Can you send alcohol to troops in afghanistan

The Confidential Alcohol Treatment and Education Project is aimed at helping soldiers who abuse alcohol, before more serious substance abuse problems develop that could harmfully impact their finances, health, relationships and military career. The Army introduced the program in at three Army installations, and expanded it to six posts. Sign up now for a weekly digest of the top drug and alcohol news that impacts your work, life and community. By Partnership Staff.

Get the latest news from our field. Please leave this field empty. During the Vietnam era, drinking was allowed and both drinking and drug use were common among soldiers.

At that time, raucous, alcohol-fueled nights out on the town in Saigon were routine. But as men returned from Vietnam as alcoholics and drug addicts, the military started to revisit its substance abuse policy. In , the government required all military branches to identify substance abusers and provide treatment and rehabilitation. More than 20 per cent of soldiers tested positive for drugs when the Army started screenings, according to U.

Then, when the U. Because of the risks of sneaking in alcohol, most U. They buy nonalcoholic beer in stores on base for the familiar taste. Those looking for a buzz take up smoking or chewing tobacco. There are many more stories of U. Drug abuse is a rampant problem in the Afghan army and U. On remote, hilly outposts, soldiers often make it through the night with sleeping pills and joints get passed around.

Some become addicts. Most say they're doing what they have to, facing a morning that could bring a new firefight or a roadside bombing on their patrol. In Iraq in , a U. Steven Dale Green, a former st Airborne soldier, was sentenced to five life terms for the crime. He said in a later interview that drugs and alcohol were prevalent at his checkpoint south of Baghdad. He also said that he had been taking a mood-regulating drug to help him deal with the traumatic events he'd seen.

Green said by the time he committed the murders he had seen so much violence and so many people killed that he had stopped thinking of Iraqi civilians as humans. I didn't think I was going to live. Subscriber Account active since. Defense Ministry spokeswoman Christina Routsi said Monday that a recent decision by the German commander in Afghanistan to ban the consumption of alcohol for security reasons had resulted in a pileup of beer, wine and mixed drinks at Camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif.

Routsi said the military had found a civilian contractor who will take the alcohol back out of the country ahead of the German troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan as the NATO mission in the country ends in the coming months. The German army said the 22, liters almost 6, gallons of alcohol — including almost 60, cans of beer — couldn't be sold in Afghanistan due to local religious restrictions, or destroyed for environmental reasons.

Proceeds from the German contractor's sale of the beer elsewhere should cover the cost of transporting it out of the country, the army said. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App.