The Military Has Overkilled Alcohol With Big Collateral Damage. Do we over-mitigate the risks associated with alcohol consumption?

I do miss the EM, NCO, and O-clubs. Mandatory beer calls after big ops, receptions, 4-day send-offs. In Germany, we had a company bar run by the recent short-timer NCO and dui's fell off the map. The BN CDR and CSM would join from time to time. AAFES shut us down because for the first time in.......forever, the soda machines on every floor that stocked Budweiser for $1 weren't sold out. It wasn't anarchy, it was manageable fun and the biggest fear was being banned from the club for bad behavior. There will be drinking. Period. The more restrictions that were imposed in the barracks, the more the DUI's went up. 1 six-pack per man rules made DUIs skyrocket. The MP's wuld just stop every car leaving barracks areas after 9pm. Some posts gave MP's ARCOMs for nabbing a certain amount od DUIs (Fort Irwin, Fort Drum, and Fort Campbell-early 90's). Moderation, people. Look out for your buddies, designated drivers, report abuse and overuse, and PLEASE give the CQ a taxi fund cash box for the strays. That is how you look out for service members.

The way we treat our soldiers regarding alcohol is indicative of how we treat them with everything else. We have forgotten how to hold individuals accountable for their individual actuons and apply policies in a broad manner as step to mitigate or eliminate the problem on paper. We as a country have demonized alcohol consumption to the point that it is enticing to younger teens and college age minors to where they abuse it because they are not taught any better at a younger age. If you wear the uniform, you are expected to conduct yourself at a higher level than a frat member. Allow NCOs to do their job and mentor their soldiers and keep them in check. Create policies that foster comraderie and responsibility. I'd rather keep my Joes and Janes close and show them that they can have fun while drinking without letting it get out of hand because we look out for each other as we should be doing. Why is suicide rate up? Because we don't know our soldiers as well as we think.

I too remember the "two-beer" lunch, albeit briefly, when I first arrived at my first duty station, Ft. Carson back in '88. Each brigade sized element had it's own EM Club (Raiders Den, Bulldog Lounge, Chiefs Den etc) as well as the NCO and Officer's Clubs. Hell I met my wife at the Bulldog Lounge and we are still together 27-years later lol! I also remember when unit activities included at least one keg of beer as well as the non-alcoholic beverages for those who didn't imbibe. As the EM clubs began to go the way of the Do-Do bird, and we moved away from alcohol being allowed at unit functions, there was a rapid increase in DUI and other alcohol related incidents off-post and we went "full-potato" in how we treated adults and alcohol. As I grew in rank during my career I was always wary of having even one drink during the occasional "Hail & Farewell", "Stable Call" or "Right Arm Night", for fear of receiving the "stink-eye" from someone senior to me or the possibility of getting pulled over after I left the establishment and getting put through a battery of tests to determine whether I was a candidate for the drunk tank and ASAP. Like a lot of other areas, we as leaders fail to do a good job of mentoring our service members about alcohol consumption; seems we are more interested in losing our minds when they step on themselves than "teaching" them responsibly how to handle in moderation.