The managers of the armed services know that. But in the regulated life of the military, virtually every facet of human existence has been codified into do's and don'ts - hair length, circumstances for saluting or not saluting, positioning of insignia, and so on.
In my long-ago service in the U.S. Navy, three topics were officiallly ruled unsuitable for mealtime conversation: women, politics and religion.
Was the motivating fear that we might find ourselves talking about conflicting politics and religions, but about the same women? They didn't tell us.
Of current topicality in the realm of military regulations, there's sex.
The reality, of course, is that the regulations are accompanied by an unspoken understanding in the military culture that the regs are often out of touch with practicality, if not reality - as embodied in the old saying, ``There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way.''
Even more important, it is understood that regulations fall into two separate categories: those that must be closely obeyed, such as the sanctity of the chain of command, and those that can be safely ignored, usually discreetly, but sometimes right out in the open. Sex is in the latter category and has always been.
In the military, sex is entangled in a web of rules that have been largely abandoned by civilians. ``Don't ask, don't tell'' for gays. No adultery for gays or straights. No sex between higher and lower ranks.
But, in fact, free-wheeling sex, without regard to wedding bands, is an ancient adjunct of the military life.
Prostitution, in equal availability for the wedded and unwedded, flourishes on the periphery of military bases, at home and abroad. In my Navy days, whenever we pulled into port, a heaping tub of giveaway condoms was conspicuously positioned at the gangway for all going ashore.
