FILE: An Afghan policeman throws a box of beer out of a truck to be destroyed in Kabul, on July 17, 2006. CNN
Keeping Alcohol Out of War Zones -- International Herald Tribune
HONG KONG — Nearly every combat outpost in Afghanistan is automatically part of a volatile mix: a hardened enemy, increasingly sophisticated and deadly land mines, nervous young soldiers, powerful weapons and machinery, suicide bombers, the stress of multiple deployments, searing heat, unfriendly locals, unfamiliar languages.
The U.S. Army has concluded that adding alcohol to that mix is unwise.
But now, with the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians, alcohol has been suggested as a possible causal factor in the killings, along with other stressors. Inquiries into the tragedy are ongoing; the facts remain unclear.
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My Comment: Michael Yon does not think that this is a critical problem .... and I will agree. What is the big problem .... and one that reader AllSeeingMom has pointed out to me eloquently .... is the availability of psychotropic drugs in Afghanistan to combat "PTSD" in the troops. Apparently these meds are available like "candy", with no clear understanding on what are the long term effects of having this medication given to our troops.
Interestingly .... heroin and marijuana use is NOT a significant problem in the military .... in a country that is the world's #1 producer .... at least from what I am reading.