Posted on 11/19/2017 8:27:39 PM PST by Ronin
Effective immediately, U.S. service members on Okinawa are restricted to base and to their residences. Until further notice, alcohol consumption is prohibited. This includes in residences and public locations such as bars and clubs, and hotels.
Additionally, U.S. service members on mainland Japan are prohibited from purchasing or consuming alcohol, on or off base.
The new restrictions follow an accident Sunday morning in Naha in which a Okinawan man was killed when his vehicle was struck by a truck being driven by a U.S. service member. Alcohol may have been a factor.
Commanders across Japan will immediately lead mandatory training to address responsible alcohol use, risk management and acceptable behavior. All military members and U.S. government civilians in Japan are required to attend.
The vast majority of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and civilians in Japan serve honorably and make great contributions to the defense of Japan. When our service members fail to live up to the high standards we set for them, it damages the bonds between bases and local communities and makes it harder for us to accomplish our mission. We are committed to being good neighbors with our host communities and we are thankful for the support we receive from them every day.
Prayers for military members abroad and for Japanese man’s family.
Absolutely 0 tolerance for this, but Okinawa can shut the f up unless they want to fight China alone.
I love it when we teach by punishing everyone. Sorry, kids, Dad’s not going to be able to go anywhere this Thanksgiving, he’s gotta sit in his room and think about not drinking alcohol.
I’m not a fan of this policy; it implies guilt on everyone in uniform.
Yeah, what a tragedy for both Okinawa and the US Armed Forces. This will step up the anti-US bases peals for action to shut them down for sure. But it isn’t going to happen as long as Rocket Man Lil Kim is rattling sabers.
25,000 marines on an island the size of Okinawa...of course there are problems once in a while, and every one of them is reported as the crime of the century.
Of course they want the gaijin off the island, but for no noble reason. It is racism, pure and simple.
I remember during my 2 years in Sasebo, Japan about 2 guys who were riding a motorcycle. They were young kids out of the nest a year or so and just having fun. They drove through a culvert pipe at a fairly high rate of speed. Unfortunately, there was a pipe hanging down at the end which only the driver saw. The passenger was killed.
During the remainder of my tour there. No one could ride a motorcycle double which to us young guys (teen agers) making 22 bucks a week was a REAL burden.
My point: This is a textbook illustration of what is commonly referred to as the “military mind” at work. No alcohol in the Navy will not work at all period. Such a rule will only get more good sailors in more trouble and lower morale for an already tough job for the lower ranks. In my opinion, the top brass are in full cya mode following the McCain and Fitzgerald incidents.
Disproportionately often, when a U.S. serviceman does something wrong in Okinawa, it turns out to be a black man.
And so here we are again. https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.jamesmclean
Like that nerd general at the Air Force Academy?
the 2 years I spent at Atsugi, showed me that the Japanese could drink, drive and puke just as much as us americans.....men are men and we had alot in common with them back in the 70’s.
I think you have Okinawa confused with Taiwan.
I was stationed in Okinawa for a year back in 77-78. The last few times I was there in 2004 and 2005 I never even left the base. One of those times was right after a serviceman had raped a local girl. Tensions were just too high.
I agree with you.
Exactly. Prohibiting a product or activity will only make sailors & Marines want it more. Was ship’s company on USS Ranger (CV 61) in the late 80s. Ship was having frequent alcohol & liberty incidents. Outgoing CO imposed liberty restrictions, drunk watches, Captain’s Mast for any occurrence. New CO came aboard, got rid of all that B.S. and made one rule: Shipmates go on liberty together and look out for each other. To celebrate the change of command, the CO had a huge picnic at the homeport, with lots of food, many kegs of beer, and sporting contests among departments to build morale. Alcohol/liberty incidents went way down and crew was motivated. CO loved being at sea and worked everyone hard, but he would always try to make port early after ops complete, tide & pier services permitting.
I was USAF at Yokota AB 1984-1985. Locals were very friendly. We heard about the trouble Marines would get into on Okinawa, but it was not a nation wide issue yet.
I was a communications type, we got the official news before anyone else. I even read about my selection for E-5 before my commander.
No im pretty sure Japan is in China’s crosshairs. What I said stands.
Absolute laziness from command. Typical of public schools as well.
I was stationed in Okinawa in the early 1970s...
whenever some bar was out-of-limits the black servicemen still went there...nobody dare tell them not to...the white officers were scared of being accused of racism...the so called “race relations” classes and committees were only geared to protecting the blacks from the whites and the locals...blacks were never racist...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.