Well ... if we we're still trying to find a good nickname for the USS GERALD FORD (CVN-78), as reported by MilitaryTimes, we have it now.
URR - for your blood pressure, you may want to stop reading right now.
Yes kiddies, in order to have a more gender neutral ship - there will be no urinals - listen to the MilTimes link about if you don't believe it.
It is hard to think of a less sanitary idea to come along in this century's list of naval developments. The amount of spray around, on and to the side on a ship with over 5,000 personnel - the vast majority men - is just a nasty thought. Ask any mother who has a house full of boys what the clean-up is going to be like. Can you imagine what it will smell like when the SUPPO over-ordered asparagus mid-deployment?
As you can tell from the 2:25 point on, this is not a non-issue with the German Navy (don't think after a couple of very nasty deployments, someone won't think about having you sign a Page-13 agreeing to be a sitzpinkler). Heck - in Europe this has been an issue for awhile - well mired in gender politics.
As someone who has always been a supporter of women serving, I am sad to say that this too has everything to do with gender politics, and nothing to do with sanitation, water conservation (have you seen how much water is saved by waterless urinals?), or berthing flexibility. No, this has everything to do with a bunch of cowed men, sitzpinklers, who are afraid of saying "no" to a stupid idea.
Please, tell me I'm wrong about this. Heck - I've been wrong before. More cr@p like this and I will start to think I was wrong about women serving on warships.
As for the operational details, I'll let this young lady, who if I had a son I would want him to date, explain it to you.
Add to "schadenfreude" another German word we now can use with vigor.
Hat tip DODBuzz.
I thought that the no urinal policy had been common for the past 5-10 years. I know a certain west-coast LCC .... has been. Haven't the CGs and DDGs been built or had their berthings "modernized" during this time period as well? I always loved the piss covered toilet seats as well as lifting them. Seeing someone's coveralls flopped on the deck at the toilet was extra! That makes for better sanitary awareness sailor anyway, right? I always wondered why they didn't just keep the urinals and just cover them when not in use. Big question is what do we do with all of the urinal cakes now? How about we just complete the package and shave everyones' heads from now on and paint their skin haze gray. It would camo everyone topside also. How is further identification and isolation based on sex, skin color, etc helping us?
ReplyDeleteRegarding the urinal cakes, it should save money on the amphibs at least. We always had to post signs warning the marines not to eat the mints.
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