Real Naked Soldiers On Base Make Us Stand at Attention

Since we're bombarded with many violent wartime images, sometimes it's nice to see soldiers being happy-go-lucky, preferably in the buff. With photos like these, the armed forces feels like either one big frat party, or a downtown underwear party.

We don't remotely know the story behind these photos. The American are clearly from recent Middle East skirmishes. A couple of the pics are obviously from foreign servicemen—Eastern European and possibly Latin American. They represent the classic phenomenon of straight men wishing to take nude photos together, which we've seen in countless foreign athletes, most explicitly in this British Rugby video. Nudie pics in the deeply homophobic world of the armed forces brings a tantalizing, taboo edge to the images. God knows there's enough army porn out there to make the boys in blue (or green camouflage) one of the last bastions of latent homoerotic tension. Of course, these soldiers probably didn't mind getting naked because it's merely horseplay without sexual undertones. Will the death of Don't Ask, Don't Tell change their comfortableness. Don't know. Can't Say. Don't want it to!

P.S. Later this week: Travel back to naked wartime with vintage naked soldiers!