[dandylion]

Back in the 80's and 90's the military was just starting to go all-in with coed ranks. I heard a few stories from reliable sources that I couldn't help wishing I had witnessed firsthand.

1. A large support ship (non-combatant) was being relocated for some reason and was given a port visit in the Mediterranean. There would have been 100-200 women in the crew. As soon as they let everybody go on liberty, all the female sailors made a beeline for the topless beach. Apparently the males were quite taken aback. They had all but forgotten that these shipmates were in fact women until all the breasts came out from under wraps.

2. There was a fleet training organization that was large enough that it had its own men's and women's barracks. When the officers on duty made their evening rounds, they were pretty much ignored by the women. It was a regular occurence for them to see partly or completely naked women sleeping in their bunks, walking to and from the shower, etc.

3. On a smaller ship with only a few women assigned, I was walking around with one of them. We had to go through a berthing area where 30-40 men lived in order to get to other spaces far forward in the ship. This was the middle of the work day and nobody was around. But I asked her how it worked at other times. She said that she had to yell "female on deck" when she entered. I asked her if all the guys covered up then. She shrugged and replied "some do, some don't".

Nowadays the higher-ups have cracked down on these shenanigans. As a result you hear about hidden camera incidents which I personally find intrusive and disturbing. But all the harmless fun is probably gone now.