I’m tempted to stick with what we have rather than experiment with a rollback to 18…

I would choose to call raising the drinking age to 21 and experiment, one which has failed. But that’s just me.

Rather than punish those who are legally adults because they might buy drinks for their underage friends, let’s punish the actual criminal activity.

1) Legalize drinking for those 18 and over.
2) Severely increase the penalties for ANY drunk driving
3) Severely increase the penalties for underage drinking (pre-18) and the penalties for buying alcohol for those under 18, making it a felony with mandatory jailtime.

That way, you are punishing the real undesirable behavior rather than preventing those who are otherwise adults from having a beer.

SalAOR on February 22, 2009 at 7:57 PM

What a silly notion. That would require that the majority of laws be passed in order to actually curb harmful behavior, rather than to simply exert more behavior control.

They used to be able to when I was active duty, but that changed in 80s too. Now, the base follows the legal age of the state (21) except in two cases:

Read here for much more info. I personally support an 18 drinking age.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/drinkingage.htm

1) Legalize drinking for those 18 and over.
2) Severely increase the penalties for ANY drunk driving
3) Severely increase the penalties for underage drinking (pre-18) and the penalties for buying alcohol for those under 18, making it a felony with mandatory jailtime.

That way, you are punishing the real undesirable behavior rather than preventing those who are otherwise adults from having a beer.

RustMouse on February 22, 2009 at 1:20 PM

Maybe in pogue units, but in infantry units the “nudge-nudge-wink-wink” policy is in full bloom.

The difference between 21 year old drinking age and an 18 year old drinking age is that a 21 year old purchases beers for 18 year old friends, and an 18 year old purchases beers for 16 year old friends.

BKennedy on February 22, 2009 at 9:20 AM

So we’d go from people three years younger than the minimum age drinking to people two years younger than the minimum age drinking.

I think that’s called progress.

With the sheer numbers of military members dying due to alcohol-related incidents, the military has taken a hard-line stance against drinking, going as far as to all but outlaw drinking at official functions even.

Not to mention that at 18 most people are STILL going through developmental stages mentally and physically. Is it REALLY a good idea to introduce alcohol to them at such a sensitive point? With how moody and willing to take risks most teens are at such ages . . . it could be a very dangerous situation to put them in.
Also, for all of those who saying being raised with alcohol fixes the problem here is a story. I knew a guy in college who started drinking at 13, when he got to the LEGAL age of drinking he ended up with alcohol poisoning and had one of his friends (a nursing student) stick an IV in him so he wouldn’t have to go to the ER. Did he learn from that experience? No, he didn’t, he kept on drinking just like that until this day. Before you say that is just one instance, I saw PLENTY of these instances when I was in college. It was sickening.
Binge drinking occurs on the street just as much as it does in households.
Oh and if anyone is curious, I didn’t drink alcohol until a week before my 22nd birthday. I didn’t go crazy with it either.

There was a lot of press last month about the troops in Iraq getting two real beers for the Superbowl, but even then the age rule was enforced.

Unofficially, though, most first line leaders will let their troops enjoy a barley pop as long as they keep it low key and don’t get stupid.

The difference between 21 year old drinking age and an 18 year old drinking age is that a 21 year old purchases beers for 18 year old friends, and an 18 year old purchases beers for 16 year old friends.

BKennedy on February 22, 2009 at 9:20 AM

Oh well.

You should be able to drink alcohol when you are a responsible adult. A responsible adult is one that is self-sufficient: pays rent, earns income, is not a dependent on anyone else’s tax return, and receives no government welfare in the form of WIC, EITC, TANF, SSI, etc.

If you are doing that, then by golly, you are indeed an adult. If you can’t meet that minimum threshold for adulthood, then no matter what your age, you should be treated like the child you are.