This is not from the Onion or a satire website... I like the comment
someone made to the 2nd article. I've never had an MRE or military food, so
no first hand experience.


"While marines in Afghanistan are used to operating under strict rules, a
new order banning audible farting has raised eyebrows.
In the military's quest to win hearts and minds in Afghanistan, marines are
now to refrain from audibly breaking wind, lest they offend the Afghans they
are seeking to win over.

While potty humor is appreciated (by some) in the U.S., in deeply
conservative Afghan culture, breaking wind audibly is not appreciated.

Marines operating in the country have also been taught to avoid discussing
contentious subjects, including politics and girls.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_935581.html



"Marine Corps Times is a family newspaper and we only rarely have offensive
language in our stories.

But this week the word "fart" appears in a story I wrote about the
importance of trust between Marines and the Afghan national army soldiers
they work with.

I didn't want to write this little blog entry about farts. It's not even on
my beat. But my colleague Dan Lamothe, whose byline you have seen here quite
often, shamed me into it.

"You owe it to all Marines," he told me.

So here's the news: audible farting has been banned for some Marines
downrange because it offends the Afghans.

I know there are many things in the Afghan culture that don't seem normal to
Americans and it's hard to spend seven months working in someone else's back
yard. Still, the Marines I saw downrange are doing a pretty good job at
trying to do the right thing around the Afghans.

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.

a.. Thomas M Says:
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:58 pm
a.. Are you kidding me. With the shit we had to eat i was farting none stop.
I mean really all the MREs and UGRs all you do is fart.
http://militarytimes.com/blogs/battl...here-you-fart/