The 'shreds' thing was obviously a great ice-breaker and a good idea. I've worked with U.S. servicemen/women for the last few years now. Their view is that you shouldn't ask and similarly, don't tell. It may be viewed by some to be a somewhat blinkered view, but it actually seems to work. If anyone brings anything like that up in service conversation, it's immediately frowned upon. I don't actually give a hoot what peoples preferences are, just keep them private, anything that follows will only be speculation by third parties.
PingDit