Why do a lot of soldiers overly drink?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 18:42:55 -0400

I have noticed a up trend to soldiers drinking a lot more now a days. I have also seen a lot more alcohol related incidents and soldiers having to go to ASAP. Is it just me seeing this or are other people seeing it to?

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Sep 3 at 2015 6:43 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 18:43:59 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member In my opinion, they are looking for a way out and drink alcohol to offset many situations//e.g., stress,.....inclusive situations.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 3 at 2015 6:45 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 18:45:42 -0400

You should have seen some Soldiers in the mid 90's. And then there were the Soldiers at LRMC in the early 2000's

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Sep 3 at 2015 7:00 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 19:00:53 -0400

I remember heavy drinking all around in 'Nam boosted by heavy drug use. We had less of it on ships as it was harder to stash and use it. But creative sailors always figured out a way....

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Sep 3 at 2015 7:19 PM

SGT Jerrold Pesz — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 19:19:26 -0400

Drinking has always been a problem for the military. In the sixties there were frequently articles in our base newspaper and other army publications wanting to know why so many career army people became alcoholics. Duh. We could buy a 16 oz beer at the NCO club for 15 cents and a mixed drink for a quarter. During happy hour you got two for one. At the bulk store a six pack of 16 oz beer was 88 cents. Add to that the fact that you were often somewhere where there was little else to do and the civilians downtown hated us. Many of the single people that I knew headed straight to the club when they finished work and stayed until it closed. When there is nothing to do but hang out in a bar and drink and it is dirt cheap lots of people do it. Of course during that time while the NCOs were drinking at the club their troops were in the barracks smoking dope. This problem is NOT new.

Response by SN Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 3 at 2015 7:44 PM

SN Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 19:44:11 -0400

I believe if the drinking age was lower the population can learn how to drink in moderation earlier and not do stupid stuff with alcohol and get into trouble.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 4 at 2015 2:44 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 02:44:10 -0400

I guess some things never change. I can only speak from Personal Experience. I am German, English, Scottish and French American. My Ancestors were Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. All these cultures incorporate Alcohol into lots of their religious and cultural expressions. As a Military Man. I came out of Boot Camp in Orlando and too Tech School in Pensacola at the time you could be 18 and get hard booze so you are damn strait tooting I developed a taste. I drank a lot in A-School. Other Reasons/Causes, Isolated Duty. Ever been to Adak, AK. Gorgeous and Harsh Tundra, Cheap Booze and Very Short Days during the Winter. Ever been to Diego Garcia, Again Cheap Booze and removal from my Family. I would say that during my two "Isolated" tours that there probably wasn't a day that I was completely sober.

Response by PO3 Thomas McGee made Aug 24 at 2016 6:38 AM

PO3 Thomas McGee — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 06:38:07 -0400

I think it relates to morale and what condition they are in. We saw an uptick in drinking and drunken related law issues when I was in. Believe it or not it ties to who is in office. if the guys believe they are not appreciated and or cared, drinking goes up. Hell go back in the records between Bush Sr. to Clinton. Drinking went up, morale was down.
It also depends on what they have seen or done. Soldiers that have seen combat or are in high stress conditions have a tendency to drink more than non combatants (POGs). Submariners drink alot more than most surface sailors. I think this is because of the high stress conditions we live in day in and day out.
Home life also has alot to do with it, as a submariner myself I saw alot of guys stressing while on deployment wondering if 'Jody' was taking care of their wives. If they believe homelife is in a bad way they drink as a coping mechanism.
Fact is there is no one reason but a multitude of reasons. It all depends on the situation from one servicemen to the next.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2016 11:51 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 11:51:54 -0400

This is a bit late but I would have to say because it is a social norm, peer pressure on a lot of behalfs and because ultimately I would have to say boredom.

Response by SPC Sheila Lewis made Aug 25 at 2016 1:02 PM

SPC Sheila Lewis — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 13:02:54 -0400

I had the harsh misfortune of both parents dying within eighteen months of each other. "What if my children were with me?" Those words stopped me in my tracts and I am so greatful to that NCO... March 2016 one of my sisters was killed in a head-on collision....the other driver was a DUI. This weighs heavily on my conscience.

Response by MSG Dave Rossman made Aug 26 at 2016 11:34 PM

MSG Dave Rossman — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 23:34:54 -0400

I've deployed so many times, I don't even think about it

Response by PO2 Michael Landtroop made Aug 27 at 2016 11:40 PM

PO2 Michael Landtroop — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 23:40:38 -0400

Cause that is all that is to do.

Response by PO2 Kiera Clark made Sep 4 at 2016 9:48 PM

PO2 Kiera Clark — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 21:48:41 -0400

Social lubricant.

Response by LCpl Patrick Gillman made Sep 6 at 2016 12:46 AM

LCpl Patrick Gillman — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 00:46:12 -0400

To cope with what they have been through

Response by CPT Earl George made Sep 7 at 2016 3:43 PM

CPT Earl George — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 15:43:42 -0400

Lack of something to do when you have down time. In Germany, BG Willard Latham, the Schweinfurt military community leader ran everybody 5 miles at the end of the day on Mondays and Fridays in order to keep crime and misbehavior down.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 7 at 2016 4:21 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 16:21:49 -0400

I think part of it is a mix of the amount to publicity that it receives now, the amount of chatter surrounding it, the hard push to de-glamorize it, an the greater attention paid to it. Allow me to explain:

In this new-age, technology-based world we now live in, information is passed around the globe in seconds. So it is easier to hone in on it, because it is talked about faster and more frequently.

The military across the board is making a hard push to de-glamorize the consumption and sale of alcohol. So when a soldier overdoes it, or makes a habit of doing so, it reflects (kind of foolishly) on the leadership for "not maintaining the standards of alcohol control." So it is made a bigger deal.

Now, in addition to this, all of the drunken tales that the old dogs have lead us in to our final point. There is more attention paid to alcohol-related incidents BECAUSE OF the shenanigans of our old-school brethren. They have led us into an age of alcohol being commonplace and often, in some circles, an expectation. So, as a means of quelling the shenanigans, leadership is focusing more on the consumption and possession of alcohol.

So I think the trend hasn't really changed, but merely the attention and publication of it. It's being talked about more now than it used to be, and so it is reported on more, and so you SEE more about it.

Does this make sense to anyone other than me?

Response by MSgt Dennis LeRoy Duncan MSGT, USAF, Retired made Sep 8 at 2016 10:47 PM

MSgt Dennis LeRoy Duncan MSGT, USAF, Retired — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 22:47:06 -0400

ETOH is short term PTSD and life problems blocker.

Response by SPC Byron Skinner made Mar 17 at 2017 2:13 AM

SPC Byron Skinner — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 02:13:15 -0400

Sp4 Byron Skinner The consumption of alcohol can be traced from the fifth Century BC. In the Persian, Spartan and Athenian ground armies. A factor of what use to military life but really has disappeared in the current Army (I assume the Marines are the same but I have no personal reference to the Marines so I will exclude then). The Army then was made up of a high percentage of Draftees and a lot of RA's only enlisted to not get caught in the draft, was that we were always broke. An E-4 under two had a base pay gross of $121.00 a month. When the taxes and Saving Bond, laundry and other deducts came out you were left with about $65.00 a month. Granted cigarette were a $1.80 a carton, canned beer was "Grain Belt" at $.10 a can up to "Schlitz which was $.25 a can. Soldiers practiced what was called the "Infantry Life Style. That was sitting around the barracks on your foot lockers spit shining your boot for roll call Monday morning and smoking a cigarettes (anybody but myself remember the butt can?) sucking on a beer and lying and bullshitting. There was no TV in the barracks, and most of the radios were tuned in to WABC New York and Cousin Bruceie' The WABC signal went as far west as Texas and covered the south. If it was payday weekend and we were not stone broke yet we would call out to the Pizza or the Chicken Delight which delivered on base, If it was later on in the month we sat what the Mess Hall could whip up as Mid Rats. This all sounds incredibility dull and boring, and it was, but it was a great way to develop unit cohesion. In my case many of those friend ships have lasted for over 50 years. I don't see that bonding in the maneuver troops of today. Getting drunk together is the best way to see who has your six.

Response by SrA James Cannon made Mar 21 at 2017 10:47 AM

SrA James Cannon — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 10:47:47 -0400

It's part of the culture of the military and has been for years.

Response by PO1 Don Mac Intyre made Mar 21 at 2017 12:30 PM

PO1 Don Mac Intyre — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 12:30:40 -0400

Not everyone that drinks does so to get drunk. Some grown ups can actually act like responsible adults.

Response by PO1 Robert Chalmers made Mar 31 at 2017 7:55 AM

PO1 Robert Chalmers — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 07:55:10 -0400

Looking back, when I was a young, single soldier in the barracks, it was very similar to being in a college dorm. A lot of people in their late teens or early twenties, money in their pockets, and no one to tell them what to do with it. Combine that with the immaturity, peer pressure, and a college dorm-type atmosphere, not to mention the fact that you don't have to worry about rent or food, and you end up with an atmosphere similar to a mini Spring break, every other week.

Response by PO3 David Adams made Apr 13 at 2017 12:55 PM

PO3 David Adams — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 12:55:53 -0400

I did when I was serving cause of A - Being alone & Lonely - B - I could be Dead the Next Day - I even Volunteered for in Hospital Treatment Cause the Navy Thought I was an Alcoholic - Turned Out it Confirmed my belief that I wasn't I can Drink & Stop at 1 & I go Months at a Time without any alcohol

Response by PV2 Jodi Martinez made Apr 20 at 2017 12:28 PM

PV2 Jodi Martinez — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 12:28:27 -0400

It is a distraction device from everyday life, and often used in place of medication for depression

Response by LCpl Jaime N. made May 25 at 2017 1:01 PM

LCpl Jaime N. — Thu, 25 May 2017 13:01:18 -0400

We had a back in the 90's drive a Humvee into the barracks. We partied every night. We had scuff marks on the ceilings in the hallway from tag team wrestling. We had a guy try to scale from 3rd floor down to the ground and land on his head. One guy lost a Humvee to the desert at 29 palms. None of this was done sober. Drinking is a way of life in the military.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 16 at 2019 6:47 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 18:47:51 -0400

Sometimes it smooths the edges and makes them feel normal.