ClearedHot Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) Should Drinking Age for Military Personnel Be Lowered to 18? Edited March 31, 2011 by ClearedHot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfargin Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Yes, it was legal for 18 year olds to drink on base through the '80s (even after they increased the general population age to 21 in ~1983). I don't remember when the legal age for military members to drink on base got changed to match civil law, but I think if you are willing to serve and potentially die in service for your country you should be able to drink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herk Driver Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Yes, it was legal for 18 year olds to drink on base through the '80s (even after they increased the general population age to 21 in ~1983). I don't remember when the legal age for military members to drink on base got changed to match civil law, but I think if you are willing to serve and potentially die in service for your country you should be able to drink. Some bases were still doing that in the '90's. I think Fort Gordan, GA still does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFM this Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 We were allowed to go to the club and have a beer on Pendleton as of '93. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Crew Report Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Some bases were still doing that in the '90's. I think Fort Gordan, GA still does. I think Laughlin does too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKopack Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 By '87 when I enlisted, the "on base" age at Sheppard (Tech School) and at MacDill had both changed to 21. Of course if you had a military ID no one really cared, on base or off, and the 1st Shirt would roll a couple of kegs over to the dorm on most holiday weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 By '87 when I enlisted, the "on base" age at Sheppard (Tech School) and at MacDill had both changed to 21. Of course if you had a military ID no one really cared, on base or off, and the 1st Shirt would roll a couple of kegs over to the dorm on most holiday weekends. September 1981, Lowry AFB, Colorado (that's Denver for you youngins) sent on a work detail with some other FNGs while waiting for our tech school class start date. By the time we found the building they didn't need us anymore but they were having a Friday afternoon keg party in the garage area. Soooo for $5.00 we got all the beer we could drink. 1st though: This is a trick to fry the new kids less than a week out of basic. 2nd thought: $5 bucks to get hammered at work on a Friday?! I'm gonna like this Air Force stuff! Fast FWD to my 1st real base: Friday afternoon: Mandatory attendence at DCM CC call (think Mx GP/CC) blah, blah, blah roll out numerous kegs in the empty B-52 phase dock. FREE beer for the MX troops 90% of which were under 21. Awesome. Boy, how things have changed.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoleIt Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 No. I don't want an 18-year-old drinking and driving in my state, even if it's a soldier. Yea, because automatically if an 18 year old can legally drink then they are going to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sky_king Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) I think Laughlin does too. did... That got cancelled a year ago or so. The theory was, they would rather have the young enlisted dudes drink on the base where it was safe rather than go to Mexico. Now, Mexico is off limits, so what's the point of having the Wg/CC stick his neck out there? Edited March 31, 2011 by sky_king Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhistory Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Yes. We trust him/her enough to pull a trigger or turn a wrench and put his/her ass on the line, then we should trust him/her enough to have a brew on base/post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learjetter Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 No. But the enlistment age should be raised to 21 w/o special circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sky_king Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 No. But the enlistment age should be raised to 21 w/o special circumstances. Not a good idea. That leaves 3 years from high school to enlisting. Sure, many people could do that just fine but recruitment would drop big time (sky_king's guess). First reason, after three years on their own, why would that person give up their job and life to join the military. Second reason, those who are at risk for trouble often 'find their way' with the military. After being on their own, they may already be too far gone for the military to help them. Why do you say the enlistment age should be 21? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFM this Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 No. . Way more interested in this half of the response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaJu Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I guess I'm kind of indifferent. For you old guys out there, why was it changed back to 21 in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawnman Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Yes. And not just for the military. You're telling me that in our society, 18 is considered old enough to make life-altering decisions about getting married, joining the military, voting, or buying a house...but not old enough to crack open a beer on Friday afternoon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learjetter Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Why do you say the enlistment age should be 21? My theory goes like this: there's not that much physical difference between 18 & 21, but there IS a mental difference...a little more mature, a little more responsible, etc. I've never viewed the military as a social program, and think the service would be better off with guys enlisting who are a little more together than the avg 18yo. Save the military a ton of time/$$ on discipline, rules infractions, mishaps?...perhaps even shorten some training courses, etc. Kinda like graduated driver license programs: many states don't let kids under 18 have unrestricted licences...why? Maturity-level, experiences, etc. The military need not concern itself with what the kids do between HS and mil: college? Trade school? Job corps? City corps? Internship? Local work? Surfing? Evangelism? Travel? Volunteering? All good. Drawbacks abound, as you alluded to: mil benefitting the person as much as the other way round, energy, mold-ability, bringing dependents into the service as a new enlisted, etc. As for the "no" part: I should have qualified it as "No. As long as the enlistment age was raised to 21 also" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxhead Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Ironically, the State has no "real" say. Sure, they can make whatever law pleases them for off base, but all the WG/CC has to say is "Nope...even off base". There are no such things as federal drinking ages...it is just common practice for the Base to match the local age for "ease". Newark AFB had a "anyone with a military ID card or guest thereof" could drink. It was funny being a bartender there and serving to 16 year olds that were there with Grandpa. My take is yes...it should be 18 for everyone, not just military. OR, all the other stuff mentioned above should move on up to 21. It's total horsecrap to have it all split up like that, you are either an adult or not. (OK, you are either a LEGAL adult or not, there are lots of legal adults even now that only qualify due to birthday, not decision making capability.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Standby Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 ###### yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuggyU2 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Yes. Although, when it was 19 years old in Texas, that seemed an excellent compromise. Edited April 1, 2011 by Huggyu2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbonez Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 My theory goes like this: there's not that much physical difference between 18 & 21, but there IS a mental difference...a little more mature, a little more responsible, etc. I've never viewed the military as a social program, and think the service would be better off with guys enlisting who are a little more together than the avg 18yo. Save the military a ton of time/$$ on discipline, rules infractions, mishaps?...perhaps even shorten some training courses, etc. Kinda like graduated driver license programs: many states don't let kids under 18 have unrestricted licences...why? Maturity-level, experiences, etc. The military need not concern itself with what the kids do between HS and mil: college? Trade school? Job corps? City corps? Internship? Local work? Surfing? Evangelism? Travel? Volunteering? All good. Drawbacks abound, as you alluded to: mil benefitting the person as much as the other way round, energy, mold-ability, bringing dependents into the service as a new enlisted, etc. As for the "no" part: I should have qualified it as "No. As long as the enlistment age was raised to 21 also" Do you have evidence or any data to back up this claim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurelySerious Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Do you have evidence or any data to back up this claim? That's probably going to be tough to get unless someone specializes in sociology/behavioral science. One metric may be the FBI's Age-specific arrest rates in its Uniform Crime Report. There are no alcohol related categories, but the general trend for the different listed offenses is lower arrests for 21 versus 18. However, that could be due to many factors. Edit: Some more reading material, although there is probably plenty of contradictory evidence. Brain Changes Significantly After Age 18, Says Dartmouth Research. Actual Report. One slide summary Edited April 1, 2011 by SurelySerious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbonez Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 That's probably going to be tough to get unless someone specializes in sociology/behavioral science. One metric may be the FBI's Age-specific arrest rates in its Uniform Crime Report. There are no alcohol related categories, but the general trend for the different listed offenses is lower arrests for 21 versus 18. However, that could be due to many factors. That's exactly why I questioned his claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Emphatically yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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