Draft Board Physical Exams: Conscripts standing naked in front of psychiatrist

In my photo album, I posted a sketch drawing which has been making its rounds on the internet for over two decades, demonstrating a practice at at some of the MEPS requiring examinees to stand naked before psychiatrists during their draft pre-induction exams This topic usually stimulates memories or interest. I was able to locate this explanation on why the Navy shrinks often used this interview method on new recruits. Perhaps this is why the practice found its way to some of the draft board examining centers during the Vietnam War era draft.

Sound familiar anyone?

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Neuropsychiatric examination of recruits at the United States Naval Training Station, Newport

(…) "The psychiatric examination takes place immediately after the physical examination, while the recruit is still un- dressed. It averages three minutes in length and proceeds as follows: The recruit stands stripped before the psychiatrist, who opens the examination by asking the candidate his age. A naked recruit requires about 25 per cent less time to examine, since his lack of clothing seems to prompt him to give direct, or "naked", answers to the questions put to him by the physician.

Before the first question has been asked, however, much has gone on in the examiner's mind. He has quickly "sized up" the recruit, his general appearance and his actions in closing the door and approaching the examiner's table.

These observations added to the recruit's expression and manner in answering questions constitute the first impression, which greatly influences the line of questioning which the examiner will take. Despite glib denials of the boy subsequently, a member of the staff may write "criminal record" on the "spot card" from this first impression and have it confirmed by the social service report two or three weeks later.

The momentary survey at the beginning of the interview has impressions added to it as the examination progresses. After the statement of his age, the recruit is asked how far he went in school. This answer aids in the preliminary evaluation of his intelligence. (…)

The smartest psychopathic or criminally delinquent person can occasionally be surprised into admitting a criminal record if the questions are fired at him at such speed that standing there naked he has no time to evade or lie convincingly. (…)

It is possible to gain a rough idea of a recruit's veracity by questioning him about masturbation. Most will answer in the affirmative, psychopathic persons included. The embarrassment caused by such a question also is of value in breaking down the resistance of the sullen, uncooperative type of psychopathic person.

The following questions are of definite value in revealing a homosexual person: "Was it a younger or an older boy who taught you to masturbate?" is followed by "Do you masturbate with older or with younger boys?" (…)

If no suspicious findings are made the recruit is passed and sent on to the supply department for his outfit. (...)

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Before 2005 in Turkey, mandatory military service medical examinations were notorious for their highly uncomfortable and embarrassing procedures. Young men were often gathered at the local military recruitment office and instructed to strip down to their underwear, sometimes right in the courtyard where women, children, and anyone passing by could see them. The sight of dozens of young men standing awkwardly in their underwear in plain view of the public was a common, yet deeply humiliating, experience.

Inside the examination room, the process became even more invasive. Orders such as “Donlar dize, başlar yukarı” (“Underwear down to the knees, no higher”) were shouted, leaving the young men frozen with embarrassment as they followed the command. In some cases, they were asked to remove all their clothes completely and stand naked in front of military doctors and other staff for detailed inspections. The lack of privacy heightened the sense of shame, as the young men had no choice but to comply while trying to avoid eye contact with others.

Adding to the humiliation, the examinations were often carried out in groups, with no curtains or partitions for privacy. Some conscripts later recounted the surreal experience of standing naked in a cold, sterile room while doctors evaluated their physical fitness, often making clinical comments about their bodies. For many, these moments were burned into memory as some of the most mortifying of their lives, especially knowing that the whole process began under the watchful eyes of their local community in the recruitment office courtyard.

When I visited my grandparents in their village, I had an experience that has stayed with me vividly. Near their house was the local military recruitment office, and on a hot summer day in 1999, I noticed a scene through the open windows of the building.

Inside, the young men from the neighborhood, whom I looked up to as strong and confident role models, were standing completely naked, holding pieces of paper, waiting for their medical examinations. From where I stood, I could clearly see their bare backsides and even their privates as they shifted uncomfortably, exposed to everyone in the room and anyone who happened to glance in through the windows.

The sun was scorching, adding to the surreal atmosphere, and the lack of privacy was striking. It was both shocking and unsettling to witness these neighborhood boys, who usually carried themselves with pride and dignity, in such a vulnerable and humiliating position. I remember thinking about how embarrassing it must have been for them to stand there, stripped of all dignity, waiting for their turn under the judgmental eyes of strangers.

Years later, the same thing happened to me. During my own military medical examination, I was subjected to the same humiliating process. They made me strip completely naked not once, but three times during different stages of the examination. The sense of exposure and vulnerability was overwhelming, and the memory of being stripped of all dignity in front of strangers still lingers with me to this day. It felt as though history had repeated itself, forcing me to relive the very scene I had witnessed as a teenager.