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thedrifter
11-03-07, 07:53 AM
Marines have earned adult rights

The U.S. Marine Corps versus Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

That will be a battle. And it should be.
Mansfield News Journal, OH

A dispute currently pits the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, California, against MADD. The Corps wants Marines serving under the age of 21 to have the right to consume alcoholic beverages. MADD is steadfastly opposed, and is spear-heading efforts to block the Corps from accomplishing this feat.
The issue at the heart of this confrontation extends far beyond the base limits of Camp Pendleton and the borders of California. It needs to be addressed nationally, and as soon as possible for the benefit of the men and women serving in all the U.S. Armed Forces.

MADD is misguided.

Military men and women of any age have earned the right to assume the privileges of adulthood by their demonstrated levels of courage, commitment, sacrifice and responsibility. Denial of the legal consumption of alcohol to those in uniform under the age of 21 is preposterous and disrespectful, especially because a large share of those in the U.S. Armed Forces are between the ages of 18 and 21.

It is time for the hypocrisy of the current system to end. It is time for federal -- not state and local -- legislation to be enacted to permit present and former military service members -- including active duty, Reserve and National Guard members under the age of 21 -- to be able to show a valid military ID to be served or to purchase alcohol.

Fredrick J. Falls

Mansfield

Ellie

killerinstinct
11-04-07, 11:31 AM
HELL YEA!!! I completely believe in this...

the only thing MADD is is this... Hurtful mothers whose trying to enforce and impose rules on others that THEY should have done prior to their childrens reckless drinking and driving deaths.

HardJedi
11-04-07, 11:53 AM
hey killer? thats a bunch of crap. not all those mothers had children at FAULT when they were injured in a car crash. I have had friends hit by drunk drivers, when my friends had never even tasted booze.

but, if you are old enough to fight and die for your country, old enough to pa taxes and vote, then you should be allowed to drink and buy handguns as well.

SlingerDun
11-04-07, 02:19 PM
No surprise to me this article seeds from the Soviet Republic Of California and until today i wasnt even aware that military personnel had to abide by state drinking age laws even on base. Although i would love to disagree with this i cant.

My tour expired the day i turned 21 and had i not been able to drink i'm pretty sure i would have said adios to Pendleton and california with 1000's of dollars instead of 100's heading into the 'civillian' recession of the 80's. I would have finished more MCI courses and damn sure would not have spent so much time and money paying the man for alcohol induced suaree's going take downs and knuckles on the streets and E clubs and waking up in the bushes or in somebody's jail.

Then again i think about all the good times i had drinking on liberty and i'm hard pressed, there wasn't many, except in the P.I. and Thailand where there was no drinking age and liberty came in doses. Anyway i used to be an alcoholic and i could source it to those military days when i had money but no bills and at certain times, access to unlimited amounts of alcohol. But similar to stomach ulcers from worrying about businesss, i outgrew it.

Many young Marines may have absolutely none of the above problems if the drinking age is tweeked down, but some could, or more.

--->Dave

Camper51
11-04-07, 04:12 PM
I have seen too many young people spattered all over the roads. Many were Marines and a few were even of legal age (a First Sgt of mine in Hawaii).

No I don't think they have the right to go splatter themselves all over our roads and kill themselves and others just because they are old enough to smoke or die in combat.

Dying in combat isn't a personal choice per se, but drinking certainly is.

Drinking impairs your mind and makes you do stupid things that you probably wouldn't do if you were sober, including irresponsible sex, driving recklessly and a host of other things.

We lose enough of our young men to motor vehicle accidents simply because they are young men and have macho attitudes and do stupid things. What we don't need is them being drunk and wiping out YOUR family along with MINE. Drunks not only kill themselves they kill other innocent people.

The argument that you should be able to drink if you are old enough to die in combat doesn't hold water and never will, not when you are driving around on MY streets in MY town, or even the towns and streets of all those who are members of this site.

Lest you think I am just an old man raving, I have "been there, done that, got the hat to prove it" I was a young 17 year old Marine in Kansas City and had gone out and snuck into a Shakey's Pizza Parlor one night and after ordering pitchers of soda until after the ID checker got there I switched to dark beer, met some friends and went out for some "mad dog" (MD 20/20 wine) and came back for a few more pitchers of beer. On the way home, some 25 miles away, I managed to lose control of my car, spin it around 3 or 4 times going down State Line Blvd then woke up at home... I don't remember driving the last 15 miles or so at all. Did I cause any accidents? Did I kill someone and not know it? Hell, I have no idea if I did because I blacked out. I can only hope I did not cause any problems that night. That was only one of my youthful indiscretions, and it was before I was even legal to drink in Kansas (18 at the time) much less in Missouri (21 at the time)...

No you do NOT have the right...

HardJedi
11-04-07, 09:27 PM
hey Camper? not EVRYONE who is old enough to drink, or legally allowed to drink, is a big enough idiot to get behind the wheel of a car and drive it. Hell, I drank more booze in 4 years of ative duty than i ever did before or since ( in fact my last taste of booze was aug of 1994) and never did I or anyone I know get behind the wheel of a car. A friend of mine tried it once. I broke his jaw in 2 places to stop him from it. There are plenty of YOUNG people out there who are responsible enough to handle it. Since when is AGE a proof of the ability to act responsibly anyway?

OLE SARG
11-04-07, 09:38 PM
I agree with HardJedi - when you decide that you are going to drink there needs to be a helping of responsibility that does with that decision to drink!!LIKE NOT GET YOUR DUMBASS BEHIND THE WHEEL OF AN AUTOMOBILE AND DDDRRRIIIVVVEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! SIMPLE AS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I too have inflicted physical harm to some *******s who decided they were going to get behind the wheel of a car DRUNK!!!!!!

SEMPER FI,

Wyoming
11-04-07, 09:44 PM
I agree with HardJedi - when you decide that you are going to drink there needs to be a helping of responsibility that does with that decision to drink!!LIKE NOT GET YOUR DUMBASS BEHIND THE WHEEL OF AN AUTOMOBILE AND DDDRRRIIIVVVEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! SIMPLE AS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I too have inflicted physical harm to some *******s who decided they were going to get behind the wheel of a car DRUNK!!!!!!

SEMPER FI,

The title of this thread is - Marines have earned adult rights -

It's not a right, it's a choice, and beleive me, it needs to be the right choice.

The Bride, told me 40 some years ago, that I could go out anytime I wanted, to any bar I wanted, but just give her 15 minutes.

Did I say 40 some years ago? Sure did!!

We don't do the bar scene, and really never did.

Made it to 40 years however.

Sgt Leprechaun
11-05-07, 12:24 AM
I did my share of 'stoopid' as a young, drinking Marine at age 18. However, I also agree, that if you are old enough to DIE for your country, you should be old enough to have a freakin beer.

That having been said, the penalty for those abusing that PRIVLEDGE should be swift, severe, and public. You drink and you drive, you are busted, restricted, not allowed to consume alcoholic beverages again until you turn of legal age (even overseas), and have base driving privledges revoked for 1 year. No exceptions, no excuses, no probation. In town or on base, makes no difference.

Will there be 'issues'? Sure. But if the rules are enforced across the board, the penalties for stupidity will give pause to those who are so inclined, and those who fail to heed them will be an example to others.

Let's be realistic here anyway....how many of these kids, fresh from the Anbar province, at age 19 or 20, are getting booze ANYway, unregulated and unsupervised? Bring it out in the open, regulate it, and go from there.

killerinstinct
11-05-07, 08:30 AM
hey killer? thats a bunch of crap. not all those mothers had children at FAULT when they were injured in a car crash. I have had friends hit by drunk drivers, when my friends had never even tasted booze.

but, if you are old enough to fight and die for your country, old enough to pa taxes and vote, then you should be allowed to drink and buy handguns as well.

My point o fit is this. This organization tries to shield children from life. They'd lobby for legislation to have their kids in a gigantic composite made gerbil wheel if they could.

I simply don't believe in these people who had their traditional childhood (riding without seeat belts doing in a back seat) deprive me of the experiences assosciated with growing up as well as future generations.

They say it's not the same world and this is why we need so many precautions. they are right it IS a different world and it's people like this who have changed it and not for the better.