US Military Is America's Heaviest-Drinking Profession, Survey Finds

THParent

Founder - Service Academy Bacon Forums (SABF)
5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
6,723
marine-beer-1500.jpg


Just when I started thinking that everything in this World is changing, I am comforted by the fact that some things never do.

Ooh-Rah.

https://www.military.com/daily-news...rofession-survey-finds.html?ESRC=eb_190412.nl
 
Won’t be for long, not with the way the military has been discouraging alcohol consumption.
 
"Also, of the nearly 27,000 survey participants, only 81 said they were in the military. So the findings could simply reflect the habits of 81 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who like to drink. A lot."

That's really not a scientific study as it relates to "The Military". That group (only 81 people) is only 0.3% of the participants.
I call BS. I don't even think that's a real beer in the photo. ;)
 
"Also, of the nearly 27,000 survey participants, only 81 said they were in the military. So the findings could simply reflect the habits of 81 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who like to drink. A lot."

That's really not a scientific study as it relates to "The Military". That group (only 81 people) is only 0.3% of the participants.
I call BS. I don't even think that's a real beer in the photo. ;)
I dunno.... looks like a craft sour beer to me.
 
I had a (Bell's) Larry's Flamingo Fruit Fight a couple of months ago, it was quite good (and quite sour). One was enough, though. I wouldn't buy an entire 6-pack.
 
Very frustrating when deployed to see the Brits getting a beer ration but Americans... nothing. My dad and uncle got to drink in WWII, but we can’t. Heck, they got to go into bars in uniform and the world didn’t stop spinning.
I’m waiting for the day that alcohol is banned at the service academies. No more “Disco Dahlgren”. No more watching hockey games over a pitcher. What’s next?
 
Very frustrating when deployed to see the Brits getting a beer ration but Americans... nothing. My dad and uncle got to drink in WWII, but we can’t. Heck, they got to go into bars in uniform and the world didn’t stop spinning.
I’m waiting for the day that alcohol is banned at the service academies. No more “Disco Dahlgren”. No more watching hockey games over a pitcher. What’s next?

You say that like they haven't already tried that... One of the years I was at school, we went into no joke our version of "Prohibition." No alcohol consumption allowed on campus by any cadet. All it did was increase the number of DUI's and folks binge drinking in Highland Falls more so than they already were having an issue with...
 
You say that like they haven't already tried that... One of the years I was at school, we went into no joke our version of "Prohibition." No alcohol consumption allowed on campus by any cadet. All it did was increase the number of DUI's and folks binge drinking in Highland Falls more so than they already were having an issue with...

I think that is the argument against doing so again. It would merely drive it underground and farther away inducing other problems.
 
According to our upperclassmen when I started at USNA in the 70's, it was just after Maryland had lifted the law against serving alcohol to midshipmen within 25 miles of USNA. This was just a couple of years after the nationwide drinking age had gone from 21 down to 18 so now, within a space of a couple of years, it went from no mids being able to drink to most being allowed and there was much rejoicing by the alcohol merchants of Annapolis. Plebes were (of course) not allowed to drink within liberty limits and since they were not allowed out of liberty limits, plebes were thus not allowed to drink alcohol unless on leave AND away from the local area.
 
You say that like they haven't already tried that... One of the years I was at school, we went into no joke our version of "Prohibition." No alcohol consumption allowed on campus by any cadet. All it did was increase the number of DUI's and folks binge drinking in Highland Falls more so than they already were having an issue with...

I think that is the argument against doing so again. It would merely drive it underground and farther away inducing other problems.

Hopefully people realize that. Our culture (not just military) doesn't do a great job of teaching responsible drinking. Binge drinking and drinking to excess are social norms in environments like the military or college because we go from telling folks they can't have any alcohol, withholding it like its some kind of forbidden fruit, to saying have at it when they've made it to some arbitrary age. If you look at the rate of incidents in Europe which introduces social drinking much younger, normalizing it in the household at much earlier ages, they tend to be less egregious than a lot of the things that we have to deal with.
 
Heck, they got to go into bars in uniform and the world didn’t stop spinning.
Depending on the branch/unit guys will still go to bars on duty. We do in my squadron all the time, although usually its for some special function, a going away party or something along those lines. Granted it can feel a little strange drinking at a civilian bar in fatigues, when we'd probably fit in more if we were in Class A's or B's.

I see your point though. Also never understood why they took cigs out of rations.
 
Depending on the branch/unit guys will still go to bars on duty. We do in my squadron all the time, although usually its for some special function, a going away party or something along those lines. Granted it can feel a little strange drinking at a civilian bar in fatigues, when we'd probably fit in more if we were in Class A's or B's.

I see your point though. Also never understood why they took cigs out of rations.
Normally not something that one would do. But there are cases, such as soldiers traveling to/from combat zones for R&R. Technically it became a violation of General Order 1 to consume alcohol while you were traveling in uniform. I know when I came back I went to a steak place at DFW to have a nice meal during my layover. Drinks just started showing up. I felt it would have been rude to turn them down.
 
You say that like they haven't already tried that... One of the years I was at school, we went into no joke our version of "Prohibition." No alcohol consumption allowed on campus by any cadet. All it did was increase the number of DUI's and folks binge drinking in Highland Falls more so than they already were having an issue with...

I think that is the argument against doing so again. It would merely drive it underground and farther away inducing other problems.

This is probably true. As an aside, there is a direct correlation between increased use of drugs since the drinking age was again raised to 21. It became far easier for kids to get drugs, get parents' pills, etc, then it was to buy beer at the local convenience store, when you could ask an older kid to buy you beer. The irony is that the increased age to drink alcohol was supposed to decrease the number of DUI's. While that may have initially happened, it is back to crazy levels of driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs. So- if they make the SA's and college campuses all alcohol-free, it increases the off-campus accidents, assaults, etc as students go off campus to get a drink- yet they can hide in a dorm room and use drugs much easier. crazy. As Casey posted, in many European countries, since they are around alcohol much earlier, there isn't the cultural need to binge drink.
 
Back
Top