This blog is written as a way for me to express my feelings, thoughts and emotions as I go through life as a proud Air Force Wife!

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March 24, 2010

Alcohol in the war zone? I don't agree

The big debate right now is whether there should be alcohol available to the troops in the war zone. Right now they are not allowed alcohol except during the Super Bowl they could have 2 drinks. 

The positives that people are saying is that it provides the troops a way to relax after a hard days work. 
So, there is no other way these people can relax except for getting a beer?

I understand that most people (hopefully) are not crazy drinkers but that is not everyone. I think they can come up with better ways to help the troops relax rather than alcohol. How about allowing more talk time to family members? Right now troops are only allowed to call home twice a week for 15 minutes each. That is hardly enough time especially when you have children.

Capt. Mark Moretti, a company commander, said  in the Air Force Times, "I think we all love beer, but there's a time and a place for it-and it's not here."

I could not agree more with this statement. Yes, I am a housewife at home and not a beer drinker but I can still have my opinion. In the Air Force Times it also stated that: alcohol is a significant contributing factor in many, if not most, disciplinary problems facing the military.

If you did bring alcohol to the war zone who is going to ensure that it is controlled? How could you control it? I foresee many military members getting carried away and then causing problems, fights, rape and so on. What about the military members who are drinking and then there is a need for the members to quickly return to duty? Do they just say they have been drinking and are excused from their shift? Are they going start making bars so they can hang out while they drink?

I really think that it is great to have comforts of home but you can't provide all the comforts. Military members can't expect to go over to a war zone and just live freely like its another day. You have to be on top guard and aware of whats going on. Providing alcohol would not only make our troops more relaxed but would show a weakness to our counterparts who could possibly use that. Alcohol helps people relax but too much alcohol slows reaction time and impairs judgment. That is not a good thing with loaded weapons.

I'm not a good goody who has never had a drink. I'm not saying ban all alcohol worldwide. I'm just saying that I don't think it should be allowed in the war zone.

Well, I am off to get some things done. Have a fabulous day!!  ;-)

7 comments:

Kirsten said...

I agree they should find other ways to help our service members relax, especially extending those 15 minute phone calls. With my husband in a unit where they depend on eachother for safety (like most), the idea of allowing alcohol makes me nervous.

Mira said...

I agree, as a way to relax they could get more time to talk to their families. We are going to face a deployment in a few months and I know we could use more then 30 minutes a week. Alcohol on the other hand is not a very smart way to relax in a war zone. thanks for following :)

Marissa said...

I agree, I think that some troops (especially younger ones) have a tendency to drink more, and what if it's not regulated enough? What if they drink too much? There is a lot of situations when they're out there and they leave on a moment's notice...You wouldn't want them knocking back a few. Or even the temptation of it. You don't want them risking their life or the lives of the people around them. It has the possibility of bringing many other responsible people down too. Not to mention, you hear them doing so many foolish things while drinking when they are home. That plus a war zone? No.

Gaile said...

I ABSOLUTELY AGREE. It sucks, but the reality is that the troops are on the clock, 24/7. Even if this job was not so dangerous, what job allows drinking while on the job?

I love the idea of providing them more time to talk to family, whenever possible - as long as the extra phone time does not compromise OPSEC.

One downside to keeping warzones 'dry' is that many of the troops overindulge when they do come home - and after many long months of sobriety, the alcohol can hit them much harder than they expected it to. Anyone have ideas for how to 'wean' them gradually back into being able to drink?

Roller Coaster said...

TOTALLY agree with you. There is absolutely no reason to have alcohol there. It's funny you bring this up because I just watched THe Hurt Locker, and there's a scene in which the main characters get trashed. For me, that's the perfect example of why there should be no alcohol in a war zone. Great post!

Anonymous said...

Totally agree. They may work a shift in some cases, but they are on duty ALL of the time. Fortunately, for the most part, in my husband's field he was able to call home sometimes more than once daily & e-mail several times a day. Our friends (in the same field) who are deployed right now are able to call at least daily & e-mail/Facebook regularly. I'm not sure who's only allowed two calls a week - maybe those who are traveling? Front line type work?? But I know that even sometimes when we were on the phone & my dh was off duty so to speak, he'd have to go immediately due to a rocket blast. There were plenty of times in the middle of the night he was rocked out of bed by ammunition/bombs/rockets & would have to get up, get his Kevlar on & get under the bed. If he was drunk - I can't see him having been able to function well enough to do that! Then that leaves them open to death & injury more so than ALREADY. I do NOT think they should be allowed alcohol, even on the Super Bowl. So if the insurgents find that out, that's prime target time. They need to stick with their fake beer - they're allowed to drink as much of that as they want! =)

Laura said...

Totally agree. It reminds me of that scene from "Jarhead" where they get wasted in Iraq and burn down the COC.

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