quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
We're guests in their country and should behave. It's the Navy and they're squids- If you don't know what that means to your community- You're lucky.

As a 26 year retired "squid" I'd be interested to hear what you mean by this. I lived in Navy communities for the better part of three decades and never witnessed any issues with "squids" other than the occasional Sailor getting caught drinking a bit too much. These incidents didn't make the community any less desirable and 99.9% of the community never witnessed these incidents.

Drunk driving is just not done in Japan, their culture strongly discourages it. From 1989-93 I was assigned to an ammo depot in Kure, about 20 miles SE of Hiroshima. We often took the long drive to MCAS Iwakuni for their huge (to us) MCX and Commissary. Our CO stressed - repeatedly - that we were in another country and anything we did (good or bad) reflected on the US. Drink if you want, but take a taxi.

As others have noted out, every few years Americans (typically but not always active duty military guys) do something really really stupid. The recent fatal DUI was one, here's another horrible crime committed by an AF civilian contractor on Okinawa:

https://www.stripes.com/news/g...her-charges-1.498135

I will forever hold in contempt my command for not let us having a drink in Shannon Ireland on the way home from Afghanistan on Christmas Eve of all days. The previous tradition was to allow a troop a drink in Shannon on the way home. Our gutless heartless soulless command wanted to “risk mitigate” and deny us the drink traditionally allowed. While I will warmly embrace any fellow service member from any era, if I have the chance to get away with it, that commander will get a hurtin’ should we ever cross paths

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:
I will forever hold in contempt my command for not let us having a drink in Shannon Ireland on the way home from Afghanistan on Christmas Eve of all days. The previous tradition was to allow a troop a drink in Shannon on the way home. Our gutless heartless soulless command wanted to “risk mitigate” and deny us the drink traditionally allowed. While I will warmly embrace any fellow service member from any era, if I have the chance to get away with it, that commander will get a hurtin’ should we ever cross paths

Totally unrelated, but in May of 2004 I flew commercial from Kuwait City to Amsterdam. It was not a charter, but lots of GIs and contractors were on the flight to AMS and changed planes there for CONUS. One of the GIs got so shitfaced drunk he passed out in the AMS terminal and his pals had to carry him on to the plane.

My Marine son just got to Camp Schwab, Okinawa. He hasn't told me anything about being confined to his barracks.

How will the "Bar Girls" make a living? Looks like another Law Suit to me...

Alcohol was a problem at North Island when I was on active duty 50 years ago. Both the CO and XO of my command were alcoholics. I was put on the O Club Board and invited to join the CO and XO very often for lunch at the club because I was the only Ensign on the base and could count on the “Any Ensign” reserved space next to COMNAVAIRPAC’s parking space. I thought they might hold up my promotion to jg over that, but they did not.

I got calls from the NAS CO quite often complaining about alcohol related misbehaviors at the O Club. It was delicate, because alcohol sales subsidized the dining room where lots of retired Flag and WWII heroes brought their wives and ladies of similar distinction, and raising prices in the dining room always brought howls of hate and discontent from Congressmen and big shots. The Skipper hated that!

My impression is that sort of thing is discouraged more than it was 50 years ago, probably for the best.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

As others have noted out, every few years Americans (typically but not always active duty military guys) do something really really stupid. The recent fatal DUI was one, here's another horrible crime committed by an AF civilian contractor on Okinawa:

https://www.stripes.com/news/g...her-charges-1.498135

...former marine