Alcohol in the combat zone. Thoughts?

I don't see a problem with moderation. However moderation is difficult to enforce when testosterone runs high. I know because I was tasked to reduce Vietnam fighter pilot drinking to 2 beers at lunch.

1. Alcohol does not help with PTSD, in fact a big problem is self medicating with alcohol! 2. You really don't need alkies in a combat zone, and believe me they will find a way- we destroyed several stills in GF1, built by our folks. Stress does not build PTSD it aggravates it tho. PTSD is the brain constantly re living trauma. So you set up a canteen, which is crowded with off-duty folks, cracking a cold one- gee what a mortar/rocket target! Add to all this, it will just help the Taliban/ISIS with their propaganda, and inflame the public.

Has anyone ever showed you the blotter? Soldiers shouldn't even have access in garrison, we clearly aren't responsible enough as a group.

I'm an anachronism when considering this question. During Vietnam, booze of all types was readily available and widely consumed. There was an expectation of individual responsibility and individuals who rendered themselves unfit for duty were appropriately handled; just as individuals who had the opportunity to lie around and get sunburnt to the extent they were unfit for duty were held accountable for that. We also "policed" ourselves. If pilot, crew chief, gunner or copilot rendered themselves incapable of performing, generally an equally qualified individual showed up with some explanation of why they were replacing the originally assigned individual. Since the pilots manned part of the perimeter at some sites, and were often in our bunkers since the lines were continually probed, we all kept that in mind.
The abolition movement was more of a stateside phenomenon where drunk driving was seized upon and emphasis was placed upon stricter limiting of drinking in every part of the culture. Drinking began to decrease as both civilian and military consequences and enforcement increased. Then, in 1991, the Tailhook Convention incidents occurred and overindulgence became a career ender.
As has been said by many others in this string, we all pay for the indiscretions of a few.

I have no issues with a beer or three or maybe a cocktail but when you use these recreational beverages to self medicate PTSD or other disorders, you are headed down a very slick slope.

No. We all know it's there and is abused with tight regulation. There would be "con-ex raiding parties" like you've never seen before.

Absolutely. Who couldn't handle two beers? A cold one is just what is needed after a hard day at work.

Before Desert Storm the rule was "no drinking while under arms." Once you put your weapon up, or were pulled from the field you could drink. We had the UCMJ for troops who couldn't handle their liquor and behaved inappropriately. GO-1 was created in 1991, during Desert Storm, to not offend the sensibilities of our Saudi hosts, which was fair enough. After the Storm was over commanders saw a reduction in the amount of misbehavior and decided GO-1 was a great tool for the toolbox and so it spread. I read GO-1 during Bright Star 95 in Egypt and laughed when it said "Egypt is a fundamentalist Muslim country" which is baloney because they brew plenty of beer there and, as anybody who has ever been there will attest, they love a good time because Islam is a piece of, but not controlling, in their daily life and only the old crazy religious nut jobs want to ban alcohol.

In Korea in 1997 in time for Ulchi Focal Lens, some JAGs at headquarters wrote their version so tightly that a soldier assigned to Korea but on leave in the US could be charged with violating GO-1. It was shot down and corrected, but why have GO-1 at all anymore? Instead of providing a troop with a chance to self-medicate, commiserate with comrades and forget the horrors of the day, we criminalize it and have a lot of good troops get jammed up for a reason that simply doesn't make sense. It's as stupid as banning consensual sex among adults (even married couples on a joint deployment) because those troops not getting any would be sad. It's foolish and does nothing to improve morale.

If GO 1A is rescinded then I am for it. I personally don't see a problem with it. Our allied partners do it and it doesn't seem to affect their operations at all. However, I agree with Col Burroughs...if GO 1A is in effect, don't circumvent or try to work around it at all...period. It is a n order and some thought processes went into it. If it is rescinded then so be it but follow the orders as given or they aren't worth the paper they are written on.

If anyone thinks that alcohol isn't already available to our service members down range you are sadly mistaken. The locals know we like to unwind with a drink or two. I'm not promoting full out bars down range. But every other NATO country seems to be able to function in combat. If you continue with general order 1 it just makes it more exciting to drink downrange. If you treat people like adults with expectations put on them you might be surprised at the result. I drank a whole lot less after I turned 21 because there was no excitement to it anymore.