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 9 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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