Drinking Age Lowered to 18

Katherine Mangu-Ward | May 15, 2007

Not for most of us, unfortunately.

But Marines overseas (and on-base in some circumstances) can now have a beer or two if they're 18 and legal in the country where they're stationed. This brings the Marines' policy in line with the rest of the armed forces.

"But the commandant’s changes go further than any other service’s policy, decriminalizing welcome-home beer for underage Marines returning from deployment and giving commanders the authority to hold an 18-and-up kegger on base upon a unit’s return from a war zone."

This pairs hilariously with another part of the ruling, which states that commanders must “ensure that appropriate controls are in place to prevent endangering military service members or the surrounding community."

Now that welcome home keggers and boozing in ports of call are fair game, some fear the ol' slippery slope:

“I have some skeptics out there who say, ‘Oh no, you’re opening that can of worms,’” [Sgt. Maj. John] Estrada said. “I say that’s B.S. Marines are mature enough to know what’s legal here.”

Via The Worldwide Standard.