Quote:
Originally Posted by boxmonkeyracing
Who says that 21 is the magical age that keeps us safe? some doctor from 50 yrs ago or whatever. . .
(speaking from military xp here). I don't know how long you've been in and I can't even remember what career field you are in. But maintainers are notorious for being alcoholics. I am a maintainer. now that said, I honestly believe the drinking age for military should be lowered. if you've signed up for service you are giving back to society. Also we are governed by stricter rules and regulations that also can govern our drinking habits. Because of that why not allow an 18 yr old to drink? if he messes up he's punished, article 15 or just a no drinking order. . .if there is less focus on drinking then it wouldn't be as big of an issue. but america (in general) believe the only way to have fun is drink.
if you can make a good argument on why is shouldn't be lowered other then that's the way it is and has been. . .I would like to discuss that.
As for your discription of how/why people join the military it's not accurate for 60+% of the af and I'm sure the army is the same way. I personally joined because I knew I wasn't going to attend class in college (took 24 credit hrs and only completed 19 first year) and decided that the AF was a better option. there are more stories of people that got in trouble and needed to get away or college. . .etc etc etc. it's not that they were running away from home. but that's a different thread.
|
im a maintainer as well (AMC=Alcoholics Moving Cargo), and ive watched too many people get hurt or ruin their lives (military or civilian) for drinking underage. the solution isnt to lower the standard and allow younger people to drink to lower underage drinking. thats like the "no student left behind" bs where they lower the difficulty of the class so that everyone can pass. im sorry if your kid slacks off and you dont make them do their homework. they can flunk the class and repeat it. but thats a different thread.
and i know that 21 isnt a magical age, i can honestly give you more people over the age of 21 that are worse when it comes to alcohol than those under or at that age.
but i regress to the screwing up their lives part. i have paperwork from 5 years ago in my pif for failing to comply to standards (my hair touched my ears). it cost me BTZ when i was up for it and has cost me a few other positions thruout my career, regardless of qualifications. now imagine how bad it would be on my pif if it were something more severe. ive got a friend in the military that has an A15, he's married with children and was forced to move back into the dorms (restricted to base), additional duty, and demotion. what did he do? he unknowingly provided alcohol to a minor. he was having a party at his house and some "guy" showed up with a fake id and said he was legal, that "guy" ended up driving back to base and got in a wreck, killed himself and 2 others. I did happen to drive by the accident the following morning after i got off work heading to my friends house, by the time i got there the SP's were already at his house putting him into cuffs. but i guess if we had lowered the drinking age, my buddy wouldnt have been punished... so i guess im for it now....:seesaw:
like i said before tho, if the "buzz" about drinking could be eliminated, i would have no qualms about lowering the age. but all i can imagine is a bunch of 18-20 yr olds (and probably even more younger than that who could pass for 18 with a fake id) all doing their "i can drink, i need to drink as much as i can to prove im not a pu$$y" thing. and i know, not everyone will do that, but there will be enough, and i can guarantee you that the number of alcohol/vehicle incidents will rise. but we wont have as much underage drinking to worry about, so i guess thats good. isnt that the point? to reduce the number of underage alcohol related incidents?