US military’s alcohol-soaked culture taking toll on servicemembers

US military’s alcohol-soaked culture taking toll on servicemembers
By JENNIFER HLAD
Stars and Stripes
Published: December 26, 2012

WASHINGTON — Thomas Brennan was still unloading his bags at his first duty station when he saw the other Marines drinking on the catwalks.

“In a way, I expected it,” he said. “A bunch of people partying, having a good time, getting ready to go to war.”

Brennan, now a sergeant who will be medically retired this month, said drinking and partying in the barracks isn’t quite as obvious now. Marines know they will be punished if they get caught drinking underage or drinking hard liquor in the barracks, he said. But that doesn’t mean the drinking has stopped. People just keep their doors closed, he said, and if the platoon sergeant is coming at 6:30 a.m. for inspection, “that means all the evidence is gone by 6:15.”

While some military doctors say they don’t believe troops binge drink or abuse alcohol more than their civilian counterparts, a recent report by the Institute of Medicine called drugs and alcohol abuse among troops a “public health crisis.” A report released by the Army in January reported that 43 percent of active-duty soldiers had admitted binge drinking within a month of the survey and that 67 percent of the binge drinkers were 17 to 25 years old.
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