Tag Archives: alcohol

Bill Nye, Ken Ham Debate Meets Military Cheating Scandals

There’s a fascinating philosophical connection between the debate of Bill Nye and Ken Ham over creationism on the one hand, and reports the US Department of Defense is becoming increasingly “troubled” over troops’ ethical problems on the other.

First, Dr. Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, attended the Nye/Ham debate (viewable on YouTube) and made an interesting assessment. The debate wasn’t, in the end, over facts. It was over worldview — and Bill Nye’s faith that “human reason” was an ultimate solution [emphasis added]:

Bill Nye repeatedly cited the reasonable man in making his arguments. He is a firm believer in autonomous human reason and the ability of the human intellect to solve the great problems of existence without any need of divine revelation…He sees himself as the quintessential “reasonable man,” and he repeatedly dismissed Christian Read more

US Air Force Transports Whisky to South Pole

Sometimes the US Air Force transports blankets and bottled water to disaster-stricken areas.  Sometimes it delivers century-old Scotch to Antarctica.

Three bottles of rare, 19th century Scotch found beneath the floor boards of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackelton’s abandoned expedition base were returned to the polar continent…

The original bottles had flown in two combination-locked containers with Key to Antarctica in a U.S. Air Force transport plane from Christchurch…

Mind you, this isn’t the first time Air Force aircraft have transported alcohol — and a lot of it — to the region.  Truth be told, that’s pretty much the only way anything gets to Antarctica, which likely means the planes carry other items that would raise some eyebrows — but all for the greater good, of course.

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US Military has a Drinking Problem, Army Frat Party Goes Bad

Update: Major Garbarino was convicted at court-martial of being drunk and disorderly and received 30 days and a fine of six months pay.  He was acquitted of other charges.

The Associated Press announced that the National Academy of Sciences has called ‘substance abuse’ within the US military a “public health crisis.”  Among other things:

The study…says about 20 percent of active duty service members reported they drank heavily in 2008, the last year for which data is available. And, binge-drinking rose to 47 percent in 2008 from 35 percent in 1998.

The report also cited abuse of prescription drugs — particularly prescription pain killers and similar drugs, the use of which has skyrocketed to “nearly 5 million prescriptions” over the 1 million issued more than a decade ago.

The issue of drinking, of course, is nothing new.  Just rent Read more

Rangers Celebrate with Ginger Ale

Update: Hamilton ultimately said winning the World Series would be good, but it wouldn’t top standing in front of his Savior one day, and his relationship with Christ keeps him on the right path.

The ubiquitous nature of alcohol in the fighter pilot culture (see discussions on “alcohol and the bar” in Fighter Pilot Traditions) sometimes makes it challenging for those who choose not to drink.  Some make that choice for religious reasons, others for reasons of family history, others for ‘personal’ reasons.  Alcohol and its abuse has sometimes become a sensitive subject in the military; in general, when fighter pilots decline to drink, their decision is honored (though there may still be some ribbing from some in the crowd).

Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton experienced a bit of that life himself recently.  According to press reports, he is Read more

The Military, “Private” Choices, and Traditions

Some outside the military fail to comprehend the US military’s ability to govern the “private lives” of those in its service.  What happens outside the gate, or out of uniform, is beyond the military’s purview, they think. 

They’re wrong.

While this misunderstanding of military control has become increasingly evident in recent months regarding sexual conduct, it has been raised about other issues as well.

Ramstein Air Base in Germany recently restricted all personnel to base or their homes in response to increases in perceived threats.  Many civilians Read more