Posted on Aug 7, 2016
Can a commander restrict soldiers from purchasing energy drinks during AT?
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I have a friend in the NJ Army National Guard who's on AT right now, and just got a message from higher saying the BC and CSM have decreed that no Soldiers are allowed to purchase or consume energy drinks (Monster, Red Bull, etc....) for the remainder of AT.
Can they do this, absent any wrongdoing on the part of an individual Soldier? These things are legal beverages, and coffee's a stimulant too......
Can they do this, absent any wrongdoing on the part of an individual Soldier? These things are legal beverages, and coffee's a stimulant too......
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Annual Training
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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Short answer is yes. It's a legal order. Now the consequences of enforcing, morale, etc. will come along with it along with the responsibility for the results. BTW your comments on the second paragraph are irrelevant to the argument. Lots of things are restricted to MILs that are sold in town system wide. Spice, glass pipes, etc.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
I think his point with the second paragraph was that these are "outside" regulatory restrictions (like Spice, Paraphernalia, etc). Although the idea of Commanders adding to regulation is well established, adding to them to the point where they are "different" or violate the intent of the regs gets really strange.
I think that might be where his logic is. We have "food" items being removed from availability as opposed to "substance or items." But merely a subset, which could be considered directly comparable to other allowed stimulants (coffee, soda, etc).
I think that might be where his logic is. We have "food" items being removed from availability as opposed to "substance or items." But merely a subset, which could be considered directly comparable to other allowed stimulants (coffee, soda, etc).
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It isn't illegal, unethical, or immoral. Smells like a lawful, albeit unpopular, order. I suspect it was a risk management decision, for good reason.
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The first thing that comes to mind is, "Never give an order you know will not be obeyed" The second things is, "Never give an order if your not going to follow though"
So can the commander ? Sure they can.
Should they? likley no.
So can the commander ? Sure they can.
Should they? likley no.
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the only thing that's illegal to take away is excess amounts of sleep, food, and water. alcohol is also legal, but commanders limit its consumption all the time.
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CW3 (Join to see)
Alcohol is only legal for those of us 21 years of age or older, and is already restricted in its use. Comparing energy drinks to alcohol is apples and oranges.
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CW3 (Join to see)
Yep, they sure can do it. Though honestly I'm not sure how they're going to enforce it! Do you know where these Soldiers are staying while on AT? No need to break OPSEC, all I'm asking is, are they staying in barracks, hotel out in town, etc.? If staying in the barracks, their rooms can definitely be inspected to look for evidence of energy drinks. If they're staying in hotels, it would be pretty much impossible to inspect that kind of room.
Yep, they sure can do it. Though honestly I'm not sure how they're going to enforce it! Do you know where these Soldiers are staying while on AT? No need to break OPSEC, all I'm asking is, are they staying in barracks, hotel out in town, etc.? If staying in the barracks, their rooms can definitely be inspected to look for evidence of energy drinks. If they're staying in hotels, it would be pretty much impossible to inspect that kind of room.
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Yes. I haven't had it happen on AT but when I was Active Duty and we would head out to the desert for X number of weeks, we were sometimes told not to bring such drinks. The caffeine being a dietetic and in such high amounts, was the stated reason.
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