Texas Army base raises its drinking age to 21

[LiberalNation]

That sucks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/...6VVvxriEFvzwcF

FORT BLISS, Texas - This military base in the far West Texas desert stood as the last Army post in America where if you were old enough to fight and die for your country, you were old enough to drink a beer. But the party is over at Fort Bliss.

Citing too many drunken-driving crashes and arrests and too many fights, the new commanding general has raised the drinking age on base from 18 to 21, bringing 17,000-soldier Fort Bliss into line with what has been the law in the rest of Texas since 1986.

And not only that, but all Fort Bliss soldiers are barred from slipping across the Mexican border to Ciudad Juarez, the city of famously loose morals where young Americans have been getting drunk — and getting into trouble — for generations. From now on, no passes to Juarez will be issued. The new policy took effect May 22.

Pfc. Walter Iverson, a babyfaced 19-year-old, said he will miss grabbing a beer after work: "It's like my parents say, I'm old enough to join the Army, but I'm not old enough to drink."

[Abbey Marie]

Citing too many drunken-driving crashes and arrests and too many fights...

Sounds like the soldiers brought it on themselves.

[theHawk]

Ah, good 'ole blanket punishment. Makes me miss the military....NOT!!!

[Mr. P]

That sucks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/...6VVvxriEFvzwcF

It doesn't suck at all really. The commander is tasked with many responsibilities, one being the health and welfare of the troops. All he's doing really, is keeping their asses alive and out of trouble, the same he would try to do in combat.

[82Marine89]

Y'all remember when the drinking age was 18?

[Mr. P]

Y'all remember when the drinking age was 18?

Yep, and even though at the time I thought it was a good thing, I've grown old and mature enough to know it wasn't.

[DragonStryk72]

the Drinking age is a useless determinent. Some people should be banned from drinking, not punishing everyone. I'm sorry, but I remember getting into a bar fight in the Navy, and to be honest, there were a number of older guys in that fight as well.

age is not a determinate of maturity, I've met 50 year olds who are still playing like they're in high school, and I've watched 18 years olds that are just old men in training. Changing the drinking age does nothing to curb the problem, but it sure does make it look like you're doing something about it.

[Abbey Marie]

the Drinking age is a useless determinent. Some people should be banned from drinking, not punishing everyone. I'm sorry, but I remember getting into a bar fight in the Navy, and to be honest, there were a number of older guys in that fight as well.

age is not a determinate of maturity, I've met 50 year olds who are still playing like they're in high school, and I've watched 18 years olds that are just old men in training. Changing the drinking age does nothing to curb the problem, but it sure does make it look like you're doing something about it.

Yes, there are always exceptions to the rule. But do you seriously think that 18 year olds are as a group are as mature as, say, 30 year olds? If so, I think the auto insurers might have some stats to show you.

[DragonStryk72]

Yes, there are always exceptions to the rule. But do you seriously think that 18 year olds are as a group are as mature as, say, 30 year olds? If so, I think the auto insurers might have some stats to show you.

But is every 18 year old less mature than every 30 year old? That is what this rule puts down, that instead of having to live with the consequences of your own actions, instead, there will be blanket rullings that hit everyone.

[Abbey Marie]

But is every 18 year old less mature than every 30 year old? That is what this rule puts down, that instead of having to live with the consequences of your own actions, instead, there will be blanket rullings that hit everyone.

The same can be said for any law which uses age as a limiter. Why should the President have to be 35 years old? There are a few mature 25 year olds out there with about as much experience as Obama, right? Why should kids have to be a certain age to join the military in the first place? Surely we can find a couple of 14 year olds who have the maturity to serve. How about driving a car?

There would be no restrictive laws if we let the exceptions control our decisions.

Not to mention the whopper of a lawsuit that would be filed it the Army let the boys drink and then they died in some type of accident.

As I said above, it appears that the soldiers brought this on themselves.

[DragonStryk72]

The same can be said for any law which uses age as a limiter. Why should the President have to be 35 years old? There are a few mature 25 year olds out there with about as much experience as Obama, right? Why should kids have to be a certain age to join the military in the first place? Surely we can find a couple of 14 year olds who have the maturity to serve. How about driving a car?

There would be no restrictive laws if we let the exceptions control our decisions.

Not to mention the whopper of a lawsuit that would be filed it the Army let the boys drink and then they died in some type of accident.

As I said above, it appears that the soldiers brought this on themselves.

Actually, you can't sue the military, it's in the contract. Okay, so let's go over that:

at 18:

Can determine the course of the entire country through voting
Can destroy your lungs via smoking
Can run for small office
Can kill people in a foreign country and not get in trouble for it (military)
Can have credit ratings, car loans, and whatnot


at 21:

Can drink alcohol.

So these Army guys are "mature" enough at 18 years old to kill people, handle m-16s as well as explosive ordinance, handle military vehicles (including choppers), fight in Iraq, get permanently handicapped in the process, but they can't have a beer? Explain to me how killing someone is somehow less gasp worthy than drinking is.

Now, here's one: Why not JUST punish the fuck ups? You know, put down the order that they specifically are not allowed to drink(yes, the military can do that), and put them on restriction (a good 30-45 days of nothing but work, PT, and sleep. My division ended up with that one for the aforementioned barfight.). Hell, the Army wouldn't even lose productivity that way, but yeah, better to just strip away everyone's rights than to simply punish the people doing something wrong.

[gabosaurus]

Why would the drinking age be different on the military base than the rest of the country? That doesn't make any sense at all.

I don't believe military should be allowed into Mexico for any reason. They would become prime targets for kidnapping and assassination.

[Mr. P]

But is every 18 year old less mature than every 30 year old? That is what this rule puts down, that instead of having to live with the consequences of your own actions, instead, there will be blanket rullings that hit everyone.

For the most part, yes. And as Abbey eluded the insurance companies can back that up. I also remember hearing about a study this year that concludes some important brain development isn't even complete until round about age 25. (explains some of our younger posters views..IMO) .

I think we can all agree most 30 yr olds are more mature than most 18 year olds. There is much more to this than alcohol. The chain of command has a responsibility to insure the welfare of the troops. It's NOT civilian life as most know it.

[Yurt]

Actually, you can't sue the military, it's in the contract. Okay, so let's go over that:

.

not sure, FTCA