SC Rep.: Alcohol for underage military

[Little-Acorn]

Sure enough. From Wikipedia:

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 states that revenue will be withheld from states that allow the purchase of alcohol by anyone under the age of 21. Some states do not allow those under the legal drinking age to be present in liquor stores or in bars (usually, the difference between a bar and a restaurant is whether food is being served). Contrary to popular belief, since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, few states specifically prohibit minors' and young adults' consumption of alcohol in private settings. As of January 1, 2007, 14 states and the District of Columbia ban underage consumption outright, 19 states do not specifically ban underage consumption, and an additional 27 states have family member and/or location exceptions to their underage consumption laws. [3]
Federal law explicitly provides for religious, medical, employment and private club possession exceptions; as of 2005, 31 states have family member and/or location exceptions to their underage possession laws. [4]

Underage purchase of alcohol, though illegal in all fifty states, is not a federal offense, although restrictions on highway funding for states that allow it make it illegal federally de facto. See Underage drinking in the United States. Additionally, exceptions exist on certain military installations, for instance Fort Bliss, Texas, where the Commanding General lowered the age to 18 to reduce the number of soldiers traveling out of the country to nearby Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, to drink.

[AFbombloader]

They need to leave this alone. I don't think the 18 year olds I see in the Air Force need to drink. They need the few years to mature and learn before the drink. There are ways around this. Go overseas. Most bases, Especially tose in Europe, must follow the law of the country they are in.

AF

[LiberalNation]

Most of those 18 year olds you see already drink anyway.

[AFbombloader]

Most of those 18 year olds you see already drink anyway.

Not as many as you think. Because there is such a great risk to their careers in the Air Force. Most are smart enough to realize it is not worth it.

AF

[pegwinn]

They need to leave this alone. I don't think the 18 year olds I see in the Air Force need to drink. They need the few years to mature and learn before the drink. There are ways around this. Go overseas. Most bases, Especially tose in Europe, must follow the law of the country they are in.

AF

I disagree. My Marines were damn sure old enough to go to the various cesspits of the ME. They did thier jobs in a loud and proud military manner. And when we hit a libo port, we played as hard as we worked. Amazingly, at least among my Company, there were no incidents a trip to sickbay couldn't fix. I believe they are old enough to drink, and if required, pay the piper for the occasional foul up.

Most of those 18 year olds you see already drink anyway.

That is true.

As an 18 y/o Marine I was able to drink on base and at unit functions. I was out of the country in 84 and so could still drink. The majority of disciplinary actions for alcohol is simple underage possession.

There are a few CO's that will waive the rules for unit functions. But they were dwindling fast.

At 18 we tell boys that they are men. Not half men, or two thirds men. It's past time to legally let them man up.

[Gaffer]

Don't know about now days, but when I was in we could drink on post in the clubs there. Off post the drinking age was 21. I came back from Vietnam and couldn't drink off post or vote.