4 reasons why showering on deployment is disgusting

Before deploying to a developing country, service members go through a variety of medical screenings and receive vaccinations to prepare their bodies for the microorganisms they'll come in contact with while overseas. After we arrive at our destinations, it's necessary to keep ourselves as clean as possible to prevent getting sick and developing skin infections by taking showers.

Some troops have to rough it, rinsing off using bottles of water, showering under bladder systems, or wiping themselves down with baby wipes to keep clean. Others are lucky enough to have showers setup near their berthing areas.

At first glance, cleaning our ourselves with a handful of baby wipes might sound pretty bad compared to using community showers — but you might prefer those wipes after reading this about military showers.

The bacteria on our bodies like to grow and get smelly, making frequent showers an essential. However, the quality of that shower is dependent on the type of soap you use and the cleanliness of the water with which you rinse.

If there are showers set up in your FOB, be sure to look into how often the water is tested. Someone should be checking pH, chlorine, and fecal matter levels.

The baby-wipe option might actually be a healthier choice.

Military showers are known for being use at high frequencies by service members who use the facility in a timely manner. As with any community-shower setup, not all the water goes down the drain immediately, and puddles being to build up.

As the next person in line, it's pretty gross to have to step into a pool of murky, leftover water. You should be wearing shower shoes, but even then, puddles could've risen higher than your protective soles — and it might not be just water you're dipping your toes in.

The open bay shower has been around for decades and will be around for many more. This setup is ideal for rinsing off large crowds who need to freshen up. Unfortunately, getting sprinkled with water that's splashing off of someone else's dirty body can make you feel even nastier than before.

On deployment, the vast majority of the military community wakes up, shaves, and then takes a quick shower. Showering off in a private stall may feel a little closer to home, but it also might be a curse in disguise.

When you've been forward deployed for months, you've probably found yourself in some fairly filthy places. Once you return to the FOB, a hot shower sounds like a good idea before settling down. However, the private stalls are pretty small — there's not much moving around in there. Be careful as you touch the walls and knots — they might not be sanitized as often as you'd hope.