Posted on 04/15/2008 12:01:16 PM PDT by Hat-Trick
Army fights STDs with free condoms
04/15/08 – By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes European Edition
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Two thousand free condoms are being placed in Army gyms and clubs around Kaiserslautern in an effort to combat sexually transmitted diseases.
Clear plastic bins began showing up late Friday afternoon with stickers that read: “Readiness doesn’t end when the uniform comes off.” The bins were placed in the bathrooms of eight Army gyms and clubs that fall under U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, including the Landstuhl Combined Club, Armstrong’s on Vogelweh Housing and The Oasis on Kleber Kaserne.
The condom give-away comes from the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern and Army Public Health Nursing at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, according to stickers on the bins. The condoms are intended for adults only and they should only take “one pair,” according to the bins.
“If we can stop at least one [STD case], we’ve made a difference,” said Steve Pelletier, director of the Kaiserslautern garrison’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. “This is another one of the command’s tools to mitigate risk.”
The condom give-away is not expected to be recurring, and once the 2,000 condoms are distributed, the effort will end, Pelletier said. Some locations had already run out of their allotted amounts after the weekend.
“As a health organization, we always support methods of preventing the spreading of communicable diseases,” said Army Col. William Corr, chief of preventive medicine at Landstuhl. “Studies and surveys indicate that public distribution of condoms have slowed down the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.”
A young soldier interviewed Monday at Landstuhl raised his eyebrows when told the Army was giving away condoms at gyms and clubs.
“It’s crazy,” said Spc. Joshua Jackson, who works in patient administration at Landstuhl. “Why give them out at gyms and clubs? You should already have them on you if you’re engaging in sexual activity.”
Ramstein Air Base is not giving away condoms in conjunction with the Army effort, said Darlene Cowsert, 435th Air Base Wing spokeswoman.
Distribution of free condoms in public areas, especially high schools, has drawn criticism in the past in the States with some arguing that the practice promotes promiscuity. However, free condoms have been available at Army health clinics in Europe and are widely available at public health clinics in America.
Locations where the free condoms are available were chosen to minimize exposure to youths, Pelletier said. Gyms require children age 16 and under to be supervised by an adult, and the clubs are adult-only most of the time, he said.
FRegards,
H-T
You need protection when you are standing at attention!
Necessary to pass the short gun inspection.
What is new about this? G-5/S-5 (Civil Affairs) passed out condoms in Korea back in the 70’s & 80’s when I was there.
Doesn’t the old jimmy hat double as a muzzle protector against sand and water?
Good. Now they can practice safe clusterf***ing.
It's what happens when you leave your brass hanging out.
I can’t believe our government is supporting birth control. What they need is abstinence-only programs. /s
Yes, though I’ve never had to do it, that sounds like a perfectly good use to me.
Also useful for protecting a handlebar-mounted GPS on a motorbike from the rain.
:::Sigh::: Too bad our military heros aren’t always moral heros.
That has to be the most naive comment I've seen in a good long time. Just be thankful that most first world militaries have gone past rape and plunder.
Besides, the condoms have a lot of other uses like keeping dust and rain out of your rifle's barrel. Any other soldiers and Marines can come up with a lot more uses.
Not naive, just wistful. It takes a bit of the shine off the brass buttons on their dress uniforms when they've been sleeping around with anything that will lift its skirts.
"We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;" -- Rudyard Kipling, "Tommy"
Yes they were.
They're soldiers, not saints. A few however, are both.
:::sigh:::: Yes, I know.
“This is my rifle, this is my gun.”
“This is for fighting, this is for fun.”
A left and a right?
Common practice in years past.
Wasn’t it part of the ‘Pro-Pack’ handed out prior to leave or liberty?
Are you sure it’s bugs?
I went looking for it at. http://www.guba.org
Given what they got (’Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips’ is my favorite) I’d expect them to have such a gem.
Try searching for ‘Banned Cartoons’. I’m disappointed to see they took down ‘Buried Treasure’ though.
A Feller could have good weekend in LasVegas with one of these survival kits...
If you want to see a couple of the WWII films, go to the “SMOKING GUN” web site and look in the video section. There is also a film for explaining the “facts” to (cough) Trainables” . Look under NSFW for 10 videos and I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR KEYBOARD AND SCREEN MALFUNCTIONS !!!!
I'm just really hoping that "a pair", as in "one for both of you", isn't some leftover remnant from Der Schlickmeister's Don't Ask, Don't Tell contribution to our military.
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