Alcohol in the combat zone. Thoughts?

I was in the USAF in the early 70s. We drank everywhere. Was in the US Army reserves in the mid 80s and we just couldn't drink while "under arms in the field." OK, fair enough. I was an active duty JAG during Desert Storm for the creation of GO-1. It came as a result of not wishing to offend Saudi Muslim fundamentalist sensibilities as we flowed 250,000 never before seen Americans into the center of Islam. (We failed, we offended. We tried our very best.) Commanders loved GO-1 because it reduced disciplinary offenses and so it became "defacto" any where any time. I deployed to Coronet White in 1995 to Cold Lake, Canada and it was in effect. In Canada. A MSgt got an Art 15 for having beer in his tent. In the Middle East in 2000 and beyond USCENTOM declared the entire region dry. I saw plenty of General Officers come to Kuwait and they always visited our bar at the US Embassy. As a bartender and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the AEWA, I refused to serve the CENTCOM Deputy citing GO-1 and he went to a classified phone and had his SJA write up an exception to GO-1 policy. We named the exception after him. So we know the rear echelon will always have their liquor and not care about the troops. Hypocrites. I've been in the region way too long to believe anybody will be offended if our members have 2 beers while deployed to some sh** hole in some Stan. It's perfectly legal to drink in Dubai. Good Muslims accommodate and many consider it a personal choice. Many drink quite openly. For the few troops than cannot handle 2 beers and misbehave, we have the Purple Harpoon and we can punish as needed. I'm convinced the inability of our troops to release stress while deployed is a leading "gateway" to suicides and bad behavior upon return. We tell them "No SEX!" even if they are married. We discourage smoking. They cannot buy a Playboy or Playgirl and jerk off because of the "Honor and Decency in the Military Act." It is no longer 1991. The people who don't like alcohol already hate us but the bulk of folks over there who love us drink! So let's get smart and drop GO-1 as quick as we dropped the Confederate Flag. Move forward not back.

This is completely dependent on where you are.

If you at a FOB you don't need to be drinking.

If you are at one of the (no insult meant by this, just trying to differentiate) "R&R" bases then sure. Because they have a defense force in place and you are not an integral part of it.

Just my two cents......but yes a beer does taste really good after a few months of GAC(s) and the long flight to Al Udeid or Manas.

I have long thought that we should be able to. At the Air Force base in Manas they were allowed 2 beers a day and there weren't any issues that I am aware of. The reasoning behind it was that it is a cultural faux pas to drink in a Muslim country, hence the no alcohol policy. But I have to agree with you that on base, for soldiers not going out on missions, that 2 beers would be a huge stress reliever

This should be a no brainer.

Absolutely, After a hard day of blowing stuff up I need a drinky. That's what made Vietnam a better place to hold a war than Iraq or Afghanistan. My vote for the next war is the Caymen Islands, Perhaps we can find all the money that is hidden there

It would go a long way to helping reduce the stress of the everyday grind during a deployment.

It is really a matter of the concept of everyone is their brothers keeper. You must watch out for the guy to your left and right and ensure you are all doing the right thing. Having a two beer limit in a combat zone is not all that bad. Yes, like always, you will have those who will find ways to break the rules. Then you punish them. During one of my deployments, we had some individuals that obtained alcohol and got drunk. The next morning we took them out in the heat for an extra PT session and worked the alcohol out of their system. Needless to say no one tried sneaking alcohol the rest of the deployment.
There have been select groups that have had alcohol during their deployments, but it has not effected their mission. Soldiers will adapt and adhere to the rules when given a chance.

Not that a combat zone effect the following example this is why I said no.

We had a case where a soldier got so drunk she passed out and was raped by two soldiers. They filmed it and were convicted. So should it be allowed no. In a combat enviroment and a noncombat one there will always be the abuse of it. They got it when it wasn't allowed and over endulged causing the unit mission to be effected during the trial. State side that same mission would be effected but it may not actively cause the loss of Soldiers in direct combat until they miss training for something.
Arguement can be made well they over endulged...well you give a Soldier a inch and they will take a mile.

SFC (Join to see) The Navy used to allow one beer on extended deployments. One beer for the WHOLE deployment. I don't know if they still do that tradition. As for in theater...I don't think that's a good idea.

I do, however, wish they'd revert the drinking age on base to 18, like it was when I first went it. As the saying goes, if you're old enough to die for your country, you're old enough to have a drink.

you never know what could happen and soldiers need to be ready for anything.