Shortly after Bob MacDonald was hired by the Navy in 1999 to offer training in HIV prevention and treatment, he realized that sailors and Marines were not that interested in talking about sexual diseases. What they did want to discuss was unplanned pregnancy.So MacDonald, a civilian who manages public health activities for the Navy, started collecting data on the topic. He discovered that rates of unintended pregnancy in the armed services were higher than he expected, given the medical attention and access to contraception available to sailors.This was a big concern. Unplanned pregnancies and births were disrupting the working lives of Navy parents and straining their budgets as well as their health. Duty assignments were being rearranged and sailors were being removed from ships as their pregnancies progressed. Such adjustments might increase as more combat roles opened for women.Reducing unplanned pregnancies is its top priority, with lowering the rates of sexual disease a strong second. (The Army and Air Force run interventions for specific health concerns, such as the Air Force’s chlamydia program for women in boot camp. But neither offers a servicewide program like the Navy’s).
they were discussing putting women on ships prior to my discharge in Dec. '67 , i was on an aircraft carrier, don't know if they were on my ship just scuttlebutt at the time.
don't understand lack of restraint, granted when we were out to sea 30 days at a time away from home for months it gets lonely, men are taken care of by ports of call.
designated area's where there was pretty much nothing but sanctioned prostitution, women i don't know if that would have been an option with those men that were from those countries, or if they would have wanted to, some yes most ummm.
With MacDonald's encouragement, the Navy revised training films to concentrate on the social consequences of unplanned pregnancy and the possible impact of it on a career. It replaced outdated films about sexually transmitted infections, shifting the focus from scare tactics (photos of genital lesions, for example) to advice on risk reduction.
i remember those movies of the '60's we never payed attention we were repulsed by te infection scenes but like reefer madness big time exageration, when we hit the beach it would be drink in one hand money inthe other, and you didn't need to shop.
what this article refers to i think are consenual which makes it all the more troublsome.
