Posted on Aug 28, 2015
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Felt the need to share something a little more on the humor side of things but yet is something that can be part of the bigger picture of some more serious things.
The other day I was talking with some friends and somehow we got on the topic of daily showering. I made the comment that since my deployment to Iraq in 2003, I now find myself taking 3 or 4 showers a day. Normally one went I wake up, 1 after work, and 1 after the gym right before bed. For those of you that were in Iraq in the early days, you can probably relate to not wanting to feel like you have gone several months without a shower ever again. I know for the unit I was in, it was a few weeks before we got anything more than just a Kevlar bath.
Well the looks on my friends' face, none of whom ever served or deployed, was one of shock. One of my friends asked how much I was paying on my water bill. I told them that it is just something I need. If I don't, I start getting feelings back as though I'm in Iraq. One of my other friends asked if I thought it was another one of my PTSD triggers and I had to sort of agree with them. While it's not as bad as loud noises or certain smells, not having the ability to shower just puts me in a weird mood, even if it was only a few hours since my last shower.
So I figured I would ask RallyPoint if anyone else finds themselves doing something differently than you did before you deployed. It doesn't have to be showering. Maybe its something that borderlines OCD type behavior but it is something you really didn't do as much before you deployed. I figured, I can't be alone in type of behavior...right?
PS...No SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4", you can not claim to be that person in the picture, I found it on Google. LOL
The other day I was talking with some friends and somehow we got on the topic of daily showering. I made the comment that since my deployment to Iraq in 2003, I now find myself taking 3 or 4 showers a day. Normally one went I wake up, 1 after work, and 1 after the gym right before bed. For those of you that were in Iraq in the early days, you can probably relate to not wanting to feel like you have gone several months without a shower ever again. I know for the unit I was in, it was a few weeks before we got anything more than just a Kevlar bath.
Well the looks on my friends' face, none of whom ever served or deployed, was one of shock. One of my friends asked how much I was paying on my water bill. I told them that it is just something I need. If I don't, I start getting feelings back as though I'm in Iraq. One of my other friends asked if I thought it was another one of my PTSD triggers and I had to sort of agree with them. While it's not as bad as loud noises or certain smells, not having the ability to shower just puts me in a weird mood, even if it was only a few hours since my last shower.
So I figured I would ask RallyPoint if anyone else finds themselves doing something differently than you did before you deployed. It doesn't have to be showering. Maybe its something that borderlines OCD type behavior but it is something you really didn't do as much before you deployed. I figured, I can't be alone in type of behavior...right?
PS...No SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4", you can not claim to be that person in the picture, I found it on Google. LOL
Humor
Deployment
PTSD
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 12
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For me it was an incident in OIF 1. We were all running around in MOPP 2, and were dug in for the night outside of An Nasiriyah. A few of us had gotten really sick, with the accompanying "bubbleguts" as the cherry on the cake.... Suffice it to say, MOPP suits do as good a job keeping stuff in as keeping it out.... When we finally changed, it smelled like a charnel house in the area. Ever since, I HATE HATE HATE being dirty...
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SGT Ben Keen
Oh lord, I might need a shower now after reading your comment SFC Michael Hasbun...MOPP suits were the worse!
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I actually thought Desert Storm was worse than Iraq as far as the lack of showers. I went 6 weeks without a shower. But, to answer your question, I never pass up a shower, especially with my woman. Just saying.
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Took so many showers and washed my uniforms so many times after getting back from Iraq that our water bill almost doubled.
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OMGosh, I could live in the shower. Seemed like it took six months to get my deployment washed off.
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SGT Ben Keen
Only six months SGT Christina Wilder? There's times I swear I'm still washing off sand...LOL
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Yes I do, and they are long! I also use a lot more ice than I did before deploying!
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CH (MAJ) Thomas Conner
Well when you have as hot of a body like mine...what a bunch of dirty minded rat bastards...I should have known better...open mouth, insert foot, chew vigorously! LMAO!
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In Desert Storm my unit got exactly 2 showers in the field. I was perimeter security for Mgen Mike Myatt 1st Marine Division. We lived, slept, ate and worked in bunkers we dug 5' deep and we moved every 2 to 3 weeks. On our way to Kuwait City we did this with tons of oil fires, clearing a minefield and in full MOPP gear.(we got 7 gas attacks in 1 night. Alarms going off for hours). When we got home we landed at Norton AFB and took a bus to Pendleton. On that ride we were told that California was in a deep drought and we had to limit our showers. To which we heard a resounding "Go to hell" from the back of the bus.See, our point was that the 30 mil. Californians should cut back first. For 6 months I could rub my arm and get oil coming out of my pours. I simply could not get clean enough.
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SGT Ben Keen
As a Squid I can tell you all about water hours and Hollywood showers!
The longest I went without a shower was about 2 or 3 weeks due to an issue with my ship's water condensers. Long story short, we couldn't make water. We couldn't even get underway. I don't remember the reason, but even though we were in port Bahrain we weren't allowed to go to the base to take showers.
As a Squid I can tell you all about water hours and Hollywood showers!
The longest I went without a shower was about 2 or 3 weeks due to an issue with my ship's water condensers. Long story short, we couldn't make water. We couldn't even get underway. I don't remember the reason, but even though we were in port Bahrain we weren't allowed to go to the base to take showers.
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I hate showers especially when I wash my hair but I have a big spa bath tub and there's nothing like a soak with water up to my armpits and bubbles to relax, and of course I remember watching "Psycho."
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