A writer for the Marine Corps Times bemoans the topic of “farts” in a recent article.

So here’s the news:  audible farting has been banned for some Marines downrange because it offends the Afghans…

Of course, that’s not the only cultural guidance they get:

They’re not supposed to cuss because it could be misunderstood (that one goes out the window a lot). And they stay away from talking about politics, religion or girls because those topics could escalate into major disagreements (they can’t communicate anyway because of the language barrier).

The mention of religion is interesting because of how much religion is integral to the war effort (and the fact religion may actually be viewed positively in Afghanistan).  Of course, most (though certainly not all) of those discussions occur on a strategic level by men trained in such interactions.  They probably don’t want Privates getting into an argument with their Afghan counterparts on the validity of the “Ground Zero” mosque or the presence of US military Buddhists and US Army Jewish Rabbis on Afghan soil.