Saturday, March 17, 2012

Is Alcohol A Problem On U.S. Bases In Afghanistan?

Photo from Adelaide Now

In Afghan Killings Case, Questions Over Alcohol -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP

The U.S. military bans alcohol for its troops in Afghanistan, but that doesn't stop some soldiers from having a bottle or two stowed away in their gear -- a fact highlighted by investigators probe into whether alcohol played a role when a U.S. sergeant allegedly carried out a killing spree that left 16 Afghans dead.

U.S. investigators have determined that the suspect had been drinking alcohol prior to leaving the base the night of the attack, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday. How much of a role alcohol played in the attack is still under investigation, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because charges have not yet been filed.

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My Comment: I hope that I am wrong .... but I suspect that drug and alcohol abuse is more rampant than what we are being told.

1 comment:

AllSeeingMom said...

I've been told via a good source that psychotropic drugs (pharma's) are available "like candy" in Afghanistan (& also in Iraq) to combat "PTSD" in the troops. These meds are DANGEROUS and often CAUSE the type of behavior we saw with this soldier (going "postal"). They have also been linked with teen homicides/school shootings here in the US. The crap is dangerous and makes people unpredictable. The Army will probably not release info on his meds, however (although he may have indeed been diagnosed with PTSD from his previous deployments in Iraq).