Want Free Breast Implants? Join the Army

Real Beauty News on 8 Oct 2008 at 8:06am

Not the United States military, of course. In 2006, the Australian Navy spent over 1 million dollars of taxpayer money for service personnel to have cosmetic procedures. A plastic surgeon from Los Angeles, California recently appeared on the SpikeTV show Manswers to discuss the peculiar policies of the Australian Navy.

Dr. Ken Siporin explained why their Navy might do such a thing. He suggests that breast implants have a tendency to increase confidence in women; something important for the Navy, no doubt.

Last year, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that the Australian Navy paid for breast implants costing as much as $10,000 in order to address low self-esteem and other psychological issues among their female personnel. One soldier reported that, "some of the girls don't feel good about themselves [and] there's a real culture of looking good and fit."

Also last year, defense spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic defended the policy, saying, "any suggestion that breast operations were carried out to make the women 'look sexy' were not only wrong, but insulting.

The Australian Navy pays for cosmetic procedures only after a psychological evaluation determines that they might help.

Comments (0)

Sharon at RealSelf (Community Manager) 10 Oct 2008
This surprised me at first, but it really shouldn't considering where I live! Here in the UK, plastic surgery on the NHS (government health care) is allowed under certain conditions (tummy tucks, breast implants, breast reductions and rhinoplasties are the most common). Not all cases are approved and you need a psych consult to prove that you're suffering mentally, but I'd venture a guess that we spend over £500,000 ($1mil) a year on plastic surgery, easily. Does Australia have a programme similar to the NHS? I really should look that up...
A.R. (unregistered guest) 20 Apr 2009
Actually yes we do, its called medicare....

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