Or at least thinking about it (because we all know nurses have bladders the size of Winnebago water tanks, right?) take a moment to think about your fellow nurses who are in the military. Tammy Swofford is a nurse in the Naval Reserve, and on her blog shares her thoughts about many things pertaining to military service, political policy, and what it’s like to be a nurse in the service.
We know it’s hard to get a bathroom break here — but this is what you’d face if you were in the service:
This photo shows the female head (latrine) within the enclosed building, and the field latrine built by one of the men on the Advance Party of WATC02 (Ghana, W. Africa) I was also Advance Party and was one of the first to use the enclosed female latrine. Did I mention that when I sat on the toilet I heard a “swish” and caught sight of a snake in the bowl and ran in terror with my pants around my ankles?
Basically, the male latrine required digging a pit, popping a pipe down into the pit and filling the pit with gravel, placing a screen over the top of the urinal. In the field there is really no complete privacy, and so it is up to the individual to either allow a measure of dignity in the latrine or…. have a sense of humor and take a few pictures.
Worst field latrine was during an exercise which went far into the night. The “enemy” had cut our generators and we were working in the medical tents in the dark. Feeling nature’s call, a male Naval officer escorted me through the brush and “enemy fire” to the latrine.
Essentially, a few rain ponchos had been strung together. Inside, a pit had been dug and two saw-horses supported a poorly secured mop handle across the front of the pit. Mounting up on the mop handle, er toilet seat, my first concern was to find the can of disinfectant spray. But as my position shifted and I realized that I was precariously balanced over a death pit full of buzzing insects and the deposit of excrement of the previous fifty humans who had used the “facility” my thoughts turned to god and country.
“God! If I fall backwards into this stuff I swear I will go AWOL and the Navy can court martial my ass! Let the country protect its self!”
There is always the option to ignore the field latrine and venture further into the brush to find a solitary and private spot to relieve the bladder. One nurse warned me to never consider such a thing. She had learned her lesson. Venturing into the brush to take care of business she was quite proud of her accomplishment. As soon as she dropped her underwear the bushes suddenly had eyes and whistles. She had stumbled right into the middle of a group of Special Forces types working on being sneaky and invisible in daylight hours. Personally, I would have demanded all of the M&M’s and Skittles from their field-stripped MRE’s. I would not have been content with a few wolf whistles.
Worst field latrine was at 29 Palms. The SeaBees, those crazy bastards, had installed about a dozen toilets nearly side-by-side, without any partitions. Some of the nurses practically developed bowel obstructions from the constipation. They just couldn’t “go” in front of other people. Not me! I would just put my sunglasses on when I went to the bathroom. I figured we were all dressed alike. How would they know it was me?
