Posted on Jun 10, 2015
Drinking alcohol while on a field exercise. What would you do?
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When I first joined the army in 1981 it was common to see Soldiers drinking alcohol while on a field exercise. Now with General Order # 1 being strictly enforced drinking on field problems is almost non-existing. If you come across some soldiers in the middle of the woods on a field exercise drinking alcohol what would you Do? Would you join in? Would you report it? Or would not say anything?
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There is a time and place for alcohol consumption. In the middle of a field problem or an active combat operation is not only poor discipline but dangerous. What we do is dangerous enough without mixing perception altering drugs into it. I would absolutely squash it.
As far as downrange, IMHO GO#1 was a bit too draconcian. Iraq, even being majority Muslim, was far from being a dry country, so that excuse doesn't fly for me. Fact of the matter, Iraqis like porn and booze as much as the next guy. All GO#1 did was cause soldiers to go apeshit crazy when they went on R&R or when they finally redeployed home. For long deployments, responsible alcohol usage can be done. It's just a matter of leaders doing their job and supervising their troops so that they don't get stupid.
As far as downrange, IMHO GO#1 was a bit too draconcian. Iraq, even being majority Muslim, was far from being a dry country, so that excuse doesn't fly for me. Fact of the matter, Iraqis like porn and booze as much as the next guy. All GO#1 did was cause soldiers to go apeshit crazy when they went on R&R or when they finally redeployed home. For long deployments, responsible alcohol usage can be done. It's just a matter of leaders doing their job and supervising their troops so that they don't get stupid.
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Ah, the good old days!
The enforcement of GO#1 in the field or on deployment would actually be a detractor from operations in some cases. It's such a touchy subject because damned if you do and damned if you don't. Like gun laws, the people who want to get around them are going to do so. Iraq was a "dry" country, RIGHT. You'd have to do Health and Welfare inspections on the hour to truly stop it not to mention smelling every bottle everywhere like you were in a Yankee Candle store. Mouthwash, Kool-Aid, guess again.
If you made a good example out of the first person you caught then hopefully that would deter others but unfortunately as long as it isn't interfering with things (the spirit of the law IMHO) we tend to look the other way. Are we wrong, in the letter of the law, yes by condoning the disobeying of a lawful order. GO#1 draws a fine line between maintaining good order and discipline and maintaining troop morale. "Terrain dictates"
BTW I have photographic proof of me violating the letter of the law. Basra was run by the British is all I will say in my own defense.
The enforcement of GO#1 in the field or on deployment would actually be a detractor from operations in some cases. It's such a touchy subject because damned if you do and damned if you don't. Like gun laws, the people who want to get around them are going to do so. Iraq was a "dry" country, RIGHT. You'd have to do Health and Welfare inspections on the hour to truly stop it not to mention smelling every bottle everywhere like you were in a Yankee Candle store. Mouthwash, Kool-Aid, guess again.
If you made a good example out of the first person you caught then hopefully that would deter others but unfortunately as long as it isn't interfering with things (the spirit of the law IMHO) we tend to look the other way. Are we wrong, in the letter of the law, yes by condoning the disobeying of a lawful order. GO#1 draws a fine line between maintaining good order and discipline and maintaining troop morale. "Terrain dictates"
BTW I have photographic proof of me violating the letter of the law. Basra was run by the British is all I will say in my own defense.
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SSG Paul Setterholm
Flintlock. A training exercise of a battalion of infantry versus a battalion of special forces. We traveled through German towns and the villagers would let us sleep in there barns and so forth. They would bring us Apple wine beer and bread and so forth. Funnest training exercises ever.
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SSG Paul Setterholm
Flintlock. A training exercise of a battalion of infantry versus a battalion of special forces. We traveled through German towns and the villagers would let us sleep in there barns and so forth. They would bring us Apple wine beer and bread and so forth. Funnest training exercises ever.
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Iraq in '03, they sold on the side of the road, once got a case of Grolsch for 20 bucks (the deal of the century), watching for the MPs the whole time, but come Aug '03 when everybody got word that their deployments was a Year-in-Country, not Year-on-orders, we saw the MPs pull over to by beer.
Back in Cp Bob during train-up, our cmd being old school from 20 and 30 years ago were still into the group punishment thing, and no drinking in barracks for months on end (just think like you're in the field, who drank in the field??, and a whole bunch of hands went up, and the command is replying "IN The Field??, and soldiers screamed out "Europe, Korea, Vietnam!!"), the finally let us drink in the barracks, but they never gave up on group punishment.
Back in Cp Bob during train-up, our cmd being old school from 20 and 30 years ago were still into the group punishment thing, and no drinking in barracks for months on end (just think like you're in the field, who drank in the field??, and a whole bunch of hands went up, and the command is replying "IN The Field??, and soldiers screamed out "Europe, Korea, Vietnam!!"), the finally let us drink in the barracks, but they never gave up on group punishment.
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