Posted on Apr 21, 2015
How do you think Servicemembers will respond to the new POWDERED ALCOHOL?
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It's in the news bigtime. It comes in little black packages like cup- o-soup or hot chocolate. It fits into a pocket. It's POWDERED ALCOHOL. I never tried it . Have you ? If so , what do you think? But the real question is how do you think service members will receive this? Do you see it being an issue at all? In a deployed setting? On the job in garrison ? What do we know about the product ? How many packets will get you drunk? What is your take on this item?
Alcohol
Soldiers
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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Somehow, I just can't envision powdered alcohol being a good idea.....I think the good idea fairy dropped the ball on this one.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
Honestly, it's not that much different than liquid alcohol conceptually.
Can we honestly call liquid alcohol a "good idea" ? Or because it is what we know, it's acceptable.
Can we honestly call liquid alcohol a "good idea" ? Or because it is what we know, it's acceptable.
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SGT Richard H.
While that's true, what makes me say that is the portability of it. It would be quite a bit easier for a guy to dump a packet into his coffee cup/canteen than to carry in a bottle. Think about how easy it would be to mail a few packets to your buddy when he's deployed and the ramifications should he get caught with it or worse, be drunk and the 5h1t hits the fan.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
SGT Richard H. And if he is, nail him to the wall. People do stupid things. You can't legislate stupidity. If people want alcohol, they can make it. You can make it out of anything you can ferment. You can smuggle it (bottles of scope, nyquil, etc). You can get alcohol if you really try. Hell, you can just keep a canteen full of the stuff stored in the bottom of your pack for a rainy day.
This stuff isn't a game changer. It's an evolution for the aspiring alcoholic.
It's absolutely something we need to be made aware of, and educate our guys on, but if we try to ban it, we're going to create a "streissand effect" around it. We'll draw attention to it to the point where everyone knows about it, and then they'll "just have to try it."
This stuff isn't a game changer. It's an evolution for the aspiring alcoholic.
It's absolutely something we need to be made aware of, and educate our guys on, but if we try to ban it, we're going to create a "streissand effect" around it. We'll draw attention to it to the point where everyone knows about it, and then they'll "just have to try it."
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SGT Richard H.
Oh, I think maybe I was too vague, Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS. There are lots of things that I don't think are a good idea....but I definitely don't advocate legislating anything on this. When that happens, we start getting into a whole other conversation about Government over-reach. I think we already have plenty of that to go around!
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This would be great for the field, no more packing heavy canteens filled with whiskey
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MSG Brad Sand
Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
Like I have said, I do not disagree...and I do not know enough about this product to be able to fully know what it can or cannot do. My concern...and I am sometimes concerned for my fellow man...is that the people using this product are not as likely to add it to water making it similar to beer, but to add it to beer making it twice as strong...or adding a couple and not realizing what they are doing to their liver and other drivers on the road when they get in their car. "I only had two beers?"
I actually look at people in the reverse, I work under the assumption most people are stupid, and there is nothing wrong with being stupid BUT even people who are not stupid, quickly become stupid when alcohol is added.
Like I have said, I do not disagree...and I do not know enough about this product to be able to fully know what it can or cannot do. My concern...and I am sometimes concerned for my fellow man...is that the people using this product are not as likely to add it to water making it similar to beer, but to add it to beer making it twice as strong...or adding a couple and not realizing what they are doing to their liver and other drivers on the road when they get in their car. "I only had two beers?"
I actually look at people in the reverse, I work under the assumption most people are stupid, and there is nothing wrong with being stupid BUT even people who are not stupid, quickly become stupid when alcohol is added.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
MSG Brad Sand I absolutely get that, and I work very hard to avoid thinking of people that way. This is not directed at you, it is directed at me. Each time I've approached it in reverse it has burnt me worse than taking the optimistic outlook.
I am very concerned for my fellow man, but I will not be their babysitter. They must learn to succeed and fail on their own. If they are going to use a product like alcohol (whether powdered or liquid), they have to learn. I can't always be there for them. They won't always have a Cpl or a Gunny there. They won't always have a reg, and if they can't make a simple decision based on the instructions on the back of a packet... they have much bigger problems.
I am very concerned for my fellow man, but I will not be their babysitter. They must learn to succeed and fail on their own. If they are going to use a product like alcohol (whether powdered or liquid), they have to learn. I can't always be there for them. They won't always have a Cpl or a Gunny there. They won't always have a reg, and if they can't make a simple decision based on the instructions on the back of a packet... they have much bigger problems.
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