Posted on 07/18/2018 2:21:43 PM PDT by BBell
About one-third of the service personnel surveyed met the criteria indicating hazardous drinking and possible alcohol use disorder, with 30 percent reporting that they binge drank in the past month. Among Marines, that figure jumped to 42.6 percent.
Binge drinking is defined as more than five drinks for men or more than four for women in one sitting, according to the report, issued by Rand and based on a survey that was conducted from late 2015 to early 2016.
That rate was down from 33.1 percent in the previously reported survey from 2011, but it’s still high enough to cause concern, researchers said. Drinking problems could be addressed by shifting the culture and climate surrounding alcohol use, such as communicating disapproval of heavy drinking and changing on-base alcohol and sales policies, according to the report.
It’s all fun and games, I guess, until someone gets burned. I know a Navy guy who was burned “accidentally” by someone operating machinery while intoxicated. It’s so cool to bring your booze in to work with you. Those Navy uniforms (the camo ones) melt to your skin when they’re on fire. Eventually, the jerk in charge got his. Total lack of discipline on that boat.
As for Marines, as long as they drink away from work and when not driving, who cares.
So what is the rate amoung civvies of the same age bracket?
Probably worse!
I wonder how different these numbers are from male civilians of the same age?
Binge drinking is 5 drinks or more at one sitting? These are young warriors blowing off steam when they are allowed to let down their otherwise disciplined lives for a brief stint.
Let them be.
Yep. We called it "getting fired up". We would have some cheap beer at the house before going out (on campus). It saved us some money at the bar.
The consequences of getting in any kind of trouble where alcohol was a factor is career-ending. Paying for a prostitute has now been relabeled "sex trafficking" and is specifically prohibited under the UCMJ. You could be court-martialed and sent to prison over it.
My favorite quote from the source you cite:
“The survey used a random sampling method and was sent to 201,990 service members in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard. Of those, 16,699 usable responses were received,”
“Usable responses.” That’s a scream. I can only imagine what the responses were.
There was a guy in my unit in Germany who, while running in formation, would sometimes call out “Fire-brewed Stroh’s!”. That was the signal that he’d just let loose a morning-after beer fart that’d have the capacity to kill. I do know some people who actually fell out of formation and threw up due to his emissions.
It is hard for me to imagine what it must be like these days.
I heard they don’t even let you go on liberty like in the old days...you have to go as part of a tour or something.
Good God. I mean, if you visit Egypt or Tangiers, sure. And maybe England. And definitely France, and...
Hell. Probably no place you can go anywhere else in the world where some Islamic nutjob would get his hands on a lone sailor and lop off his head.
My daughter called me earlier to say she got a speeding ticket today, while on a camping trip with her friend. “That was stupid. You’ll pay it,” I said. Her Marine recruiter will chew her out much better than I ever could :-). (She expects to go to boot camp next month.)
I wonder how these stats compare to binge-drinking stats on a comparable demographic (age and sex) group in college, in the workforce, etc. When I go “uptown,” I observe young civilians doing quite a bit of drinking.
Hehehe...I had a First Class in my squadron that had to have all his teeth pulled, and he lived on peanut butter for weeks eating it right out of a jar...
He cleared our shop out one day, people were retching and gagging, and he sat in the corner with a big grin on his face...
Nannystate and it is MADD that led us here. The founder left the organization when she saw it becoming a neoprohibitionist movement which was never her intention.
Uh oh. If it is her first ticket, then she can do the traffic school option in most places. Our second oldest daughter got her first ticket ever the other day while visiting us. She’s going to try to do the traffic school option.
North Carolina has a way of making them flitter away.
Pay the bucks to the attorney (100 or so on top of the fine).
Watch for “Improper Equipment”.
I’ve had 4 in 6 years. No record.
Also, great for her! It’ll still be unbearably hot when she gets there. You will love graduation! It’s a tough three months for mom.
“About one-third of the service personnel surveyed met the criteria indicating hazardous drinking and possible alcohol use disorder, with 30 percent reporting that they binge drank in the past month. Among Marines, that figure jumped to 42.6 percent.”
The military has really gone to hell...back in the day it was more like 90%.
When I was stationed at Lajes field in the Azores, the whole island was buzzing the next morning about a crew of Marines that took over the Bowling alley bar. The SP’s just stood outside to wait for it to get over. The marines had covered the floor with beer and were taking running leaps to slide the length of the Quonset hut. I say men in the real war deserve to let off the pressure sometimes. I’ve understood it was like that for some Air Force flight crew members. So, I think the survey is worthless.
They do have odd criteria.
I still have faith in the Corps. My ex is retired and works with Jarheads and they are a bunch of office pogs but they are big and in shape. Bigger than we were when I was in.
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