[Lieberfrau]

Israeli Paratroopers - the ones who get most of the action, but also most of the trouble - walk 30 kilometers in full battle gear to earn the "right" to be conscripted to defend Israel.

For decades, they have had a tradition, which is wearing a lucky charm of "patchouli", a little amulet said to carry the intimate fluids of their girlfriends.

Col. Amir Baram now decided to pull the moral plug on the fighters by once again banning this custom. It had been attempted before. According to Baram, it's morally wrong and against the IDF code of conduct (which has no rule on body fluid pendants).

The soldiers of the 202. batallion went on strike in response to this decision. Not officially, but suddenly, they all seem sick and unable to perform.
Baram threatens anyone who still wears cooch around his neck, with court-martial for insubordination.

Source:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/news...hp?id=5328&r=1

Personally, last time I checked, morals are highly subjective. What I find morally wrong here, is to deny people who put their lives on the line for all of us, this silly little "lucky charm". It may disgust Baram, but hundreds of men disagree...
While such an important batallion shouldn't strike over such things, I think their commander's priorities are no less fucked up.

[kellyhound]

[Lieberfrau]

LOL ummm no not quite like that methinks. Also, I want to see a man wearing a miniature mold of his dick around his neck.

[juliemd]

um, that is not what that is.

Ynet reported that Brigade Commander Colonel Amir Baram has decided to ban the practice of wearing a vial of patchouli scent on a string around the soldiers' neck. The practice has been accompanying the 202 Auxiliary Company for over 30 years.

In response, the soldiers threatened mutiny, and several said they would halt their activities.

Lior Shabat, 32, who completed his military service in 2001, said "we all serve in the reserves together and we all took part in the Second Lebanon War. The patchouli mascot has accompanied us since our first day in the army. It's something that unites everyone. When you travel in South America and you see someone wearing a patchouli vial around his neck, you immediately know where he came from.

"All those urban legends about the content of the vial (women's bodily liquid) are totally fabricated," he added

Patchouli grows well in warm to tropical climates. It thrives in hot weather, but not direct sunlight. If the plant withers due to lack of watering, it will recover well and quickly after it has been watered. The seed-producing flowers are very fragrant and bloom in late fall. The tiny seeds may be harvested for planting, but they are very delicate and easily crushed. Cuttings from the mother plant can also be rooted in water to produce additional plants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patchouli

[Sharon]

Baram threatens anyone who still wears cooch around his neck, with court-martial for insubordination.

Imagine a phial full of.... man juice

[Lieberfrau]

Julie thanks for that article. This seems to be a follow-up as the one I was referring to, did not state any such thing and it was safe to assume that it was really about cooch. After all, he did justify his decision with "morals" and what would be immoral about actual patchouli? I don't know if I believe Lior, although his story is supported by testimonies from real people in Waltz with Bashir.