval officer who is very misinformed about the intact male body. I do not discount your story. I find it rather suspicious re: the Naval Officer knowing what I know about the Military. BTW, to MDC!

Nope, I don't think that was necessarily the case. Evidently DH was asked if he was circ'd (and he IS) but when DH asked him why it mattered, what was stated above was the reasoning around it. He was also told that it was specific for the submarine service and not the rest of the navy. DH found out it was a pretty common thing to be told . Now it might not be an official rule, but I can totally see it being something that is told to guys when they choose to enter the submarine service. I'm not condoning it, but I can see some old Navy docs thinking its still important, just because of the long time periods submariners can actually be deployed and under water....they can be submerged for more than 60 days at a time. Combine that with the possibility of clean water shortage if something goes wrong and no toilet paper because they ran out...and I can see why they'd still suggest it....doesn't make it right, but I can see where it would be a pretty common thought among the older navy guys. Sad...but that's what was commonly thought amongst the guys(at least in that command), that you needed to be circ'd.

 

[Papai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaylee6734 Nope, I don't think that was necessarily the case. Evidently DH was asked if he was circ'd (and he IS) but when DH asked him why it mattered, what was stated above was the reasoning around it. He was also told that it was specific for the submarine service and not the rest of the navy. DH found out it was a pretty common thing to be told . Now it might not be an official rule, but I can totally see it being something that is told to guys when they choose to enter the submarine service. I'm not condoning it, but I can see some old Navy docs thinking its still important, just because of the long time periods submariners can actually be deployed and under water....they can be submerged for more than 60 days at a time. Combine that with the possibility of clean water shortage if something goes wrong and no toilet paper because they ran out...and I can see why they'd still suggest it....doesn't make it right, but I can see where it would be a pretty common thought among the older navy guys. Sad...but that's what was commonly thought amongst the guys(at least in that command), that you needed to be circ'd.

If that's the case, then does that mean women cannot serve in the submarine service? Because surely with menstrual cycles and other vaginal discharge, having no access to water would be a bad thing.

 

[tuansprincess]

: That reasoning for circ is so prepostrous!

 

[Kleine Hexe]

My brother wasn't even asked about the state of his penis when he was in the Air Force. They took him with his intact penis....no problems or questions asked. That was in the 90's.

 

[Dave2GA]

The one thing you don't have to worry about on a nuclear sub, and all our subs are now nuclear, is water. There is an unlimited supply made by the evaporators. I think this is just another myth or someone's way to get a man to get circed.

 

[carriebft]

My dear brother is in town this weekend. He is a navy engineer who works on submarines. He is deployed 3 months at a time, submerged for most of that. He said, and I quote:

"The circumcision for water shortage thing is total crappola. I've been deployed for 3 months on 3 off for 4 years now and I know of many who are not circumcised. No one has ever thrown that crap at us. It's a total lie and I would explain the water working on a submarine but you wouldn't get it"

so there ya have it

I told him he should come here sometime this week and tell us all about the water workings!

(and, fyi, apparently there is a lot more penis talk going on on submarines than I care to think about!

)

 

[carriebft]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave2GA The one thing you don't have to worry about on a nuclear sub, and all our subs are now nuclear, is water. There is an unlimited supply made by the evaporators. I think this is just another myth or someone's way to get a man to get circed.

Yes, this is exactly what my brother summed up-- he said they have this thing that takes in the salt water, heats it, then cools the vapor back into water and makes thousands of gallons of fresh water every couple hours.

 

[Kleine Hexe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papai If that's the case, then does that mean women cannot serve in the submarine service? Because surely with menstrual cycles and other vaginal discharge, having no access to water would be a bad thing.

I *think* that women are not allowed to do submarine service.

 

[jessjgh1]

The submariner thing is just ridiculous... too many holes in someone's theory that would sink that ship...

The other method of being in war-like conditions is the power pee method (I made that name up). Pee, but hold the foreskin closed till there is some pressure-- release. Uses the urine stream to keep things 'tidy' enough. Sure, not optimal, but couldn't me much worse than using baby wipes... uugh. Those things can be nasty.

Heck, there's plenty of salt water around too- right?

And yeah, if they are that concerned then women better not be allowed in the submarines.

Jessica

 

[kaylee6734]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carriebft My dear brother is in town this weekend. He is a navy engineer who works on submarines. He is deployed 3 months at a time, submerged for most of that. He said, and I quote: "The circumcision for water shortage thing is total crappola. I've been deployed for 3 months on 3 off for 4 years now and I know of many who are not circumcised. No one has ever thrown that crap at us. It's a total lie and I would explain the water working on a submarine but you wouldn't get it" so there ya have it

It might not be a rule...but it is what my DH was told when he was in. And its what some other guys were told as well. My DH is circ'd though, so he wouldn't have had any reason to really question the validity of someone telling him that, because it didn't impact him personally. It is however the only reason he wanted our sons circ'd...so I completely believe him when he says that's what he was told. The navy is a big tradition in his family, and what he was told was the only reason he wanted our kids to get it done at birth....so they wouldn't have to have it done as adults if they wanted to follow in daddy's footsteps....(don't flame me for that one...he legitimately believed that...it's not my fault).

 

[kaylee6734]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe I *think* that women are not allowed to do submarine service.

When my DH got out in '00, women were not allowed to do service on a submarine. My DH was a part of a group that worked on working out a feasable way to allow women on submarines, but he said that the program was scrapped and they made the decision to not go forward with it at that time.

I don't know if they've made any changes or if they allow it now, but 7 years ago, they didn't.

 

[Arduinna]

My ex was born in the 50s and intact, he was in the military for over 6 years when I met him still intact.

 

[HappyFox05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jessjgh1 The submariner thing is just ridiculous... too many holes in someone's theory that would sink that ship...

Lol, I don't know if you'd call that a pun or what, but it's horrible.

 

[Mom2Wilmo]

My dad (born in 1943) was intact. He was in the Navy for 10 years and was still intact.