Can my NCO dictate or limit my energy drink intake?

The NCO can tell you any thing, they SHOULD tell you only what is duty related which may include information they feel is important, to include helpful guidance that is not enforceable with any authority.
While I might have had a fellow soldier who had significant kidney stones from what was likely too much soda and energy drinks share the stories of his painful passing of said stones multiple times. And tasked that junior SM to research (on company time) and present a 15 min briefing (on company time) on the known effects energy drink use has on the human body, and had a first line supervisor advise, counsel and suggest a better way in writing (on company time) as well as explain that medical conditions brought up from an unhealthy diet can have significant short term effects on his time in the army and longer term effects on over all health and wellness.

Fastest way to make PFC is to be a SPC who disregards his NCO's orders.

BLUF: AR 600-20 gives your chain of command and your NCO support channel a lot of authority to tell you what you can an cannot do.


AR 600-20
Para 2-1 b.
Commanders are responsible for everything their command does or fails to do. However, commanders subdivide responsibility and authority and assign portions of both to various subordinate commanders and staff members. In this way, a proper degree of responsibility becomes inherent in each command echelon. Commanders delegate sufficient authority to Soldiers in the chain of command to accomplish their assigned duties, and commanders may hold these Soldiers responsible for their actions. Commanders who assign responsibility and authority to their subordinates still retain the overall responsibility for the actions of their commands.

Para 2-19 a. (NCO Support Channel Responsibilities)
(6) Caring for individual Soldiers and their Families both on and off-duty.

Para 2-19 c. (NCO Disciplinary policies)
(3) As enlisted leaders of Soldiers, NCOs are essential to furthering the efficiency of the company, battery, or troop. This function includes preventing incidents that make it necessary to resort to trial by courts-martial or the imposition of nonjudicial punishment. Thus, NCOs are assistants to commanders in administering minor nonpunitive corrective actions as found in AR 27–10 and Part V of the MCM. "Nonpunitive measures" are not "nonjudicial pun-ishment."
(4) In taking corrective action with regard to subordinates, NCOs will be guided by and observe the principles listed in chapter 4.

Para 4-1 c.
Commanders and other leaders will maintain discipline according to the policies of this chapter, applicable laws and regulations, and the orders of seniors.

Para 5-4 (Command aspects of medical readiness and medical care)
Commanders at all levels are responsible and accountable for the health of their command in accordance with AR 40–5 and DA Pam 40–11.

(Please remember that in the case of AR 600-20, "Commanders at all levels" means the entire chain of Command)

Roles of the commander with respect to medical readiness and medical care include the following—
a. Preventive medicine. Ensure that the health of all personnel in their command is sustained and protected in all military activities through aggressive implementation of preventive medicine activities. Command Preventive Medicine Program responsibilities include—
(2) Hazard control.
(5) Health risk and hazard communication.
c. Risk management. Minimize health risks using Army composite risk management principles.


And finally,

Para 4-2
All personnel in the Army are required to strictly obey and promptly execute the legal orders of their lawful seniors.


Is it a lawful order? Is it illegal, immoral, or unethical? If it is NOT, then you MUST obey - strictly and promptly! If it IS an unlawful order, the onus is on YOU, not your NCO, to show how or why the order is unlawful.

Your NCOs have not only the authority, but the RESPONSIBILITY to ensure your health. They have a SPECIFIED REQUIREMENT to minimize health risks. For where *I* stand, yes, they can limit your energy drink intake.

And, lo and behold, when I was in Iraq, there were general orders regarding supplements, energy drinks, and other known hazards to health that were otherwise legal.