Audible farting by Marines in public has been banned because it offends the Afghans, reports Gina Cavallaro in her blog Battle Rattle at MilitaryTimes.com (Aug. 23, 2011).
“They’re not supposed to cuss because it could be misunderstood (that one goes out the window a lot). And they stay away from talking about politics, religion or girls because those topics could escalate into major disagreements (they can’t communicate anyway because of the language barrier).
“But farting? That’s practically a sport. Ok, it’s not soccer, but a good contest could open the door for cross-cultural exchanges, jokes and other gallows humor.
“So, for all Marines getting ready to go downwind, I mean downrange, be forewarned — you may have to hold it in… at least until you get back to your hooch where you can loudly crop dust your friends.”
By “downrange,” Gina means deployed to the war zone.
See Gina’s post. As I read it, Gina tip-toes around whether there really is an official ban on public farting by marines on patrol. Who would want to be the officer giving that order?
Steve of Upland 