Do not read contempt where there is none. I understand the theory of "if you're old enough to fight you're old enough to drink".

But advocating that 18 year-olds can drink if they are in the military but not drink if they are not in the military is just special treatment.

As they should get.

Join the military and drink legally!!!

There's a great recruiting slogan. Once again, the group that despises treatment for particular groups advocates special treatment for their little group.

Agree.
Raise it to 25 or 30 is even better.

What have you or your students done for the country?

So you are saying that teachers dont matter and dont do anything for our country?

What a silly question. Why should an 18 year-old in the military have the right to drink but not an 18 year-old civilian?

I belive that someone should either be 18 WITH A HS DIPLOMA or in the military to drink at 18 yrs old. Those that can't complete HS dont show me the maturity to drink before 21.

Why not? You criticize but offer nothing but whining. Characteristic of the Left but getting old. Hollow as an Obama suit.

Would a GED count?

no.

Nope Disclaimer:(this is just an opinion. some GED holders are very intelligent and succesful. But the line has to be drawn somewhere.)

"Why not?" is a poor answer to "Why?". But it's what I expected.

I asked a question. Why should someone who is willing to put their life on the line not be granted the privilege of ordering a beer when home?

"Why not" was a question directed at you Mr. Obfuscate and Avoid.

Once again you whine but offer nothing. Very Obama-esq of you.

The premise that an 18 year-old in the military is responsible enough to drink but a civilian the same age is not has no evidence to back it.

Cuz we're special

Just b/c you are not active military doesn't mean you are not draft eligible. That is the point that is trying to be made. Most of the people I know that went into the military were b/c they were unsuccessful with life. That doesn't mean they didn't make good soldiers but they didn't have the maturity to attempt life without guidance.

Just so you know I have never been in the military and I regret it often. I let my mother and uncle talk me out of joining the Marines in order to attend college.

Proof?

College kid:



Military volunteer:

most are just patriots who want to give back to the greatest country on earth. i served with some of the bravest and best people i've ever met to this day

If you are in the military at 18, you should be able to drink. If you are not, you should not be able to use that as an excuse, and therefore should not be able to drink at 18. Back in the day, 18 year olds could buy 3.2% beer on post, but they did away with that. Therefore, like I said, if you are in the military you should be able to drink. But personally, I believe it should be the same way for voting.

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh284/252-257.htm

"Relative to other substance use, heavy drinking (i.e., consuming five or more drinks per typical drinking occasion at least once a week) appears to be a particularly persistent problem in the military. Although illicit drug use and cigarette smoking both decreased significantly over the period from 1980 to 2002, heavy alcohol use did not show the same decline. In fact, heavy alcohol use increased significantly from 1998 to 2002 for the first time since 1988 (Bray et al. 2003). In 2002, 27 percent of young adults (i.e., 18- to 25-year-olds) in the military reported heavy drinking, compared with only 8.9 percent of 26- to 55-year-olds (Bray et al. 2003).

Heavy drinking also is prevalent among those entering the military. A study tracking high school students into adulthood found that those who entered the military were more likely than other young adults to have been heavy drinkers in high school (Bachman et al. 1999)."

"OBJECTIVES: This study examined the utilization of and the perceived need for alcohol treatment services among college-age young adults (18-22 years) according to their educational status: full-time college students, part-time college students, noncollege students (currently in school with the highest grade level below college), and nonstudents (N=11,337).

RESULTS: Full-time college students (21%) were as likely to have an alcohol use disorder as nonstudents (19%), but were more likely than part-time college students (15%) and noncollege students (12%). Only 4% of full-time college students with an alcohol use disorder received any alcohol services in the past year. Of those with an alcohol use disorder who did not receive treatment services, only 2% of full-time college students, close to 1% of part-time college students, and approximately 3% of young adults who were not in college reported a perceived need for alcohol treatment. Full-time college students were less likely than noncollege students to receive treatment for alcohol use disorders. All young adults with an alcohol use disorder were very unlikely to perceive a need for alcohol treatment or counseling. CONCLUSIONS: College-age adults have a high prevalence of alcohol use disorders, yet they are very unlikely to receive alcohol treatment or early intervention services or to perceive a need for such services. Underutilization of alcohol-related services among college-age young adults deserves greater research attention."
http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/58/2/192

Your point?

Intellectually dishonest.

You compare two different groups.

http://www.enotalone.com/article/11185.html

"As the table shows, young men in each service branch had significantly higher rates of heavy drinking than their civilian counterparts. Of the young men in all branches of the military, 32.2 percent engaged in heavy drinking, compared with 17.8 percent of civilian men. Women serving in the Navy and the Marine Corps had significantly higher rates (11.5 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively) than civilian women; rates among women in the Army and Air Force (6.3 percent in each) did not differ significantly from those of their civilian counterparts."

Any way one looks at it, just being in the military should not qualify someone aged 18-20 to drink.