Alcoholism in the US Military

Since its inception the US military has had a very long and storied association with alcohol consumption and alcoholism. In Colonial times alcohol was considered safer than water and was regarded as an essential part of daily life for soldiers and sailors – including for recreational purposes. Today's servicemen and servicewomen drink alcohol regularly for many reasons – but primarily because on long deployments there is little else to do – especially while separated from friends, family and loved ones. And because the stresses of battle and military life can be immense, many soldiers eventually develop alcoholism as they self-medicate

The feeling so often expressed by both those who have served in the Armed Forces and those who have not is that if a soldier is old enough to die for his country, then he should be old enough to drink. This was especially true during the bloodiest battle in American history – the Civil War. During the war alcohol was often used to treat wounds, boredom, loneliness, depression and a variety of other ailments. But because of the intense fighting and catastrophic loss of life experienced by foot soldiers, many continued to drink long after the war and became severe, lifelong alcoholics. This included one of the greatest military minds of all time according to History Net.com – Ulysses S. Grant, who was a well-known and troublesome alcoholic that was once booted from the military for his alcohol-induced antics.

Alcoholism similar to that experienced by soldiers in the Civil War was also seen in men and women who served in Vietnam and Iraq. The terrors and battle stress related to these wars led many to drink in order to cope with the psychological damage caused by this physical, mental and emotional trauma. And because of the toughness and grit required to be a soldier, a significant number of these individuals did not seek treatment until long after being discharged from military service in order to avoid being seen as "weak: in the eyes of their fellow soldiers and risking trouble with their superiors.

The propensity for those serving in the Armed Forces to drink is significantly higher than that of civilians. In fact, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism stated that: "The prevalence of heavy alcohol use among young military personnel differs markedly from that of civilians in the same age group . . . Of the young men in all branches of the military, 32.2 percent engaged in heavy drinking, compared with 17.8 percent of civilian men. Women serving in the Navy and the Marine Corps had significantly higher rates (11.5 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively) than civilian women (5.5 percent) . . ." This means that binge drinking and alcoholism are even more prevalent than in certain high-risk groups including college students, the homeless, and law enforcement.

The US military's problem with alcohol is so significant that entire section of the UCMJ or Uniform Code of Military Justice are dedicated to dealing with alcohol related offenses, including Articles 111 and 112, which deal with drunken operation of Department of Defense equipment and being drunk on duty, respectively. Penalties for these and other offenses are severe in an effort to prevent embarrassment for the United States in the event that soldiers or sailors misbehave while drinking in foreign lands.

Because alcohol abuse and alcoholism in the US military is such a significant problem with drastic consequences, it's critical to reach out for help if you or a serviceperson you know is struggling with an alcohol problem. And because most branches offer alcohol treatment programs as part of federal employee insurance programs, there are generally few penalties and little cost for a military person to get help.

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