The thousands of US troops deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been found to be party to hundreds of crime, apparently under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol is banned by the American military in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, most of the soldiers are able to get their hands on it through illegal means.
Facts and Figures
In fact, according to records obtained by NYT through a Freedom of Information Act request alcohol and drug-related charges were involved in more than a third of all Army criminal prosecutions of soldiers in the two war zones - 240 of the 665 cases resulting in convictions. Seventy-three of those 240 cases involve some of the most serious crimes committed, including murder, rape, armed robbery, and assault. Sex crimes accounted for 12 of the convictions. The 240 cases involved a roughly equal number of drug and alcohol offences, although alcohol-related crimes have increased each year since 2004.
Easy access to alcohol: stress buster
Reports show that despite the fact that alcohol is strictly forbidden, it is easily accessible in the form of alcoholic beverages. It is also cheaply priced. The soldiers, who are looking for ways to vent their frustration, depression, and deep physical or emotional pain find it extremely convenient and soothing to consume alcohol that is a temporary stress buster for them. Dr Thomas R Kosten, a psychiatrist at the Veterans Administration Medical Centre in Houston states: It’s clear that we’ve got a lot of significant alcohol problems that are pervasive across the military. He traces the pattern of military alcoholism back to past wars such as Vietnam as well. He offers that The treatment that they take for it is the same treatment that they took after Vietnam They turn to alcohol and drugs.’
The broader trend
Not only does the above scenario reflect a more generalised trend amongst military personnel toward heavier and more frequent drinking among all military personnel, but also that it is the highest amongst the factions of the army who are the most active on the war field. Pentagon officials and military health experts have noted that the Army and Marine Corps are involved in the most amount of drinking.
Other health studies such as one done by the Pentagon in January this year found that the rate of drinking in the Army went up by 30 per cent between 2002 and 2005, and ‘may signal an increasing pattern of heavy alcohol use in the Army.’ The study also showed that while average rates of alcohol consumption in the Navy and Air Force have steadily declined since 1980, they have significantly increased in the Army and Marine Corps and exceed civilian rates.
The effects
All of the above data and reports of studies done certainly has a deeper impact in an indirect way, ofcourse apart from its most direct effect in the form of decreasing discipline in the armed forces. Since these are the people who are mainly responsible for protecting the nation both inside the borders and outside, such irresponsibility and indiscipline is sure to boomerang hard.
Via: The Indian Express
