Argumentative Essay on Alcohol Use in the Military

Wallace, A.E, A Wallace, and W.B Weeks. "The U.s. Military As a Natural Experiment: Changes in Drinking Age, Military Environment, and Later Alcohol Treatment Episodes Among Veterans." Military Medicine. 173.7 (2008): 619-625. Print.


The United States military bases before 1982 allowed alcohol drinking to all ages. However, in 1988, there were polices aimed at discouraging underage and drinking problem. 21 years became the legal drinking with the new policies. The study examined whether such changes had any effect on later alcohol treatment episodes among civilians and veterans. The findings indicate that enforcement of 21-year minimum legal drinking age contributed to the improvement in alcohol treatment among veterans compared their civilians counterparts. 


Norberg, Karen E, Laura J. Bierut, and Richard A. Grucza. "Long-term Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws on Past-Year Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders." Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 33.12 (2009): 2180-2190. Print


Studies indicate that alcohol drinking that starts an early age is detrimental in the substance and alcohol abuse later in life.  The research compared different legal minimum drinking age laws.  The sample total was 33,869 respondents and must have been US-born citizen between 1948 to 1970. The finding indicates that the adults who bought alcohol before the age of 21 years were likely to suffer from alcohol use disorder.


Teachman, Jay, Carter Anderson, and Lucky M. Tedrow. "Military Service and Alcohol Use in the United States." Armed Forces " Society. 41.3 (2015): 460-476. Print


The veterans and enlistees have a higher likely hood of alcohol use compared to the civilians.  The study is based cross-sectional data and did not consider alcohol use among women in the military service. However, the study investigates the alcohol consumption and military service. The findings show that the military service has a significant influence on alcohol consumption among young men. The male veterans consumed more compared to the nonveterans.


Agius, Marie. Alcohol Exposure While Serving in the United States Military. , 2018. http://thescholarship.ecu.edu/bitstream/handle/10342/6512/AGIUS-DOCTORALDISSERTATION-2018.pdf?sequence=1"isAllowed=y. Accessed on April 28, 2018


 The alcohol use and misuse and related problems experienced a significant increase over the last three decades. The research concentrates on alcohol-related problem among the military servicemen


The study sought to understand the exposure to alcohol and its effects on daily duties of military personnel using. The study used phenomenological design. Alcohol is available in base bars or clubs. There are different options where services can go for alcohol. Drinking takes place in homes, barracks, and deployment as well as picnics and parties.


Fuehrlein, Brian S, Natalie Mota, Albert J. Arias, Louis A. Trevisan, Lorig K. Kachadourian, John H. Krystal, Steven M. Southwick, and Robert H. Pietrzak. "The Burden of Alcohol Use Disorders in Us Military Veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study." Addiction. 111.10 (2016): 1786-1794. Print


The article aimed at analyzing data from a sample US veteran. It addressed lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD). The web-based survey was used to randomly pick US veterans from all over the US. There were 3157 participants aged 21 and above.  Findings: the AUD prevalence was on the increase. The affected showed high rates of anxiety and current mood disorders, drug use disorder and suicide attempts. The young-aged and lower education increased the chances of traumatic events and lifetime AUD.  Over 40%of the military Veterans in the US experience lifetime history of AUD.


(3) wk. 13 Essay Outline


Wk. 14 Argumentative Essay


            People aged 18 increase in their numbers during the Vietnamese War. The young men and women had the right to right to vote, and fight for their country but not consume alcohol.  Many of the states lowered the minimum legal drinking age to 18 years during the 1970s. The lowering of drinking age led to increased fatalities later in that decade and people could not comply with the Highway Code. In 1988, the states reversed the MLDA to 21 years. The military was the first to the introduce 21-years age limit for alcohol consumption among the servicemen. Congress enacted laws to guide drinking age in military bases.  The military leadership acknowledged the fact that the occupational and condition associated with the service including drinking culture, combat, and duty overseas. The situations increase the risks and consequences of young people and lifetime drinking problem. The establishment of 21 years as the legal drinking age is safe for both civilians and military personnel.


            Alcohol is a widely abused substance among adolescents and young adults in the United States.  The population binge drink and are likely to involve themselves in a variety of behavior. Drunken youths drive after drinking, never wear safety belts or carry weapons, engage in unprotected sexual activities and illicit drug use.  The frequent alcohol takers get physical injuries during fights and try to commit suicide. Additionally, the development of brain continues to in their middle age.  Alcohol misuse among the teenagers results to cognitive impairment in attention and memory deficits.  Lowering the legal drinking age (MLDA) contributes to short-term effects such as teen suicides and traffic fatalities.  Studies continue to investigate the relationship between permissive MLDA laws and alcohol drinking behavior. The findings indicate a problematic behavior persisting to later years of adulthood (Norberg et al 2180).


The raising of minimum drinking age to 21 will help in preventing harms related to underage drinking. The benefits of MLDA of 21 will significantly help in later years of life. The states that allow drinking at 18 years have adults experiencing alcohol abuse, drug, and alcohol dependence (Fuehrlein, et al. 1786).


The drinking age law is applicable in 50 counties intended to reduce the number of traffic deaths caused by drunk young drivers.  Combination of legal drinking age and the Driving under influence (DUI) rules helped the country succeeded in reducing the fatalities on the roads. The reality is that 18 years in the United States is no a legal drinking adult.


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Work Cited


Agius, Marie. Alcohol Exposure While Serving in the United States Military. , 2018. http://thescholarship.ecu.edu/bitstream/handle/10342/6512/AGIUS-DOCTORALDISSERTATION-2018.pdf?sequence=1"isAllowed=y. Accessed on April 28, 2018


Fuehrlein, Brian S, Natalie Mota, Albert J. Arias, Louis A. Trevisan, Lorig K. Kachadourian, John H. Krystal, Steven M. Southwick, and Robert H. Pietrzak. "The Burden of Alcohol Use Disorders in Us Military Veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study." Addiction. 111.10 (2016): 1786-1794. Print


Norberg, Karen E, Laura J. Bierut, and Richard A. Grucza. "Long-term Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws on Past-Year Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders." Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 33.12 (2009): 2180-2190. Print


Teachman, J., Anderson, C., " Tedrow, L. M. (July 01, 2015). Military Service and Alcohol Use in the United States. Armed Forces " Society, 41, 3, 460-476.


Wallace, A.E, A Wallace, and W.B Weeks. "The U.s. Military As a Natural Experiment: Changes in Drinking Age, Military Environment, and Later Alcohol Treatment Episodes Among Veterans." Military Medicine. 173.7 (2008): 619-625. Print.

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