Troops banned from alcohol consumption in Japan
According to Fox News, US troops stationed in Japan have been forbidden to imbibe in adult beverages because a Marine there was driving drunk when he collided with an Okinawan local, Hidemasa Taira, 61, and killed him. The Marine, 21-year-old Nicholas James-McLean, was only slightly injured. According to reports, he was over the blood/alcohol content limit by three times.
Buying and drinking alcohol was banned for U.S. military personnel all over Japan. As well, those on Okinawa were restricted to base and their residences, until further notice.
The military said commanders across Japan will immediately lead mandatory training on responsible alcohol use and acceptable behavior.
“When our service members fail to live up to the high standards we set for them, it damages the bonds between bases and local communities and makes it harder for us to accomplish our mission,” U.S. Forces, Japan, said in a statement posted on its website.
I think I remember that commanders in Japan forbade the consumption of alcohol once before. That lasted a few months. If all the commanders can up with is mass-punishment solutions, it’s no wonder that so many leaders have lost their jobs.
Category: Marine Corps
I’ve been TDY to Germany (OC/T for JMRC) three times over the last four years, and everytime I’m over there there’s a ban on drinking because someone had an accident. Really bugs me because two of those times were during Oktoberfest…
So mass punishments for drunk driving is nothing new to the “new” Army (unlike the old army where it was expected that you’d take an APFT drunk and hungover).
During my time in Germany everyone drank beer all the time. I do not recall any specific bans.
Driving however was a whole different story.
The 3/4 ton and the duece and a half had a speed recorder that was like a circular strip chart for weather observations.
The CO would inspect the charts and dish out punishment as needed. “Hit a bump and the pen would jump” was a good excuse.
The legal limit there is 0.03 BAC. Three times the legal limit is 0.09 BAC — a bit less than the equivalent of a beer (depending on some factors).
Yeah, it was illegal for him to drive after he’d been drinking, but the narrative seems to be that he was driving a government vehicle sloshed. It should go without saying (and I think it’s policy, actually) that if you’re driving a government vehicle, don’t drink at all…but this is just getting blown way out of proportion.
It’s entirely possible the guy could have had several or a few drinks, waited a few hours, *then* drove. It’s hard to tell without any specifics coming out of the case, and the reports all seem to want to make this guy out as being some guy drunk out of his mind instead of probably being some guy who had a beer.
One beer = BAC of > 0.09%? Unless you weigh maybe 40 lbs or less, that would be a “No Way”.
For a 160lb man, it typically takes at least 4 standard drinks (1.5 oz 80 proof whiskey, 12 oz beer, or 5 oz wine) to reach that BAC level. And those have to be knocked back damn quickly to reach a BAC of 0.09% – every 40 min spent drinking typically drops the BAC by 0.01% (as does every 40 min after you stop drinking).
If he was heaver than 160lbs, he’d need to drink more to reach that level.
http://www.breathalyzeralcoholtester.com/alcohol-chart-estimation/
My point: this guy didn’t have “one beer” and get caught with a BAC of 0.09. He had a few – my guess would be 4 or more – and should not have been behind the wheel of ANY vehicle, govt or POV, for several hours after he finished drinking.
That said: mass punishment IMO is a p!ss-poor leadership technique, and reflect poorly on the leader(s) imposing it. And also IMO, this qualifies as mass punishment.
Yep, you’re right — my bad. Reeeeeeeeeeetracted.
(It’s a good thing I don’t drink!)
The most lethal alcoholic beverage in the world is obviously beer – every drunk I have ever seen tells the officer “well, I only had a coupla beers”
Hondo, you obviously attended one of my seminars created after a USMA senior consumed a large number of beers then killed himself driving back over the mountain to West Point. One caveat is a women’s body metabolizes alcohol at slower rate than a male; and, if the alcohol was a sparkling wine, it will pass through the stomach lining into the blood stream faster. Also the proof of the alcohol comes into play, but well said. You get an A+ for a grunt.
Well, CM, you’re 100% correct. However, the female tables are at the link too, and they say most of what you said in your comment. I didn’t mention those points because I was reasonably sure the Marine in question was male, and the female tables weren’t applicable.
The proof of a liquor is merely 2x the percentage, by volume, of alcohol it contains. A “standard” drink contains 0.6 fl oz of ethanol. But a shot of 151 proof rum contains nearly twice that; a shot of 100 proof vodka, 25% more. So those hit harder – and you need less of them to get wasted.
It’s also why you need to REALLY watch it if you’re a beer drinker and occasionally drink ales. Some of the good IPAs are 7+% alcohol – or higher. Those are nearly 1 1/2 times stronger than most beers, and will get you in legal trouble much more quickly.
0.03? Holy crap! If you’re within 10 feet of a beer you’ll blow a 0.03!
When I was on Okinawa in 2005-06 there were rumors Okinawa Prefecture was lobbying the Japanese government get the limit dropped to 0.01.
Other countries are really serious about drink-driving offenses. They even set up checkpoints for the morning AFTER holidays to catch folks whose systems may not have flushed out the previous night’s alcohol sufficiently. Had a friend who got caught in Scotland at 9AM Monday. Too much partying Sunday.
Was that for THEIR people or OURS? The Okinawans don’t want us there, we don’t want to be there, and I really hoped they were going to move the 3rd Mardiv lock stock and barrel to Guam where they are wanted. That would solve the problems permanently. After dismantling every building, runway and sewer leaving nothing behind.
While I don’t agree with the mass punishment, the fact is that someone died, so “getting blown way out of proportion” is probably not the best expression.
“Punish the Innocent” – again.
A real leader would punish the guilty so as to make an example of them, possibly recycle a Safety Brief, and move on.
Nope. Politics gotta get in the way of sanity.
I hate the “punish all of you” leadership style because it singles out the people doing their jobs and following direction, but one thing not noted in any of the articles is that there were three incidents three weekends in a row involving alcohol that had local press interest. All three involved a person pretty intoxicated and two involved motor vehicles. The denying the troops of hooch strategy comes from the desire to show GoJ the US military is doing “something” to address the issue.
I agree with you but then I have to throw in “However”. In Okinawa, it’s already dissident’s powder keg. I phrase it that way, because most average Okinawans (based on being there from 2012-2016) are not emotionally charged one way or the other to us. Some love us, and probably an equal amount hate us for living. There is also the communist party of Japan that hates our presence. So when ever a SOFA status member farts out of line there is a backlash. If a local gets killed, then there’s a complete freak out.
Not having a US serviceman in Kin Town or Naha getting drunk as all get out the day after a local’s death is a way of showing our respect and not turning the middle of the roaders against us. That’s just the political situation we are in over there.
One last thing: it also serves another purpose that serves our needs as well. When there are no US servicemen in town buying booze of any sort, that means there is a lot of money lost in the local community. Several months of that (e.g. the lock down that happened in September of 2012 when I had first gotten that and that went on for 11ish months) and the local business start feeling the pinch of not having the gringos’ money in their tills. It’s an exercise in American appreciation. The afore mentioned Kin Town was really feeing it for that year.
I’m not saying it didn’t suck. It sucked big time. I’m just suggesting there is a thought out reason.
That argument would hold water if USFJ had banned consumption of alcohol off-base. However, they didn’t. Per the language used in copy of the policy announcement above, USFJ appears to have also banned alcohol consumption on-base and in private residences.
IMO that’s not any kind of “community relations”. That’s a knee-jerk reaction constituting mass punishment, and is poor leadership.
If the announcement misses the command’s intent, they need to publish a revised announcement that accurately reflects intended policy. Quickly.
“If the announcement misses the command’s intent”
No, it probably doesn’t. The going theory, I believe, is what I said regarding “showing remorse” and enforcing sobriety in town. I didn’t say that there could be those in power as USFJ that want to make it difficult for those there. It’s not right, but there it is.
Guilt by association – if you’re in the military and someone else has a drunk driving accident, you’re part of the problem, even if you don’t drink liquor.
Here’s a question – what actually happens to a serviceman who kills someone when committing a DUI? His BAC may be low by US standards, but Okinawa has the right to enforce their own laws off base (I presume this was an off-base incident?). When I was in almost 40 years ago I made a few civilian court appearances for sailors in my detachment who got caught DUI. They were subject to the civilian penalties, but in these cases the judges remanded them to my custody.
In the US someone in situation often faces a manslaughter charge. Is this Marine facing the Okinawan equivalent in Okinawan court?
It depends because of the Status of Forces Agreement, but it can go either way. I’ve always believed it depends on who will give the more appropriate punishment.
Yeah it depends…case by case basis.
I’ve had to make jail visits over there. Seriously austere conditions and discipline.
Even if a servicemen is consigned to a japanese prison, the U.S. will generally continue to negotiate that he is returned to US custody as soon as possible.
Japan is big on restitution to the family as well as a prison sentence.
I think that your question will be answered in due course. Just wait and see what happens to this Marine, I guess.
Assuming the limit of 0.03% BAC limit for Japan quoted in comments above is accurate, his BAC wasn’t particularly low by US standards either.
His BAC was reportedly 3x the Japanese legal limit – which means it was 0.09%. That would be over the limit for DUI in most US jurisdictions – 0.08% is typically the DUI “breakpoint” in the US these days.
I remember back at Fort Bliss (1990-1992), it was said that a soldier was “much better off” getting a DUI out in El Paso rather than on base.
A few years’ prior, the 3rd Herd commander made it a direct order NOT to get a DUI – so if you did get one, they could also add disobeying a direct order to the charges.
When I was stationed there we had a troop get drunk and beat someone with a pipe in a downtown bar. He spent 60 days in a Okinawan jail until he came up with “compensation” to the individual. I suspect this will happen here. The main problem here is you have Marines who who are assigned to a M.E.U, spent 3 months cooped up on an amphibious assault ship, then they release them on the town after a couple of days. Something would happen and they would forbid anyone from leaving base, which was hard for me because I lived on a Marine base and would get hassled by the guards every. single. time.
The many shall suffer for the sins of the few- a fine old Navy tradition.
I take it you were with Project Paperclip?
People Against People Ever Reenlisting Civilian Life Is Preferable.
Assume much, Ozzie? It’s a bad habit.
The old “Leadership from the Rear,” saw. They’ve been making firewood with that for centuries. I wonder what it would take to implement a serious leadership change in the ranks? Probably a series of scandals.
Instead of pulling the mass punishment, the command should wave the SOFA protections for the Marine and let him go through the local court system. If/when he’s found guilty, he goes to their penial system. Then, let every swinging Richard know that they will meet the same fate if they are stupid enough to break local laws.
we know that the current “punishment” isn’t going to appease the Okinawans, who scream to have the US removed after every incident. At least forcing the Americans into the Japanese system will convey some level of transparency and a lack of protectionism and a two tier legal system on our part.
Which is why i’m glad i’m retired. My common sense muscle is getting stronger every day.
Jeezus H Christ.
How long is it going to be before General Order No. 1 applies to all US military members, at all times, from enlistment until retirement?
I heard they put troops in Korea on GO#1 a few years back, then they told them that hooking up with “bar girls” was verboten, too.
Did I miss something? Did Mitt Romney secretly get elected in 2012 and issue an executive order that our military was supposed to act like Mormon missionaries?
When will this madness stop? When will we stop treating our military members like children?
Damn, I thought it was bad when I was in but it was nothing like today. Hell, we had a beer machine in our barracks in Korea and I had a jar full of quarters on my desk. Now we tell 20 year old infantrymen “you are enough of an adult to put your body in harms way, but not enough of an adult to enjoy a beer at the end of the day.” Ridiculous.
BTW for the benefit of those who don’t get the reference, General Order no. 1 (“GO1”) is the order that was first put in place for the first Gulf war in 1990. At that time it was issued because US troops were deployed to Saudi Arabia which forbade the possession or consumption of alcohol, so the order was issued to appease the conservative Saudi government.
But then… the Powers that Be decided that GO1 was a great way to keep the troops from getting into trouble, so from that point on, GO1 became a part of every contingency operation that the US embarked on. We were under GO1 in Haiti in 1994, in the Former Yugoslavia in 1997, and in Afghanistan in 2003, even though NONE of those countries bans alcohol.
It was such a sore point with the troops that when I was in Hungary in 1997 that they sold T-shirts that said “Beer Kills. Deploy to Bosnia and Live Forever.” (Taszar Airbase in Hungary was the Intermediate Staging Base, or ISB, for troops deploying into and returning from the Former Yugoslavia for Operation Joint Endeavor and Operation Joint Guard, the NATO peacekeeping mission there.)
As I said above, apparently GO1 has been extended to troops in Korea as well, which is insane because drinking is about the only thing troops can do in Korea to pass the time.
Kosovo was under GO#1. With the exception if you were assigned to NATO Staff at Film City in Pristina, you were allowed to drink.
Every national contingent had a PX at Film City. Every one of them sold alcohol. EXCEPT AAFES.
The “justification” for GO#1 was that Kosovo was a Muslim country. The fact that I knew the locations of a dozen liquor stores in Gjilane was irrelevant.
I’m impressed that they went so far as to fabricate a justification.
In Haiti, Croatia and Afghanistan the justification was “because we’re the Army and fuck your morale, anyway.”
Of course, in Afghanistan my unit was on a sub-camp of Bagram called Camp Vance with the CJSOTF (Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force.) “Regular” troops weren’t allowed on Camp Vance (you had to have a Camp Vance pass to get on.) Anyone who didn’t have a pass was escorted, usually just to and from the JOC (Joint Operations Center.)
And since we worked directly with the German SOF, well, let’s just say that if I wanted a beer at the end of the day, I didn’t have far to go…
And yet, somehow we didn’t have any serious alcohol incidents.
Iraq last rotation, troops mentioned something about I never knew about the drinking.
My response “Oh you mean in Room 256?”
“Holy shit sir, you knew? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you kept it quiet, you policed yourself and you threw the empties away in a different companies area. I got my first alcohol related/violation of a lawful order NJP before some of y’all were born”
Our Company was somehow selected to be the international emissary of the task force, if you will. What that meant was that two weeks out of every three, give or take, we were at a different country’s camp. Every single one of those had at minimum a very well stocked bar, and some of them served alcohol at the mess hall.
That coupled with the local liquor stores, I easily drank as much in Kosovo as I did in the states, and I worked in a bar at the time.
Good times!
Problem: the troops sometimes act immaturely
Solution: treat them like children rather than like the professional adults we claim they are
Outcome: the troops sometimes act immaturely
Become enraged that the people you treat as children act like children and start cycle two.
Problem: young troops act like children when we treat them like children
Solution: punish everyone
Outcome 2: Captains and Sergeants quit, Sr NCOs retire on first day eligible and FG officers stop trying.
That is MUCH better than dealing with the offender straight and treating people like adults, apparently.
Yeah I agree. Where was I just now? Giving my DD214 a GREAT BIG hug and a kiss!!!
But… treating them like adults and punishing them like adults is just mean! /SARC/
We pound these kids daily about taking individual responsibility and then, when it’s time to hold them accountable, we don’t. Mass punishment does not work on individual fuckups.
I’m gonna go wrap up in my DD-214 blankie safe space.
The idea that Command can prevent any misbehavior is hilarious and shows exactly the mindset of egotistical assholes abusing their power. Military “leadership” is rifle with this bullshit complex that thinks they have ultimate control when in reality they just compound the problems by having zero respect for their troops when they treat them all like shit.
It sure does wonders for morale, cohesion and retention, doesn’t it?
You have stated the irreducible truth of leadership.
Leadership is about developing the right people and getting rid of the wrong people. This means that discipline has to be targeted, swift, and surgical.
But that means enforcing objective standards of behavior on everyone, and god forbid that ever happen to the FO/GO crowd.
Whatever happened to holding people individually accountable? This time someone decided to take on the title of Morale Destruction Officer and make everyone miserable, what are they supposed to do in their spare time now, milk, cookies and Tiddly Winks?
I spent 7 years stationed in Japan. 4 of those were on C7F staff. The Admirals and other senior ranks know it sucks to have to ban alcohol or restrict liberty, especially for a few dumbasses. They always eventually give them back, but it is only a snort matter of time before something happens again. The Japanese are rightfully angry when these events happen. Something has to be done for the better interest of both governments. Unfortunately it sucks. But, I think that there is a better way. Let everyone drink on base, and let them drink without being harassed. Maybe even start letting the Japanese girls in the base clubs again. Let them blow off steam. They need it. For the forward deployed Navy, their schedules usually take them away from home port 9 months a year. They are on max duty and working parties when in port resupplying and getting things fixed. I am sure the other services are on higher tempos also. In Yokosuka, the Shore Patrol is out in force on and off base more and more. If they let everyone drink on base, and screen everyone leaving the base, they contain the problem, not push it further away. I know alcohol is not a good answer. But, something like what I have stated may be the best compromise.
I agree with JBar. I spent 3 years at Yokota, and think instituting the equivalent of GO-1 at a main operating base, in a host nation that does not frown upon alcohol consumption, is a mistake and only leads to further problems. I would restrict drinking to on-base only, and further prohibit members from leaving base after consuming alcohol…enforced by random sobriety checks EXITING base. Any other policy neither addresses the root issue nor treats servicemembers like the adults they are.
Good Lord, they put KOREA on GO1!? That is going to lead to way more problems than it will solve. The 1 am curfew is/was bad enough. I was an E-5 over there back in the early 00’s and I know most of us in the mid-tier NCO grades made it a point to try and head off any nonsense from the younger guys downtown, before it got out of hand.
My roommate (another E-5) and I had an apartment off base and there were quite a few weekends where our living room floor, at 1:30 in the morning, was littered with shit faced E-3’s and E-4’s that would’ve been arrested trying to get back on base in their condition.
Korea on GO#1? Talk about MURDERING the economies of localities right outside of US Installations! WHAT’S NEXT, making I’Tae Won in Seoul OFF LIMITS to US Military Personnel? We train and keep our Military Personnel as ready for war as we can which includes killing people and breaking things, but according to candyassed pisspants booger-munching doctrine nowadays, our Military Personnel should be forced to settle for milk, cookies and games of Tiddly-Winks instead of BOOZE AND PUSSY, what Combat-Ready Grunts always crave when coming out of the field.
No doubt this will help retention numbers, treat everyone like a fucking drunk retard because of one drunk retard…
Well once all the retards with waivers get in these retention problems will be solved….
Does anybody remember GO1 at the airport in Ireland coming home from the sand box?
I remember getting GO#1 put up our asses when we got back from Kuwait thanks to a few IDIOT IRR recalls that were in the first chock coming back. If it weren’t for my Missus being there I likely would have gone apeshit on someone!
Good old Kuwait, I helped cut the hole thru the fence were we put the LSA in. 1200+ TCN workers leaning on shovels like the highway department.
“Does anybody remember GO1 at the airport in Ireland coming home from the sand box?”
NOPE, sure don’t! Every once in a while the National Guard gets something right. We did have a two drink limit though.
The Marines that were sharing our flight with us were green with envy.
I remember stopping in Germany and being “protected” in a closed off area on the airport by German police armed with sub guns. Absolutely fucking ridiculous. Treat returning US troops like criminal terrorist scum that needs to be held at gun point because they dare want to get off a plane and move around.
Literally the only things you do on Okinawa if you’re military is drink or work out. The locals largely hate you and openly discriminate. Why punish your troops that did nothing wrong? Sounds like Command is as ignorant as many of the locals. Sounds like massive abuse of power that obviously wouldn’t be accepted otherwise. Does the state department forbid US citizens to drink? I mean seriously, this abusing service members because they can is pretty horse shit.
This is the attitude that makes everyone hate Okinawa without really experiencing Okinawa. Yeah, it sucks if you are in the military but it sucks worse if you are in a command that treats you like a child (read: anywhere on Hansen or Schwab). I was rarely on base except to clean the barracks or work. The locals are actually really kind and I had no problem with the dating scene there either. Not acting like a beer chugging basic bro with a high and unnecessary haircut helps.
I did a year in Okinawa over a four month period. At least it seemed that way. It smells like shit, it is hot and humid, and I did not like anything about it other than I only did the four months then got sent to Iwakuni. Liked it there much better. From what I saw, the Okinawans had a bad attitude about us. Like many places, they loved our money and hated us. I made a point of giving them nothing I didn’t have to.
Bad attitudes are present around any community directly outside of military bases, not only in Okinawa. Most especially those bases where guys come to do a stint for training and then leave as they tend to take on a “this place is a cartoon and we can do anything” mentality when out in town. Heat and humidity are Japan-wide. Getting away from the bases and dropping the military identity can greatly improve the experience. It’s really not as bad as most make it out to be, you just have to be inventive.
I was flabbergasted when the military started enforcing a 21 drinking age at overseas bases and enforcing it with UCMJ actions against soldiers for “underage drinking.”
If the soldier is Stateside and the state has a law that says you have to be 21 to drink, I can understand the Army saying “well, we have to abide by state law.” But overseas, where the law is “if you’re old enough to put money on the bar, you’re old enough to drink?” Utterly stupid and ridiculous.
How the fXXX does a 19 or 20 year old soldier get charged with “underage” ANYTHING? He’s an ADULT!
He’s a SOLDIER, a camo-clad, commie-stomping red-blooded American WARRIOR. His job is to hump an M-60 or to slam 155mm shells into the breech of a howitzer or fire the main gun of a 60-ton tank at the invading commie hordes.
When he’s pulling guard duty – which is a lot – he’s held responsible for the safety and security of his unit and can be court martialed and sent to prison (or in extreme circumstances, executed) for being derelict in that duty.
Or maybe he’s a commo guy who is in charge of tens of thousands of dollars worth of sensitive electronic equipment as well as ciphers and security keys that, if improperly handled, can cause “exceptionally grave damage” to the national security. And if he’s derelict in that duty, again, he can be court-martialed and sent to prison for decades.
Yeah, he’s responsible for all that, and will be held accountable.
Oh, but he can’t have a beer. He’s “not mature enough” to make those kinds of decision.
Gah. My eyes just rolled so far in the back of my head I saw my brain stem. 🙁
In 2006 the legal drinking age was 21 for military even though it’s 20 in Japan. What ended up happening was that service members aged 18 to 20 (including yours truly) went out in town to get drunk instead, so obviously base establishments weren’t getting their cut of GI funbux. So the drinking age was lowered to 20 for those stationed in Japan. Didn’t matter, there was no need to get drunk at some E-Club trying to compete against 10 other guys chasing 1 mediocre-looking woman-Marine when there were plenty of local ladies and mainlander tourists looking for Americans. Good times…
When I was there year or so ago in Zama…they started handing off stiff punishments to Civilians. We had a teacher who hit a pedestrian and start rummaging through peoples houses to get away from the police. He went back to work the next day. He was a damn gym teacher for DoDDs.
The rule they put in place for us civilians was – you get a DUI – we will remove you and ship your stuff back CONUS for you. Not sure how legal it was to do it. But, because there was no legal standing to do this, not sure if was ever implemented. Hell, we had no union at Camp Zama anyways.
Well with the few Marines we have if one of them can’t learn to not drink and drive the military way is to punish the entire group. That way they’re taught that the actions of a single Marine can harm the entire group.
And then they get mad and EAS. Then boots come to the island, they fuck up, everyone gets mad, then they EAS. Then more boots come…
The Marine Corps turns over every year and is mostly filled with sex-starved 18 to 22 years olds with drinking and anger problems. This will never change no matter how many mass punishments happen.
So I was stationed in Okinawa from 2006 to 2011 (on and off between deployments, but two units on Foster and Courtney were my parent units). I was around for the Zilmer lockdown and “period of reflection” after some SSgt pederast molested a 14 year old local. Stuff goes up and down. Cycles.
My wife is from the island and she and her family are largely indifferent to the military presence there. It just doesn’t affect people’s lives one way or the other. But there is an extremely vocal leftist minority there-which I suspect is being augmented by pro-China and communist organizations-that gets all the local press coverage which is taken as fact by the international press.
I understand the reasons for locking everyone down, it’s political. But shit like this makes me glad I got out of the military. Nothing sadder than a grown Iraq veteran getting out on Cinderella curfew because somebody else did something stupid out in town. I plan on going back to see the in-laws soon and absolutely love the fact I can go there on my terms. How does that tune go?
No more PT, no more VD, no more shining brass. So take that eagle, globe, and anchor and shove it up your ass.
and the drunk Japanese with too much ‘tory’ under their belt?
Are they restricted also or do they just not have any DUI tendency?
I remember them when we were stationed at MCAS Iwakuni
as they staggered out of clubs downtown too much ‘tory’ under their belt
The U.S. military locking down non-military foreign nationals in their home country is questionable at best. I remember when some commander tried to pull that, he was promptly ignored and laughed at.
Here is a better thought since the military leadership is afraid of offending the Japanese: close and seal the bases, declare town off limits, and allow no interaction.
Anyone taking bets on if the senior leadership is cleaning the booze out of their quarters?
Of course they’re not. In 20 years every single time I’ve seen a alcohol ban, not counting Iraq or Afghanistan but there too sometimes, the leadership ignores the ban.
3/4 Infantry banned alcohol, when they returned to Germany, for a day or two. I know for a fact that 3 LTs got sloshed in a apartment, wandered down to the pub, and had to be carried home that first night.
Go to Sam Adams pub on NTC, at the end of a rotation. RTU (visiting unit) is under orders not to drink (technically, they can drink, within certain limits, if they request it from the NTC CG). I guarantee that you will find a group of ‘leaders’ sitting at a table full of empty pitchers while their Joes are sitting back at the RUBA because they have a 2000 curfew.
Big game playing? Stop by Shockwave and watch the NCOs in rear det getting sloshed while the BDE they’re in is out in the box.
I’ve done over 5 years total at JRTC/NTC, as OPFOR and O/C. I saw that go on, every single rotation.