When You’re Running to the Bathroom

Or at least thinking about it (because we all know nurses have bladders the size of Winnebago water tanks, right?) take a moment to think about your fellow nurses who are in the military. Tammy Swofford is a nurse in the Naval Reserve, and on her blog shares her thoughts about many things pertaining to military service, political policy, and what it’s like to be a nurse in the service.

We know it’s hard to get a bathroom break here — but this is what you’d face if you were in the service:

This photo shows the female head (latrine) within the enclosed building, and the field latrine built by one of the men on the Advance Party of WATC02 (Ghana, W. Africa) I was also Advance Party and was one of the first to use the enclosed female latrine. Did I mention that when I sat on the toilet I heard a “swish” and caught sight of a snake in the bowl and ran in terror with my pants around my ankles?

Basically, the male latrine required digging a pit, popping a pipe down into the pit and filling the pit with gravel, placing a screen over the top of the urinal. In the field there is really no complete privacy, and so it is up to the individual to either allow a measure of dignity in the latrine or…. have a sense of humor and take a few pictures.

Worst field latrine was during an exercise which went far into the night. The “enemy” had cut our generators and we were working in the medical tents in the dark. Feeling nature’s call, a male Naval officer escorted me through the brush and “enemy fire” to the latrine. (more…)