Military Drinking Age - 1983 Words

Drinking Age of the Military: Should it be Lowered Jason M. Stoudt DeVry University The drinking age in the military is currently set at 21 years old as it is set for the rest of the country. There has been an age old statement widely used by those in the military, â€Å"If I am old enough to fight and die for my country, I should be old enough to drink†. The debate is out there that the drinking age should be lowered for all young adults from 18 years old to 21 years old. The idea behind the fact that younger people tend to have less responsibility and are not good candidates for being allowed to drink is a valid point. Those serving in the military are different in that respect for the fact that they have more responsibilities than that†¦show more content†¦One of the examples that is used to show that lowering the drinking age to 18 years of age is a bad thing is a panel that was done in 1975 to 1993. In this panel they surveyed 39 states that had lowered the drinking age to 18 yrs old between the 1970’s and the 1980’s. The mortalit y rate for those states included in the study showed that once the drinking age was lowered the fatality rate from motor vehicle accidents had risen substantially; most of the fatal accidents were at night. When the drinking age was raised back to 21 years old the fatality rate had dropped back to a lower level as it had before the age was lowered. The documentation shows that when those that are 18 to 21 years old are allowed to drink the death rate from alcohol consumption in motor vehicle accidents are raised. Now the death rate for those that are over the age of 21 years old has increased slightly only due to the fact that the younger population now allowed to drink has been introduced into the equation (Carpenter-Dobkin, 2011). Simply stating that because they are allowed to drink at 18 years old and that some of them get into accidents with motor vehicles while intoxicated on alcohol is irrelevant in the case that there is evidence in the report that those that are over 21 yea rs old are still getting into the same type of accidents. Also considering the level of technology that is current in the world todayShow MoreRelatedMinimum Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered733 Words   |  3 PagesMinimum Legal Drinking Age Should be Lowered â€Å"Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer.† (Amethyst Initiative: Rethink the Drinking Age). The causes behind the minimum legal drinking age standardization nationally has not been alleviated in the past couple decades and should be repealed. 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