Could this ever happen in the Army?

The Corps-wide drinking age has been lowered from 21 to 18 for Marines on liberty overseas and for leathernecks taking part in official on-base command functions including the birthday ball.

The rule change was effective April 19, not long after Commandant Gen. James Conway and Sgt. Maj. John Estrada, [...]
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Bless the Marines! They take care of their own.

They are a lot smaller than the Army. And my guess is that their internal discipline is better than the Army. It wouldn't take much.

USFK policy still rules the roost. They won't be drinking here at that age. Frankly, I'm not too upset about that. We have plenty of trouble from the 20 somethings that are downtown (whichever downtown you happen to be in) as it is.

If people could go out and have a couple of drinks and have a good time, then maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal, but when 10% of the 1500 people coming through a base/post's gate on a Friday night are intoxicated to the point of stumbling...that's just what we need is to add our youngest into the mix.

There is something to be said for allowing them to gain some years of maturity before they have all of that thrust upon them. Yes, I know, we trust 18 year olds to work on nuclear weapons...but how many of you would trust your 18 year old daughter to go out drinking with an 18 year old man in Songtan...or should I say trust the 18 year old man...yeah...I didn't think so...

Come one, does a drinking age really even deter 18-21 year-olds drinking?

Age is a deterrent only when it is accompanied by town patrol enforcement and judicial and non judicial punishment. I believe being a volunteer includes volunteering to be a proud representative of America's finest 24 hours a day.