I know this is an old thread,. but I just saw it...
When I was in the Navy and my ship was in the Mediterranean,
to foster friendship between various navies of other countries,
and for all of us to learn about the other, such as the difference
between living quarters, duties, mess duties and meals...some
of the crews from a number of ships swapped crews of about 10
men for a four day stay.
My ship, a large aircraft carrier with over 3500 men, swapped
crews with three ships...Italian, British, and Greek navy vessels.
I was sent with a group to an Italian ship.
I had heard about a special push-up called a BNPU (BenPu),
which was usually done to new recruits, but did not know what
it actually was. It seems that it is something known about and
practiced everywhere...even in the Italian Navy....but known by
another name which I now forget. I later was told that BNPU
meant...brown nose push ups.
When we got on board, the first night some of the Italian guys
were horsing around with one of their new crew members who
had just reported aboard that day. They told him he had to
pass the blind-folded push-up test. We stood around and
watched...not knowing what would happen. As the others said,
he was held down at first...but then let go and he ended up with
his face in a very hairy Italian ass. Everyone laughed (except
him) and then we had some wine, bread, sausage and cheese
before turning in.
Later, I heard it was a speciality of the Marines aboard ships when new men reported aboard for their first time...and were
not aware of what it was. One time when talking about our
military experiences, I asked my Marine son if he had heard of
it and he said it was still a popular "welcome" practice.
